Audioengine's A5+ is a fun, affordable speaker system

#1 Macworld

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 07:01 AM

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#2 audioguy

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 08:17 AM

"Punchy sound" should have been listed under "cons," not "pros." Natural sound is no punchy, and punchy sound is an electronic form of the Excedrin headache.

#3 buzglyd

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 08:53 AM

I've been tempted to get these for my bedroom. I wish they had optical in for connection to an Apple TV.

#4 trichardlin

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 09:31 AM

audioguy, on 26 July 2012 - 08:17 AM, said:

"Punchy sound" should have been listed under "cons," not "pros." Natural sound is no punchy, and punchy sound is an electronic form of the Excedrin headache.

And hence the problem of using subjective or ill-defined terms in review of audio equipment. For some, 'punchy sound' is good because that's what they want. For others, not so good. My guess is, what the reviewer meant is the speakers sound punchy when listening to punchy music (that does not mean you should throw away the Excedrin though).

#5 Chris Breen

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 09:38 AM

audioguy, on 26 July 2012 - 08:17 AM, said:

"Punchy sound" should have been listed under "cons," not "pros." Natural sound is no punchy, and punchy sound is an electronic form of the Excedrin headache.

"Punchy" is a term viewed negatively by audio geeks who are after a neutral tone. The implication is that any speaker that, by design or physics, emphasizes certain frequencies over others is bad. And while that may be true in the studio, it's not always for listeners. Unnatural though emphasized frequencies (see pounding subwoofers) may be, some people enjoy the sound.

I tried to make that clear in the review--the speakers aren't "natural" but they're a fun listen with certain kinds of music.

#6 zulusafari

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 09:57 AM

Are these dual voltage? Can they handle 230v or just 110v?

#7 Chris Breen

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 09:59 AM

zulusafari, on 26 July 2012 - 09:57 AM, said:

Are these dual voltage? Can they handle 230v or just 110v?

They're switchable between the two voltages.

#8 LelandHendrix

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 08:44 PM

Well done, Breen.

#9 Chris Breen

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 08:46 PM

LelandHendrix, on 26 July 2012 - 08:44 PM, said:

Well done, Breen.

Thank you, Hendrix.

#10 elroth

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Posted 08 August 2012 - 03:30 PM

Having a bass port on the back is bad. These companies try to make it sound like the speakers put out more bass, but it just reflects the bass off the walls, it doesn't add better bass (that would be lower frequencies). That's probably why there's a "punchy" sound. I would find it muddier as well,

I have the Audioengine A2 speakers, but I use the iTunes equalizer to roll down the lower frequencies and roll up the higher frequencies, because the bass port (on the front of the A2s) puts out muddy, unnatural bass. If you want clarity of sound, do not buy a speaker with a bass port or a passive radiator bass speaker.