Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

What kind of connection are you using for the ipod - simply through the headphone jack or is there a better way to connect to these speakers?

This Stereophile review of the Audioengine A2's is very often referenced as the reason why many people bought the speakers, and it's easy to see why. The review is so enthusiastic that it almost reads like a passionate love letter, with the reviewer practically foaming at the mouth about how wonderful these speakers are.

For the most part, I agree with how good these speakers sound, but with one glaring exception. The review did not mention a word about the obviously excessive bloat of the bass at around 180Hz, which is about 6 dB too prominent and ruins the sonic signature. The bass bloat overshadows the rest of the frequency ranges and makes the speakers sound muddy and congested. 6 dB of bass bloat is not something you can just overlook--that is considered pretty severe coloration by the standards of audiophiles or pro audio. I for the life of me cannot understand why Robert J. Reina did not warn the readers about it--in fact, he vouched for how natural, accurate, and tight the bass was. So, either he has no idea what accurate/neutral/natural bass actually sounds like, or he chose not to talk about that flaw--either way, it makes me think twice about the credibility of Stereophile and its reviewers. 

I agreed with Lunatique. I have a chance to place Audioengine A2 and Focal Book XS side by side for a comparison. A2 had a lot of bass, in fact, the bass was more than Focal's, and it also goes deeper(louder at 45hz); which is amazing for a much smaller speaker. BUT, it sounds not as good. In fact, the mid range was pretty muddy, lack lots of details; I would suspect there's an echo-plugin enabled for the vocals on A2s. The high's better than the mids, but still, it offered A LOT less detail and clarity than the Book XS. I feel that A2 sounded like watching an old SDTV; and XS was something between an HDTV and opening a window.

This speaker in my hand is definitely not "no coloration". Is it sound natual, yes, but it's somewhat muddy, warm, and tube like. It's enjoyable, just so different from what the review said here.

The reviewer is comparing a low end product with the likes of Audio Research amplification. One wonders if that is the right approach.

I've been using my AEGO 2 for years.  The volume control is shot, often turning off the left channel.  I considered the AEGO M but, of course, these are no longer available in the US.  AE offered to send me an AEGO M (for $400) from UK which, they said, would work with a simple 220 to 120 volt converter.

Bottom line is that I need a decent, inexpensive powered speaker replacement to work with my iMac in a very small room. Best if they could be wall mounted and if they would have a separate input from my NAD CD player C 515BEE. (The AEGO 2 works with the NAD if I just unplug the subwoofer connection from the iMac) Choices seem to be Focal XS Book vs. Audioengine 2.  

I would appreciate any input.

Best,

Marv

I really hate that the audio industry has turned into a lot of misrepresentations. It is done almoot reflexively at this point. From the Audioengine website FAQ:
"How can such small speakers have so much clean-sounding, deep, tight bass?
.... It's also worth mentioning that we don’t use any enhancement circuits to add fake bass, so what you’ll hear is real bass, really low and clean."

This review:
"As in the A2, a modest, 4.7dB boost centered on 80–100Hz is used to extend the acoustic output in the midbass, though this will reduce the dynamic range at low frequencies."

This is the definition of an enhancement circuit. I emailed Audioengine for clarification. No response. I owned the A2 and that bass bump was 6dB and it ruined the sound of that speaker, for anyone who is serious at this hobby.

Lies and more lies.