Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black)

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

These speakers arrived yesterday, and I immediately rearranged the books on the built-in wall shelves above my computer desk to place the speakers slightly above the monitor and a few feet on either side of center. The black speakers fit right in with the books on either side of them, so their clean and simple lines are hardly noticeable.

I'm listening to various genres from my iTunes folder as I write this. For Miles Davis, it is like having the band in front of me, with the drums to the right, piano to the left, sax and trumpet varying from one or the other speaker. The range of trebles from the harp of Andreas Vollenweider is clear. The bass notes of jazz instruments are unmuffled and distinct.

The best surprise is that when a lead singer or instrument is equal in both speakers, the sound is amazingly centered between the two speakers, just over my head. It's like having the voices of Andrea Bocelli, Jeff Buckley, or Eva Cassidy, or the banjo of Bela Fleck, right in my head, with other instruments spread left and right. If I close my eyes while listening to the angelic voices of Anonymous 4 performing early chants, it is as if I'm sitting in a stone church with the voices spread around me.

I'm guessing that those who aren't happy with the bass coming from these speakers like their music loud and thumpy. Okay, while the bass doesn't blast for the likes of Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, and Jefferson Airplane, I'm finding it quite respectable for speakers of this size and price. One must have realistic expectations, and loud thumping bass ruins the music for me anyway.

I never scanned my classical music CDs into iTunes because they sound so much better on my stereo system with good quality speakers. I am now listening to Saint-Saens' Organ Symphony on the computer, one of my test pieces because of the full range of bass string instruments and the low organ notes. While neither bass nor treble are as full and rich as they are on my stereo system, I'm surprised by how good it does sound on the Audioengine speakers -- a far cry better than my old computer speakers. I now look forward to adding classical music to offerings while sitting at my computer.

Given that frequent use of loud music and headphones are linked to deafness, not having easy access to the headphone outlet is not an issue for me, as I use them as little as possible. The same is true for the volume control. I use the buttons on my keyboard to vary volume. I set the Audioengine volume so it is barely audible when on my lowest Mac setting, giving me 15 more clicks to a painful volume I will likely never use.

I chose the Audioengine A2 speakers after reading many reviews, weighing all the pros and cons, and I'm very happy with my choice.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

I bought two pair ... one set for each of my two editing stations. They make for a good, compact solution in our small office. I do miss having a headphone jack on the front of the speaker that disables the speakers. Now it's an extra step or two if I want to use headphones. But overall I think they sound good, so it's not that big of a deal.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

Great for mood music on location (so long as the mood is more Miles Davis than Motorhead), or any application where you need good sound in close quarters with minimal size, weight and power consumption.

These speakers are capable of more-coherent sound and more-natural voicing and detail than the more-bulky but comparably-priced Klipsch ProMedia 2.1, for example, although the Klipsch play louder, have greater extension at both frequency extremes, and greater flexibility in placement. The A2s can sound boomy if you put them directly on a floor or a table, or anemic if you try to get them to fill too large a room at too high a volume. They sound gorgeous when placed on stands and pointed straight at you, with nothing but a few feet of clear air between them and you.

If you place them carefully, their sound is as good as it gets at this size and price.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

Wish I could claim to be a real audiophile, but these sound good to me. Clean, with solid bass. Amazing for such a small package.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

The Audioengine A2 speakers cannot be beat. Hook them up to your computer or ipod and be prepared to be blown away. Very articulate speakers. Great imaging!

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

I use those powered speakers with a 27" iMac. They install easily using the cables provided. I replaced a larger set of powered speakers from M-Audio with the new A2 powered speakers from Audioengine. Space is always a premium on your desk. Having external hard drives, cable modem, Airport Extreme, keyboard and mouse leaves less room for speakers. You don't have to sacrifice the quality of sound when you down size your speakers. Incredibly small, able to articulate nuances in music and provide a wide sound stage makes the A2 speakers an easy choice for critical listening. Whether you are reviewing a podcast you just recorded or enjoying a new piece of music you just created, the speakers perform quite well. Excellent imaging too. You can tell when you realize the music is not coming from the speakers but from a centered wide sound stage between them. Most speakers play loud but few speakers image well. It means the sound engineers did a very good job of selecting the drivers, crossover and enclosure. It also means the folks that assemble and build the speakers did a great job as well. Set the volume level on the knob in the back and forget about it. Your computer's volume adjustment will do the rest. Highly recommended.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

The best powered speakers out there. Love that they are connected by regular speaker wire which you can replace with a longer length. Volume on the back is a minor inconvenience. GREAT sound. Love that they look like bookshelf speakers and not computer speakers.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

This is my best desktop speakers ever. Amazing sound quality even without a subwoofer. A little big, but hey, don't need a sub. With equalizer and it keeps me hostage for hours.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

I use these speakers for music at my personal training studio. I hook it up to a netbook and it sounds great. I'm a big music junky and it's great to a get sound without any "fake" bass. Great price too!

They rock, full recommendation.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

I love these speakers, but I give them three stars because they're not a complete speaker system as sold. Unless you've grown accustomed to listening to music through your laptop, then the A2's are simply missing a woofer. Yes, they do deliver amazing bass for their size, but that's like saying an ant can move amazing loads relative to its size; at the end of the day, the ant is just moving wheat grains, and the A2's, despite their parlor trick of blasting paper across your desk through the bass port, still can't deliver real bass. If your budget is $200 and bass is important to you, then look elsewhere. However, these speakers are so musical that I decided to break my budget and spring for Audioengine's S8 subwoofer, too. If you're a bit of an audiophile and can afford a subwoofer to pair with these, you'll be well-pleased. Don't say you weren't warned!

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

I was looking for a good, small set of speakers without a sub. I need to regularly tear down and reset my laptop in different rooms around the office... and provide decent audio. With all the drawstring bags in the photos I thought these would be perfect for my application. These SOUND great - but they are designed to be set up and left alone. Just like the pictures show, the woofer and tweeters are exposed - no cover. I crunched them twice just getting them out of the gear bags - yikes! Also, the generic speaker cable shown is the only way to connect the two speakers. (I guess you could get banana plugs - not included). So, set up will take more time (sigh) and much more care not to crush a cone. Could use more volume as well. Might not be loud enough in some of our conference rooms.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

Using for my office PC, easy to set up, very good connectors, etc for the price. Very nice packaging (cloth covers for speakers & cloth bags for wires).
Sound crummy out of e box, but let them break in for 3 weeks. This is a sign of good tweeters!

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

These make pretty great baby bookshelf speakers or computer speakers in non-critical listening settings, they produce an impressive volume and bass for their size, indeed they've been tweaked a bit bass-heavy to the point of boominess. Not an issue for most uses, but seems like an odd decision at their price point. They look very nice, though I find having the volume control on the back is a bit of a pain.

A word of warning if you intend to use these with an iPod or other portable device, they hum quite noticeably when not connected to an audio source.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

I am a video editor and needed some better speakers that have a small footprint. I feel the sound of these speakers, especially for the price, is relatively true sound. I will know for sure in a couple weeks after doing a lot of level setting and then testing it with a sound engineer's system.

My complaints are not with the sound, but with the design. I dislike it very much because the volume button is in the back of the speaker - making it very difficult to get to. Of course controlling the sound by the keyboard is a way to get around that, but I prefer the ability to control volume with more minute adjustments than the keyboard allows.

My other complaint is that there is no head phone jack on the speakers. And the jack on the front of my computer doesn't override the speakers. This is a really big hassle. There is probably a way around this perhaps with a duo mini plug jack - but haven't figured it out yet.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

I loved the sound of these the minute I hooked them up to my audiotrak prodigy hd2 sound card. I liked them so much I bought a pair of their big brothers, audioengine 5's for my spare room, but decided I wasn't using them enough, and decided to get rid of one of the two sets. After trying the 5's on my computer I ended up preferring the 2's. There is something fantastic about getting such great sound from such small speakers. I have them set up on the speaker stands from audioengine, and they work great.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

I listened some floor, bookshelves speakers and speaker systems ($90-$399) connected to A/V receiver Yamaha. Their sound seemed not expressive and noisy in comparison with Audioengine 2. Audioengine 2 is the great product for [$]

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

I purchased these speakers from B&H about three weeks ago for use with my new 27" iMac. As a video editor and producer, mastering great audio is essential to my clients.After researching various speaker systems available, I became intrigued by this system as I was producing a commercial spot in LA. I simply couldn't believe my ears. They sounded like a system costing as much as $700-$800 dollars. Much to my surprise, the price through B&H was an astounding [$] per pair.The AudioEngine 2 speakers are absolutely, hands down the best small studio monitors I have ever used. The sound imaging, tight bass and overall performance is simply phenomenal. The high ends are incredible and the imaging is spectacular.I highly recommend these speakers to anyone who edits video, or someone who enjoys listening to true high-fidelity at an uncommon price.I am now a fan of AudioEngine for life.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

When I listen to these on my 2009 iMac at ~sane volumes, and the sound quality far more comparable to my nice Onkyo Receiver than to my previous Logitech setup. As of ~March 2010, they're so much better than anything else I've found for <~$200, that I'd probably settle for the worst built-in computer speakers if I didn't have the money to spend on these.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

I had never heard of Audioengine before, but the reviews that I read about these speakers were fantastic so I decided to give them a shot. I'm so glad I did! I use these speakers with my sony walkman mp3 player, and the sound quality is awesome.

After a proper break-in period, the speakers really put out some sound. The highs and mids are stong and clear. The lows are not overpowering like a lot of 2.1 systems. There is a great balance between the highs/mids/lows with these speakers.

The Build quality is wonderful. These speakers are solid and somewhat heavy. If your looking for portability, these probably wouldn't be good for that. But for mp3/computer/tv/movies there really perform well.

I am incredibly happy with these speakers and will definitely recommend these speakers to others.

Comments about Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers (Black):

I bought these speakers to replace the older Cambridge 4.1 surround-sound on my computer. Although the reviews everywhere were outstanding, I was still skeptical.

These speakers are phenomenal for the price! They blow my old speakers away (all 4 of them with the sub). The crispness, richness and latitude of sound is incredible. Not quite satisfied with my "testing", I bought the Studiophile AV40 monitors to compare and then listened to the same songs, movies and games on both.

My wife sat and listened after I did and we both unanimously agreed that the A2's were clearly the best, no question about it. The bass is rich and clean, the mids and highs are crisp and defined, and the detail in the sound is outstanding.

They will require a bit of tweaking to taste with your pc's equalizer (the bass was a bit too much for me, and I turned the treble up slightly).

The only inconvenient drawback is the volume control is on the rear of the left speaker.

Bottom line: you cannot find better speakers for the price!