We have finally arrived. The Audio Engine A5 Plus is the last in my
five-part series of speaker reviews that marks my entry into the category from a
review perspective. They're not perfect, and there are still some compromises
that are being made here, but there is a lot to love about this pair of classic
looking powered desktop speakers.
The CM Storm SF17 uses a massive 18cm
fan to cool your gaming notebook, and it adds a four- port USB hub. Click now to
learn more. Because it's a shorter list than the things I liked, I'm going to
start with the things I didn't like about them. Number one is the size. The
A5 Plus's by a wide margin, like literally they're wider than anything
else, took up more space on my desk when I was doing my listening testing than
any of the other solutions they were up against, including the Simple Audio Listen, Bowers and Wilkins MM1s, Bose
Companion Fives, and Audio Engine A2 Pluses. Whether or not you are able to
consider buying these speakers may simply come down to whether you have
enough physical space next to your monitor to fit them. Number two is the
features or lack thereof. Compared to other speakers in this roundup, the A5
Pluses do not feature Bluetooth wireless music playback or an integrated DAC if
you want to use them with a computer that has crummy analog output. The
redeeming quality here is that at $100 cheaper than some of the lesser sounding
sets on the roundup, you can pick up a DACK or an Airport Express for wireless
speaker action or whatever else if you really wanted to to make up for at least
one of these shortcomings with that money you saved. The third thing I
didn't like about them was the fact that this short list of dislikes makes my
video a lot shorter than it otherwise would be. And the way I evaluate my own
self-worth is by seeing how long I can get you guys to listen to me while I talk about a pair of speakers. That's
it. Everything else fell into the liked it or was neutral about it because I
felt like it was a fair trade-off category. The build quality is up to the
audio engine standard, so great. And while it's right on their site that they
don't claim that the AX Plus series are studio monitors, they do borrow design
elements and build quality cues from these professional-grade products. So
that's where we get the custom 5-in Kevlar woofers and silk dome tweeters
with neodymium magnets that are mounted in the handbuilt MDF cabinets, the
customuilt internal electronics, and the satisfying near field listening
experience from. In terms of included accessories, the retailer I bought mine
from threw in some nice thick gauge speaker wire, but Audio Engine normally
includes a 12T 16 gauge wire to connect your right speaker to the left one that
contains the amplifier for both as well as the rest of the I/O. And I guess
since we're on the subject, here's all the stuff you'll find back there. A base
port that you should keep at least 6 in from anything behind the speaker. A
massive heat sink that you should also keep away from any airflow impeding
obstructions. a three and a half millimeter input jack next to a USB
power output for convenient use with an MP3 player or phone. A standard RCA
input for convenient use with almost anything else. An RCA output for an
optional subwoofer or audio engine's own wireless music sharing dongle. The
standard speaker wire outputs to the right speaker, an on-off switch, a
voltage select toggle, a fuse access cover, and finally an AC power input. On
the front of the left speaker, you'll find a thankfully front mounted volume
knob. I mean, seriously, what were they thinking on the A2 Plus with that
rear-mounted volume control as well as an IR sensor that can be used with the
included fairly basic remote? I guess I forgot to mention that was included. Or
with a learning universal remote, or with an Android app called Zap IR or
Zapper if you have a phone with an integrated IR blaster. Very cool. On to
listening tests. The A5 Pluses get loud.
House party loud. Even before these puppies were burned in, they were ears
shatteringly loud without audible distortion at max volume or even I
didn't even turn them up to max volume for near field listening. Although
arguably since my ears were shattered by that point, it would have been hard to pick out any subtle problems with my
favorite songs. After turning them down to more reasonable levels, I used my
usual mix of top 40 Titanfall game streams on Twitch and the bass alla
action sequence from Captain America to do my evaluation of these speakers. And
I came away really, really impressed. The fact that they're on a desk in front
of you does give the bass a bit of a sort of weird blowing into your chest
quality compared to having a subwoofer sitting on the floor. So, you can like
really feel it in your gut. But aside from that, it just sounds really, really
good. I mean, explosions, rumble, and action sequences. Mid-range vocals come
through with fantastic clarity. And aside from like every other set of
speakers in this roundup, losing to the BMW MM1s when it came to stereo imaging
and clarity in the highs, they're just the best allround option that I've used
so far out of the box. They feel like the A2 Plus without compromises. As much
as I can appreciate the way Audio Engine steadfastly holds to the belief that
software tricks to improve bass performance are unnatural and inherently
worse, the A2 Plus could have benefited from some trickery. While the A5 Plus
with its larger cabinets just sounds
fantastic. So, there you have it, a recommended buy. If you want a great
listening experience and for some reason you don't like headphones, which will
invariably give you better bang for your buck, the A5 Plus is available in a
variety of different colors, black, white, and a sexy bamboo finish that was
too expensive for me to bother buying it just for to do a review. But there you
go. You might want to check it out. And just like with all of my videos, you can
find a link with pricing and availability that includes my affiliate code in the video description under the
like, share, and dislike buttons, which I would love for you to use accordingly.
Also in the video description is a support link where you can give us a monthly contribution. Buy a t-shirt or
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underwear or whatever. Thanks for watching guys. I hope you enjoyed this
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think that is pretty much it. I will see you next
time. Well, I won't see you. You'll see me because that's how YouTube works.