[GREQ]

  I had the same problem-twice. I do suggest contacting Audioengine support. They were very helpful and responsive. I sent my speakers back for repair or replacement for a reasonable fee since they were out of warranty.

You sent it back for a repair with a fee for a KNOWN RECURRING fault?
I don't know about you, but where I'm from, that's a crime.
 
If these loudspeakers were cars, they'd all be recalled by now, and all of them would be serviced for free.
I can't believe how many people are being so nonchalant about this.

 

[wildeweg]

Heads up: Audioengine USA advised me to contact the store i bought them (the Netherlands). They contacted the distributor and offered me to replace the A5 with the new A5+ for an extra € 109,-. I think that's a pretty good deal, the old A5's were about 5 years old, after all. I hope the A5+ won't have the same issue, but i'm confident it won't since it seems to be a redesign with large cooling ribs at the back.

 

[bee65n]

Mine just died after 5 years.  Pretty sure it was due to the heat.  Seems like the new heat sink on the a5+ should solve the problem...Not sure if I'll try to get it repaired since they will inevitably fail again due to the heat sink problem.  

 

[raja_mastana]

My 6 years old Audioengine 5 also developed problems like crackle, massive pops and "blow into microphone" sounds
These happens as soon as any song is played.
Unfortunately, we do not have audioengine service in India.
 
So, I got it repaired from other sources. Here are some details which may help other A5 users.
The below is my assumption - please correct if you see a mistake.
There are two circuit boards in the audioengine 5. The left one seems like the preamp. It has two voltage regulators, some 8-9 solid caps and other caps. The right one may be the power amp (caps like 475j 100v are present here).
I can see repair was carried on the left board only. The right board is untouched.
Looks like 4 capacitors are changed and a resistor also added.
 

 

 

 

 

[Srinivas Murthy]

My 5 year old A5 is also producing crackling noises.  Can you please provide details of where you got your A5s repaired and the cost of repairs?  This will be very helpful to me.

 

[raja_mastana]

I got it repaired from Mumbai - I have sent you the name of the shop by PM

 

[Srinivas Murthy]

Thank you very much for the immediate reply. I am from Karnataka and Mumbai is too far for me!  I may have to try locally.  Will it be possible to list what was repaired / replaced actually? And are the speakers working without that irritating noise now?  

 

[Mike Burley]

I've got two sets of A5s, each with snaps, crackles, pops. Can I just use the working passive speakers from each and hook them up to an amp? Do the passive speakers have crossovers inside or are they attached to the circuit board of the powered speaker?

I've already tried it, and they sound just ok. Not nearly the same bass output and everything sounds a little flat. This may very well be because of the new amp (Onkyo DR-UN7). I haven't messed with the EQ settings yet, but so far I'm not impressed. I had one hooked up to a Teac MC-D90 shelf system, and it sounded pretty good, though it was a small room with excellent acoustics that make anything sound amazing. 

 

[sdfasdfasdf]

I HAVE THE SOLUTION! PROBLEM SOLVED!!
 
I had massive crackles and pops and breathing into mic problems. I went to a speaker/audio store and bought a new skinnier cable for between the speakers (OUT TO RIGHT). Using these completely erased the problem and the new cables were quite cheap as well (like 5$). I suggest everyone here move away from those huge clunky copper cables and just buy a smaller cheaper one. I haven't noticed any difference in quality as of yet. You could also try cutting the cables and trying over with fresh ends as I think the problem is with the cable.
 
email me at leogpenny@gmail.com if you have a question as I will probably never check this thread again. 
Problem solved for me!
 
Edit: I have no amps or otherwise fancy audio equipment. The source of the problem really was the left to right speaker cable!

 

[JamesWood]

I replaced the capacitors from Raja's post but that did not solve the problem. Almost all of the capacitors on this board are dried up. I am waiting on some freeze spray since I noticed the problem get worse after the unit warms up a min. I will let you know what I find after the repairs are completed.

 

[mattrp]

Hey, have had my A5s for a few years now, very happy with them until now. Moved house, had them in boxes, probably some dust got in. Reconnected them and had the crackles, bangs and mic-breathing sounds. Read the comment from the Audioengine guy on the previous page about twiddling the volume knob from 0 to 100 about 20-30 times and amazingly that fixed the problem. Happy customer again.

 

[nervous]

Bought my AudioEngine 5 set around 5y ago in Germany, they just developed the same hissing+crackle sound that everyone else seem to have.
Contacted support, will report back.

 

[Annoyed]

I'm guess no one has solved this issue?  I'm getting the same problem - really loud popping noise that makes the speakers unusable.  For the cost of these speakers, they should have lasted a lot longer than 4 years.

 

[geekchic]

I have a pair of AudioEngine's bought in 2009, in Mumbai, India. Recently, my right speaker developed the 'crackling' noise described in this forum and both speakers were non-responsive to the volume knob. The post made by the AudioEngine rep, DanielP, helped me to troubleshoot and fix the issue. Turning the volume knob from min to max several times eliminated the sound completely (probably cleaned them?) and stripping the speaker wire has made them sound like new again. I do not use the speakers regularly and the environment can safely be described as dust-prone.
Till now, in 7 years, the Audioengines have never given me a problem. I use them with a FiiO X3 as a source, and recently with Chromecast Audio and my phone and both sound really good. 

 

[BlakeT]

I have A5's that are about 5 years old.  They always functioned perfectly.  Gave them to my son and he started experiencing the noise issues referenced in this thread.  Per the earlier posts, I cycled the volume knob from full on to full off about 100 times.
 
Problem solved!  I was literally about to donate them to Good Will.  Good thing I saw this thread!