Audioengine A5+ Review
Speaking of Audioengine, many users are familiar with it. However, it is not like JBL, Focal, Dynaudio, and other established manufacturers with decades of brand history. Yet, after Audioengine founded its own professional audio company in 2006 and launched the first product, A5, this brand has More than ten years have passed. During this period, Audioengine’s speakers and various audio products can be said to be very popular in Europe and the United States. Many of its products, including Audioengine A5+ wireless desktop speakers, have also received five-star recommendations from the authoritative magazine “What HI-FI“. The A5+ is a bigger version of the Audioengine A2+ desktop speaker.
Audioengine’s reputation is based on its years of technical accumulation in the HiFi audio field and its experience in providing audio technology support for Harman Kardon and Apple. Applying the technology to the household field has captured many audiophiles and some popular users with the introduction of cost-effective products. Audioengine’s A5+ is considered the most representative of Audioengine’s home HiFi speakers and the most cost-effective product among 5-inch speakers. Active speaker design, multi-functional interface, and lightweight cabinet make this speaker released a few years ago still the best choice for home active desktop speakers today.
Design
Audioengine A5+ is a pair of 5-inch woofer 2.0 speakers with a size of 27 cmx18 cmx20 cm, which can be regarded as a large size on the desktop level. The main speaker weighs 7KG, and the auxiliary speaker weighs 4.4KG.
The A5+ boxes are available in several beautiful finishes, including bamboo veneers and satin black and high-gloss white paint, offering a wide choice for complementing room furnishings. The materials are all wood, and the density is higher. The sound will be thicker than the plastic material. A unique baking process processes the speaker’s surface, and the texture is perfect.
A5+ Tweeter
The tweeter of Audioengine A5+ uses a 20mm silk dome tweeter. At the same time, Audioengine is equipped with a neodymium magnet with almost the most potent magnetism for its tweeter. Therefore, when playing the high-frequency instrument part of music, this speaker has the warmth of silk dome tweeter and has a speedy response, exceptionally high density, and good overtone.
The shape of the tweeter groove is not a standard circle but a unique arc to form a structure similar to an acoustic horn. This allows the tweeter to have better horizontal radiation and increases the openness of the tweeter. Besides, the silk dome tweeter’s advantage is that the listening experience is soft and delicate, and the extensibility is good. The peak power of A5+ can reach 150W, which makes the auditory effect more shocking.
A5+ Woofer
Audioengine A5+ uses a 5-inch subwoofer, and the diaphragm material uses Kevlar. Kevlar is a high-performance speaker diaphragm manufacturing material with complex technology, high cost, and low output. They were generally used in high-end speakers. Besides, the speaker’s material and structure are relatively stable, and this design also makes the A5+ desktop speaker stand the test of time.
A5+ Control
There are a power status indicator and an infrared remote control signal sensor at the bottom left of the A5+ main box. On the right is the volume knob. The volume adjustment knob can be rotated 360 degrees from the minimum volume to the maximum. The volume knob can also be pressed to mute the sound directly.
The button adopts digital adjustment, which can automatically memorize the sound volume. The use of digital adjustment can avoid unwanted noise caused by the aging of the analog adjusted components after aging.
A5+ Connections
The ports and control buttons on the back of the main box seem to be more than ordinary 2.0 speakers, and the large heat sink makes the main speaker look very stable. The large heat sink on the main box is mainly used for heat dissipation. , Playing music for half an hour at a volume of about 45%, it’s only slightly warm to the touch, and the heat dissipation effect is good.
The connection details at the rear of the A5+ main box, the upper left is a 3.5mm stereo input interface. The lower is a set of RCA input interfaces and a set of RCA output interfaces. It also provides a USB interface, which can be connected to a USB sound card or a USB Bluetooth receiver to turn it into a Bluetooth speaker. the Bluetooth supports AAC, aptX, and aptX HD. It can also be used as a power supply interface to charge USB devices. A5+ satisfies my daily needs very well.
All connection ports of Audioengine A5+ wireless are gold-plated. Now, most of the peripherals are gold-plated in the interface. The advantage of interface gold-plating is not only to effectively improve the port’s anti-interference but also to ensure that the interface is in extreme environments. It will not be oxidized for a long time, thus effectively avoiding the audio signal’s attenuation and distortion.
The bottom control button has a conventional power switch and power interface. Also, a voltage adjustment switch supports two voltage modes, the American standard and the national standard. The default is the national standard 220V-240V position. There is also a fuse. Although the A5+ supports wide voltage, it still has a fused design to ensure that the speaker components will not be burned out when peak voltage fluctuations occur. Such situations rarely happen but prevent problems before they occur. Better than nothing, I still appreciate this rigorously designed product.
The back of the auxiliary box is relatively simple, with a pair of column-shaped binding posts and a bass port. The bass port is strip-shaped and different from the standard circular design. This long slit-type inverter tube can effectively eliminate airflow and wind noise. The effect of listening to the high-frequency part is not very obvious. The extended bass port helps the speaker release the low-frequency energy in the middle and low frequency.
Sound Performance
The style of Audioengine A5+ not only has the warmth of silk dome tweeter but also has extremely fast response speed and layering, and it also has excellent density and overtone. The high-quality, high-frequency playback capability has always been the killer feature of Audioengine speakers.
The high frequency of A5+ is not the kind of style that tends to be bright and hard, and the overall is relatively smooth. Therefore, whether it is placed in the living room or as a pair of desktop speakers, A5+ can be entirely competent. A5+ is not that. This kind of cold monitoring style, but the middle and high-frequency part actually has a certain degree of artistic beautification.
The low-frequency performance of A5+, to be honest, is not particularly large compared to some large bookshelves or floor standing speakers. The most significant advantage of A5+ should be its crispness and excellent dynamics. Compared with some speakers over 8 inches, it is less atmospheric and shocking, but for a desktop bookshelf box, the low-frequency performance of A5+ makes it more transparent during music playback. At this price, A5+ does When it comes to the performance that a 5-inch speaker should have, it is both clean and flexible. For audiophiles who like this style, the overall performance of Audioengine A5+ is unforgettable.
Let me talk about the vocal performance of Audioengine A5+ first! My first choice was “Someone Like You” by Adele. The first impression that Audioengine A5+ gave me was that the human voice was full, and the image was clear. The details, fidelity, and exquisite performance of the vocals are remarkable, and almost no problems can be found. For the mid-frequency part of piano performance, Audioengine A5+, due to its Kevlar unit balance and low distortion advantages, the overall overtones, clarity, and sense of hierarchy are excellent.
When listening to a large-scale symphony such as “Radtzky March”, although there are many types of instruments, you can distinguish the sound of different instruments in the virtual space by listening carefully. Closing my eyes, as if the entire symphony stage was presented in front of me, a sense of presence rose.
Listening to “Carmina Burana”, the sense of volume is moderate, and the balance is also shown. A5+ desktop speaker is perfect for both male and female voices. The voice becomes very emotional and magnetic. The gentle and lyrical female vocals make people feel that the singer’s voice is very contagious.
A good speaker is not just for listening to music. It can also be used for playing games and watching movies. For example, when playing DOTA2 games, there are many hero dialogues in the game. Audio engine A5+ computer speaker This aspect is entirely satisfactory and relatively clear. In the game’s detailed sounds, the hero’s walking footsteps and the invisible sound effects can be clearly displayed. Thanks to the high-performance Kevlar diaphragm 5-inch speaker, the A5+ captures and restores such low-frequency sounds in the game experience. It is very accurate and will not miss any detail. The most significant feature is the surging experience of the background music of the game. A5+ shows as if it happened by your side, and the sound effect of each attack is shocking.
Conclusion
As a 5-inch active speaker, Audioengine A5+ surprised me. Audioengine A5+ is not just a speaker but a perfect HiFi system. The rich interface of the main box can meet all needs. Almost any device you can think of can be connected and used, either a subwoofer or an Audioengine decoder to fine-tune the sound.
Ultra-low distortion, excellent music playback ability, sound clarity, and the clean low frequency and warm and audible mid-to-high frequency are also important reasons for my admiration for this pair of speakers. It can be said that this also reflects Audioengine’s many years of audio products R & D and production skills. For audiophiles who pursue cost-effectiveness, Audioengine A5+ is a excellent choice.
Audioengine A5+ Wireless Specs
- Type: Powered speaker system
- Amplifier Type: Class AB
- Power Output: 150 W peak power total (50 W RMS / 75 W peak per channel), AES
- Drivers: 5″ aramid fiber woofers, 0.75″ silk dome tweeters
- Inputs: 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack, RCA L/R
- Outputs: RCA variable line-out, USB (power/charge)
- Input Voltages: 115/240 V, 50/60 Hz manually switchable
- SNR: >95 dB (typical A-weighted)
- THD+N: <0.05% at all power settings
- Crosstalk: <50 dB
- Frequency Response: 50 Hz-22 kHz ±1.5 dB
- Input Impedence: 10K ohms unbalanced
- Protection : Output current limiting, thermal over-temperature, power on/off transient protection, replaceable external main fuse
- Power Consumption: Idle: 10 W, Mute: 6 W, Sleep: 4 W
