TheMarchingMule
Headphoneus Supremus
Took me almost three months to get these, but it was my college's mailing system that was at fault, not Audioengine's.
When I saw the package, and then had it placed it my hands, I realized how small and light the box was. Inside of it, only the stands were in it, organized shoebox-style. As I turned them over in my hands, I realized that they were basically pieces of rubber and plastic, but obviously molded in a certain way. Most notably was that rectangular recess in the middle of it, and when you looked under it, it was hollow, except for that shape from the recess above.
So I was a bit hesitant on first look to say that they were worth the $30 price, but I couldn't listen to my speakers on it right then and there, since I was already taking a work break to grab the package.
Fast-forward four hours later, and I booted up some of Michael Jackson's songs; "Jam" was first up. I was using the Pico DAC as the source, and until now, I have been using stacks of index cards to prop the speakers up.
Immediately, the sound quality difference was noticeable.
The bass was what I first noticed; it actually had tangible shape and form to it as it was being shot out. In the past, the bass was there, but it really smeared into the midrange. And in Muse's "Uprising," I can finally hear the faint yelling on the right speaker when the song starts. In the past, I had to use headphones to hear them without straining.
Everything else (midrange, highs) seem to be a smidgen more separated and defined, and they still work together nicely. All in all though, it was the bass that really got "fixed" the most.
So if you have the A2 (I can't speak for the A5 model), and the speakers still sound bassy, or the overall sound seems a tad bit too smeared for your liking, try the stands. As for me, I'm going to flip through my music collection to see what they sound like through the A2 now.
When I saw the package, and then had it placed it my hands, I realized how small and light the box was. Inside of it, only the stands were in it, organized shoebox-style. As I turned them over in my hands, I realized that they were basically pieces of rubber and plastic, but obviously molded in a certain way. Most notably was that rectangular recess in the middle of it, and when you looked under it, it was hollow, except for that shape from the recess above.
So I was a bit hesitant on first look to say that they were worth the $30 price, but I couldn't listen to my speakers on it right then and there, since I was already taking a work break to grab the package.
Fast-forward four hours later, and I booted up some of Michael Jackson's songs; "Jam" was first up. I was using the Pico DAC as the source, and until now, I have been using stacks of index cards to prop the speakers up.
Immediately, the sound quality difference was noticeable.
The bass was what I first noticed; it actually had tangible shape and form to it as it was being shot out. In the past, the bass was there, but it really smeared into the midrange. And in Muse's "Uprising," I can finally hear the faint yelling on the right speaker when the song starts. In the past, I had to use headphones to hear them without straining.
Everything else (midrange, highs) seem to be a smidgen more separated and defined, and they still work together nicely. All in all though, it was the bass that really got "fixed" the most.
So if you have the A2 (I can't speak for the A5 model), and the speakers still sound bassy, or the overall sound seems a tad bit too smeared for your liking, try the stands. As for me, I'm going to flip through my music collection to see what they sound like through the A2 now.
