[GREQ]

So I've finally decided to return my audioengine a5's. The popping and blowing noises only got worse and I've decided to go with separates (Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 + SW150 Sub in case you're interested - as I've already got an old stereo amp at hand and this combo is only 40 euros more than what I paid for the audioengine, as it's the older model with the circular rear port and no infra red volume control)
 
If it helps anyone, my serial # is A508053006**B2 (I've masked 2 digits for privacy) This may help discern your model as being from a faulty batch.
 
I just hope it's a smooth refund.

 

[greeny69]

All of the symptoms here look very familiar and the fact that these have been reported by numerous people suggests this is beyond coincidence. I suspect a defective batch of components or manufacturing run in the units affected, would be interesting to see serial numbers.
 
My situation is made somewhat more annoying by the fact that despite close to $400 being spent on the speakers 14months ago, Audioengine cannot help me as I apparently purchased from a retailer that is not an authorized reseller of their product and hence have no warranty. I have never asked a retailer of a consumer product if they are authorized to sell the stock they carry; who does?. Maybe I will in future to avoid manufacturers absolving themselves of responsibility when customers are hit by their defective merchandise. Either that, or I will select manufacturers who will back their products without these sorts of reservations as this will probably indicate their level of confidence in their product. It would be refreshing to see more focus on the customer rather than a run for cover behind terms and conditions, particularly where there is evidence of recurring pattern of failure in a particular product. It would appear Audioengine prefer to blame the shopper rather than their deffective merchandise, and this leaves a bad taste. Word of mouth (and forum) reviews invariably have greater economic impact than manufacturers just doing the right thing by their customers - I don't think it is acceptable to say sorry we can't help because of your choice of retailer. I have asked Audioengine if they would reconsider their position - will post updates here for those interested.
 
I have to say Customer service response from Audioengine has been prompt and courteous (Marshall), but in the absence of a satisfactory response, I would not go near Audioengine products again given this costly experience and the fact I am left with non-functioning speakers and no suggestions of how I might repair/rectify by the manufacturer.
 
Richard
 
Quote:

 

The Audioengine 5 (A5) has been shipping for 4 (or 5?) years now and we haven't had any specific component failures and/or design issues but parts do fail over time unfortunately.   
 
However, with that said, we have noticed a few returns with the "blowing into a microphone sound" (odd but that's the best way to describe it) and now have 4 samples with the production engineering guys to figure this one out.  So far no smoking gun or weak link, but we're still evaluating.  Regardless, if you're having any issues with your A5's or just have questions about our gear or computer audio in general, contact support at:  support@audioengineusa.com 
 
Marshall or Daniel - the eternally patient and very knowledgeable support team - will do their best to take care of you.  
 
.... and yes, I work for Audioengine and am a long-time lurker.  
 
Regards,
Brady 
 
​

 

 
Quote:

It's beginning to look like a design defect and or poor quality parts failing prematurely. I bet a cap or two has gone bad. If you can remove the back panel and visually inspect all of the parts paying close attention to the electrolytic caps...if they have any oozing material from the bottom (near the pcb), any bulging tops, splits of any kind...get HQ replacements (like Panasonic FM, Nichicon HE) and up the V rating to 10% over stock (same uf rating). Also pay attention to any small film caps...if they have discoloration replace those...resistors should be clean with no burn marks...any resistors that are heavily discolored are about to fail or have partially failed. Replace those with the same value and mount a little off the pcb (for better air flow).
 
Sorry to hear of the faults guys...the only way to really know what is causing the problem is to take the gear to a qualified tech (if DIY is out). Try posting/searching at DIY audio.com...there may be some specific answers already addressed. It's a technical site so be prepared to brush up on basic electronics if you plan on a DIY repair.
 
Peete.

 

[izz123]

I have the exact same problem.
 
Ever since I bought them, there was a weird cracking noise when they went into power saving mode and turned off the amp. Didn't bother me *that* much though.
 
Then I started getting the "blow into microphone" noise, also with some cracking. Always mostly in the right speaker.
 
I figured it must be some interference from the neighbor running the micro wave or something, since I'm on air play.
 
 
But now it's not intermittent anymore, but permanent! I can't even keep the speaker on, there's a constant noise with loud cracking and popping sounds mostly from the right speaker.
 
 
Could not find a serial number on the speakers, where is it located?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Was at an audio retailer last week to demo the A2 and the A5, the latter had a screwed up pot despite being on display for a short enough time that it doesn't have even light scratches on it. It's starting to look like they got a bad batch of volume pots.

 

[Sean.Perrin]

I haven't posted in here for years, but this problem in my speakers has been happening, but only in the powered monitor, since 2010. It's gotten so bad that they are almost unusable.
 
Were there any solutions found or am I SOL?

 

[GREQ]

Nobody ever posted the exact problem/culprit component.
 
As it's a well documented problem (in various forums) in the A5 which they hopefully have remedied in the A5+, it may be worth contacting Audioengine anyway and asking about a repair due to a fault in the design. 
I would simply try a polite soft approach, and you might just get lucky. It would be at the very least interesting to see how much they care about their customers vs. profits. 
 
If it's the latter, then yes, you are SOL - although having said that, I'm sure it's possible to just bypass the amp, and re-wire the speakers to any old AV-receiver... which does defeat the point of a low-real-estate-desktop monitor system, but it should work fine.
If they repair for free, the worst thing is that you'll probably pay the postage both ways.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GREQ /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
...I'm sure it's possible to just bypass the amp, and re-wire the speakers to any old AV-receiver... which does defeat the point of a low-real-estate-desktop monitor system...

 
That's going to be more complex than it seems depending on how the crossover modules are integrated into the amplifiers on the active speaker. However if one can get the specs, and PartsExpress happens to have one identical to or very close to it, then it should be easy enough.

 

[astroboysoup]

Hey there everyone, My AE5s have finally given up, after a year of the loud pop noise when switching it off, I finally started getting the loud hum and now the speaker crackling.
 
I'm going to pull the entire thing apart this weekend and document exactly what I'm changing over in order to fix them.
 
I had a quick look at the circuit boards and some of them have been seals on the back with plastic/protector so it is going to be hard to get to if they're covering the parts with the issues.
 
At first glance all the connectors and wires look good. No oxidisation on them or all connected well so I have to agree with others here that it may be the capacitors on the boards.
 
Will let you know how I go and how it costs to repair DIY style.
 
I like these speakers and not going to give them up this easily.
 
Peter

 

[fkon]

Hi guys, I have the same issue with my A5:s.
 
As I turn them on they are silent for perhaps 30 sec or so, then the popping and crackling begins and it gradually increases until I have to turn the speakers off becouse the crackling is so loud. They are completely unusable right now.
 
The fact that the behavior is escalating would indicate that it occurs as a component is warming up and that the issue is somehow temperature related. 
 
Did anyone have any luck with dissecting the amplifier and replacing any defect component?
 
Best regards
Fredrik

 

[greenside]

I have same problem. Going to call tomorrow. What a bummer.

Any updates?

 

[ntsnkfob]

I contacted AEUSA about mine with this problem. They (Marshall) said they had had a few reports of the problem described here, but hadn't found a cause for it, and anyway mine were out of warranty, so goodbye. I'm pretty sure this is common enough to be a design fault, which, if they admit to, will deluge them with claims and perhaps a class action suit, so they are keeping quiet about it.
 
Mine had several duff capacitors, which when replaced didn't fix the problem, so I imagine the problem is deeper than that. Marshall also said they had no stock of parts for the A5, as I asked if I could buy replacement boards or failing that - another passive unit crossover to convert them to a pair of passives.
 
I'm definitely done with Audioengine.

 

[Hatmann]

I've owned A2s for several years and love 'em. No problems at all.
 
Audioengine is a small company and their reps were very helpful to me.
 
But even a small company ought to fix a design or manufacturing defect, even when the purchase is out of warranty. A good reputation is something you can't buy. Or get back once it's gone.

 

[ntsnkfob]

I ended up stripping the guts from the powered speaker, cutting the crossover from the PCB, and wired it up as a passive. I put a £20 Lepai amp on the back and have a reasonably nice sound from them, once I'd plugged up all the holes left behind after removing the old electrics. I've a pair of Kef 104ab's that are close to 40 years old still working fine connected to my Sonos system. I guess they gave me unreasonable expectations for this day and age.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  I ended up stripping the guts from the powered speaker, cutting the crossover from the PCB, and wired it up as a passive. I put a £20 Lepai amp on the back and have a reasonably nice sound from them, once I'd plugged up all the holes left behind after removing the old electrics. I've a pair of Kef 104ab's that are close to 40 years old still working fine connected to my Sonos system. I guess they gave me unreasonable expectations for this day and age.

 
Nice, can you post pics of what the board looks like? I'm due to move next year and wherever I go I might look for a broken A5 and use my Dayton T-amp on it if the conversion looks like something I can handle.

 

[vw151]

Has anyone mentioned what DAC they are using?   Are all of you having the issue using the Audioengine DAC? 
 
 
The reason I ask is because I have a set of A5+ with subwoofer and I also have the audioengine DAC.   I ran into this crackle problem today and eventually hooked up to the 'line in' input with my iphone to see if it was a connection to the computer problem or a speaker problem.   On the 'line in' it worked fine.   So then I swapped for a my Fiio DAC and everything sounds fine.   I guess I'm gonna call audio engine about it and see what's up with my DAC.   It seemed to go out after 3-4 hours of play, at a reasonable volume, but the DAC was at max volume, not sure if that is harder on it.