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Audioengine A5+ speakers: Opinions?


Avarik

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Dear experts,

 

Does anyone have an opinion of the Audioengine A5+ speaker setup? They show up on Massdrop frequently and I've been thinking of picking them up, and adding the 8" sub they make at some point.

 

Or, can anyone recommend a set of desktop speakers for music listening around this price point? Ideally I'm looking for something that performs well at lower volumes because it won't be turned up to 11 often.

 

Maybe there's a mega thread about speakers that I missed, if so link plx

I'm a newb at desktop DACs and HiFi systems and whatnot but I want the best for my FLACs

 

 

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well, i wanted to namedrop the wharfedale 10.1 i have which do need an amp. when i was looking for a budget "best value for money" set they were the most popular option a few years ago (they're about 350$ now), maybe there's something better now, i dunno. anyway, if 400$ is your budget i don't really believe you can get a decent amp for ~50$. on the other hand you definitely wont need a sub with 10.1, they're incredibly capable in that regard, i watch films with them all the time, and you'll be more flexible with a separate amp/speakers for future upgrades.

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JBL LSR305 ? ive got the 8's and would recommend either of them to anyone. brilliant speakers. cheap too. the tech is from the old flagship M1's that were £££ years ago.

 

 

read the reviews. 90% are all commendation :]

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Guest murphythecat8

Ive seen terrible reviews of the JBL lsr series, I would not get this at all. Ivge seena guy compare the jbl to even the yamaha ns-10 which can be ahd used in your price range.

 

why do you want monitors? why not hifi speakers?

 

In monitors studio, you seriously pay for what you get overall. especially new. So a 1k for the pair of monitor like adam A7x or focal cms 50 (I used to own those) will be miles better then any sub 500$ monitors

 

for sub 500$ monitors, I wouls trust behringer B3031 the version with the 8 inch woofer and ribbon. I have heard guys who said that the behringer b3030 http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/B3030A.aspx is better then the adam a7x.

 

For your budget, thats what I will do, but as a maniac like me who spent near 7k for a system, I would try to raise the budget as much as possible and would steer you away from monitors studio.

 

I used to own focal cms 50, and Ive bought a 125$ of vintage dynaco A 25 that litteraly killed the focal. Going for a hifi vintage system for 500$ would be much smarter then get a cheap plastic monitor studio with cheap class D amplification, imo.

I would take a marantz 2030 receiver and a pair of dynaco a 25 and put them against the A5+ everyday and be sure that you would pick the A 25.

 

My last advice would be to ask in a forum like gearslutz for recommendation, not here as you will find much more recommendation at gearslutz!

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The lsr's arent shit.

 

I also have esoteric audio research amps & townshend deck with linn needle & townshend Glastonbury speakers.. so I know a good sound.

 

For the price I am not complaining. At all.

 

They have great stereo seperation, really flat with great bass response. Detailed ...

 

 

Seriously you should listen to them. And at the price they are at ..

 

Well, I like them anyway :)

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Guest narkotic

They're a great set of speakers. I wrote a press review on them and ended up keeping em'

 

Great dynamics, tight bass, clear sound. Blown away from the volume that comes out.

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I have A5s, from before they were A5 pluses. They're on 50/50 duty as monitors on my desk and room speakers, and they do really well in either mode. Needed to isolate them from the desktop a bit but the sound quality and detail resolution make me happy.

 

Nice and versatile.

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I would recommend them. The sub really isn't necessary, at least for what I'm using them for. I use to have KRK Rockits, and although I think they were somewhat busted at the end of their lifespan, the A5+ sound much cleaner and punchier.

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I have the KRK Rokit 5's and I like them, but I also want a decent set of colored speakers. If I get a set of powered speakers such as the A5+, does anyone recommend a DAC? I know this isn't gearslutz but I'm sure you guys have some strong opinions and preferences and I'd like to hear them.

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I have the KRK Rokit 5's and I like them, but I also want a decent set of colored speakers. If I get a set of powered speakers such as the A5+, does anyone recommend a DAC? I know this isn't gearslutz but I'm sure you guys have some strong opinions and preferences and I'd like to hear them.

 

I'm running mine out of an Apogee Duet and it sounds great but is maybe overkill and/or unfeasible if you're not using OS X

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Guest murphythecat8

Of course you need a dac. a external dac will be miles better then any soundcard.

I used to have the fireface 400, and even a HRT ms 2 or a musical fidelity v dac made a world of difference.

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that's not true at all, technologically at this point of time there's nothing complicated about dacs. the most vital part, the chips, are extremely cheap. i'm not talking about onboard soundcards of course. when i was looking into the topic myself it was hilarious to realize that some people are swearing that their external dacs are infinitely better than some particular soundcard when it fact both used the same core parts.

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Guest murphythecat8

that's not true at all, technologically at this point of time there's nothing complicated about dacs. the most vital part, the chips, are extremely cheap. i'm not talking about onboard soundcards of course. when i was looking into the topic myself it was hilarious to realize that some people are swearing that their external dacs are infinitely better than some particular soundcard when it fact both used the same core parts.

ignorance is bliss. I find it sad that most people just repeat what they have heard, believing without even trying it for themselves.

 

Chips is not the only aspect of a dac that make the sound. You can take two dac using the same chip and both will sound different. Why? Because the power supply, the clock, the analog output, will all impart their own sound.

 

how would you know actually. how many dac have you compared?

 

I have had around 7 dacs in my life excluding 3 different sound card. they all sound different. Some terrible, other good and some exquisite.

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every component in external dacs is extremely cheap by now, it's a matter of marketing and production numbers that affects the retail price.

i didn't compare anything personally but relied on the experiences of many others in threads like these:

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/173-2-channel-audio/1428698-external-dac-pc-worth-if-you-have-good-sound-card.html

 

there's is a dollar wise threshold where audio quality becomes very good (and it's becoming cheaper and cheaper to attain it with every year), slapping 100$'s and 1000$'s more doesn't produce any audibly increased quality. this is a review of a 180$ soundcard, judging by the measurements of the most important parameters it's an extremely high quality device, there are similarly performing soundcards in a similar price range (emu, onkyo).

http://archive.benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=653&Itemid=59&limit=1&limitstart=7

 

you're showing signs of a very dangerous and contagious disease called "audiophilism" brah.

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Guest murphythecat8

every component in external dacs is extremely cheap by now, it's a matter of marketing and production numbers that affects the retail price.

i didn't compare anything personally but relied on the experiences of many others in threads like these:

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/173-2-channel-audio/1428698-external-dac-pc-worth-if-you-have-good-sound-card.html

 

there's is a dollar wise threshold where audio quality becomes very good (and it's becoming cheaper and cheaper to attain it with every year), slapping 100$'s and 1000$'s more doesn't produce any audibly increased quality. this is a review of a 180$ soundcard, judging by the measurements of the most important parameters it's an extremely high quality device, there are similarly performing soundcards in a similar price range (emu, onkyo).

http://archive.benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=653&Itemid=59&limit=1&limitstart=7

 

you're showing signs of a very dangerous and contagious disease called "audiophilism" brah.

Go out, and listen for yourself. Measurements in audio doesnt show the whole picture.

 

I agree though that you can get a 100$ dac that can compare favorably with a 500$ dac but its rare and not really the trend.

 

I have tried 7 dacs, they all sounded different. drastically different honestly.

 

A soundcard dac is just plain bad compared to properly designed dacs.

 

yes, im a audiophile

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the DX uses an extremely good dac chip (CS4398) that's put on ~1000$ external dacs (like this one, for example: http://www.decware.com/newsite/ZDAC1.html). so if you have some cash allocated to it you better use it to get better speakers as this is the most important element.

 

as you see i'm contradicting murphythecat8 but i just can't be arsed in continuing this argument atm. if you're really interested in getting into this seriously you should check the relevant threads on avs, gearslutz, headfi and so on. but anyway, have a look at this article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/high-end-pc-audio,3733.html

they compare a range of dacs from onboard soundcards to super expensive external ones and blind test them, the results are interesting to say the least :)

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Guest murphythecat8

the DX uses an extremely good dac chip (CS4398) that's put on ~1000$ external dacs (like this one, for example: http://www.decware.com/newsite/ZDAC1.html). so if you have some cash allocated to it you better use it to get better speakers as this is the most important element.

 

as you see i'm contradicting murphythecat8 but i just can't be arsed in continuing this argument atm. if you're really interested in getting into this seriously you should check the relevant threads on avs, gearslutz, headfi and so on. but anyway, have a look at this article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/high-end-pc-audio,3733.html

they compare a range of dacs from onboard soundcards to super expensive external ones and blind test them, the results are interesting to say the least :)

the article is pure shit.

 

''As long as the content arrives to the DAC in a bit-perfect state, the source really doesn't matter. A quality CD-player or a PCicon1.png playing a bit-perfect stream over USB should sound the same.''

 

Ths is beyond ridiculous statement. This is exactly the type of article that you should be smart enough to double check.

 

But you know what, your the one missing out.

 

Have you missed the part Ive said Ive had around 7 dacs, I did many blind test of course with my GF and friend, and they all sound different.

 

You can find those type of ridiculous article for anything really. They are false. Have you notice how theres no quote, no reference. this is a ignorant dude writing this for ignorant dude who doesnt want to reasearch deeper then this.

 

You can find many many many thread at head fi, audiokarma, everywhere really where people compare many dacs and always note difference. Not subtle difference at all either. Those article are just pure BS.

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Guest murphythecat8

get better speakers as this is the most important element.

 

totally agree here, speakers are the most important part, then source then amps. If I had a 2k budget for example, I would go as far as to spend 1500$ for speakers, 300$ for DAC and 200$ for amps. especially nowadays with good chip and class t amps.

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