Digital Trends

Audioengine A2 September 10th, 2007 | by Jason Tomczak

Features and Design:

If it wasn't for the solid reputation Audioengine has built for itself, it'd be very hard to believe that the A2 speakers can pump out a hefty 60W peak power. Each channel gives 30W (15W RMS, if you follow RMS stats), which is anywhere from two to five times that of other 2.0 desktop speakers.

The average signal to noise - the level of proper signal (your music) against distorted or undesirable noise - is greater than 95dB. Total harmonic distortion (THD) is less than 0.05% at all power settings. In non-technical terms, these stats are "really awesome". When cranking these little buggers up past half volume, it's quite surprising how rock-solid and clean the sound is.

Another stat that raised an eyebrow is the frequency response rate. The A5 speakers give 50Hz-22 kHz, whereas the A2 speakers are somewhat limited to 65Hz-22 kHz. Even though I state they're "limited" to 65Hz-22 kHz, a comparison to some higher priced speakers really exonerates the A2's shortcomings. For example, the Polk RM7300 home theater speaker ($360 USD per speaker) has a frequency response of 65Hz-26 kHz. Additionally, the $720 USD Polk speaker set has a disappointing 89dB signal to noise ratio.

Tweeters and Woofers

Each A2 speaker contains a 20mm silk dome tweeter with neodymium magnets and a 2.75" Kevlar woofer with advanced voice coils. The A2 cabinets have specially tuned front port slots that help augment the amount of bass driven by the woofers. This type of augmentation, instead of the all-too-common fake bass circuitry (crappy, digitally enhanced bass), is very effective at producing impressive bass in small form factor speakers. Some people may like the look and feel of fake woofers, but audiophiles can easily spot the difference. 

Audioengine A2 Speakers

Inputs & More

The A2 speakers have two audio inputs - a 1/8" stereo jack (for iPod, computer, PDA, electric guitar with 1/4" to 1/8" cable, Playstation or XBOX, etc.) and an RCA input (for home theater systems, record players and more).

The A5 speakers have dual inputs like the A2's, however the A5's also have a powered USB port for charging an iPod and an auxiliary AC outlet on the back for Airport Express use. Sadly, the A2 doesn't have either of these two awesome features. The A5 also had its power source built into the left speaker, whereas the A2 uses an external power brick. 

The back of the A2's

Case Design

The A2 speakers are based on the same design, color scheme, glossy coating and basic dimensions as the classic A5 speaker line. The A2 speakers measure 6”x 4”x5.25” each, or roughly 40% smaller than the A5 line. The A5 line weighs about 23lbs, whereas the A2 set weighs just under 6.75lbs. Both the A5 and A2 speaker cabinets are made of MDF board with super sexy (black or white) gloss resin on the outside. The cabinets are reinforced and even sound-dampened inside to reduce unwanted vibrations and resonance. Audioengineusa.com has all kinds of detailed information on the construction of the cabinets, the quality of the speakers themselves and even the electronics used. If you're interested in how high-quality speakers are built, check out their commentaries on how the A5 and A2 speakers were developed - It's educational. 

In the Box

In addition to the left and right speakers you'll get a 6-foot 1/8" stereo cable, an 8-inch 1/8" stereo cable, a 6.5' length of speaker cable, power supply, foam anti-vibration pads (one for each speaker) and a setup guide. Even though the exterior of the A2 product packaging is pretty cheesy compared to the A5 packaging (pink, orange and white with monochromatic silhouettes - blech), the speakers come wrapped in their signature drawstring protective bags, making the presentation pretty nice.

Pricing

The audioengine A2 speakers cost $199 USD per pair. This is significantly higher than other desktop speaker sets; however there are very few desktop speakers that perform quite as well as the A2 set.

Warranty

While most speakers come with 1 year limited warranties, the A2's come with a 3 year warranty. This says a lot about how confident audioengine is about the quality of their speakers.