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Speakers are a necessary component in a desktop computer setup for anyone who listens to music, plays games or watches movies on their computer. The problem is that a giant gap exists between the sound quality of “computer speakers” and that of high quality home audio.

Fortunately, Audioengine saw this problem and set out to remedy it by creating the Audioengine 2 (A2) active speakers. They're the little brother of their larger and more powerful flagship A5 model, but don't be fooled; these little puppies sure pack a punch. The Audioengine 2 speakers aren't exclusively for computer use, but they were designed to pair well with a computer because of their small form factor, price point and aesthetics

Design and Build Quality

The A2s may be small but they're very solid and weighty and built using all custom parts by Audioengine. The drivers in each speaker include a 2.75-inch Kevlar woofer and a 20mm silk dome tweeter. The left speaker contains a dual class AB monolithic amplifier. Their power output is 60W peak total (15W RMS).

The connections are gold-plated, and the speaker wire that comes with the A2's feels very strong and durable. Other bundled cables and accessories include the power supply and cable, a 2-metre audio cable with 1/8th stereo jack, a 20cm audio cable with stereo jack, drawstring bags for the speakers and cables and the instruction manual.

The cabinets are made of 18mm thick MDF and have tuned front-firing bass ports which are actually just small aesthetically pleasing slots along the bottom. There's foam padding on the underside of the speakers to help absorb vibrations when placed on a desk or table. The A2's are available with a glossy black or white finish. Full specs can be found on the Audioengine website.

The look of the A2s is very simple and elegant with absolutely no connectors or controls anywhere except at the rear of the speakers. Their neutral design means they'll match almost any other equipment and can be placed in any room without looking out of place. The only major downside to such simplicity is that the volume control is on the rear of the left speaker, making it a little awkward to reach with some setups. On the plus side, it does feel very solid to turn and gives a satisfying click when turned all the way clockwise which powers the speakers off.

Sound Quality

My initial reaction to the sound of the Audioengine 2 was utter disbelief at the sheer amount of bass these little speakers were outputting. However, it soon became apparent that there was actually a little too much bass of the uncontrolled kind. It was overpowering and quite boomy. Raising the speakers from the desk to cut back the resonance alleviated the problem a little. Using speaker spikes and dedicated stands will likely help even more, otherwise the A2's will probably need a bit of EQ when sitting on top of a desk, just to cut back on the boom from about 125Hz to 250Hz.

When the bass is under control though, the A2s sound is something to behold. The lows are much more punchy and tight, with the highs bright and clear without being fatiguing or creating too much sibilance. One thing that bothers me more than anything else when it comes to audio is muddiness in the midrange. I'm happy to say the A2s don't suffer significantly from this blight. Tonal separation is quite good.

I've played a variety of different music through the A2s and every track is presented accurately and quite neutral, with a well produced soundstage for such small speakers, particularly active ones. They definitely come alive at higher volumes and they do go quite loud; sitting at my desk with the A2s a metre away from my ears, their volume is only turned up a fraction of the way and rarely exceeds halfway. At higher volumes, you can really see the speaker drivers in action and feel the air pushing out of the front bass ports.

One thing that needs to be mentioned is that the A2s, as with many speakers, are very sensitive to the audio source feeding them. They sound very different when using my iMac's internal DAC than they do when using an external interface, in my case, the Lexicon Omega and Zhaolu D2.5. The A2s connected to the iMac's DAC sounded lifeless and flat in comparison. Needless to say, the Audioengine 2 speakers will benefit greatly from a high quality source, which is definitely a good thing.

Price vs Performance 

In the audio world where everything is very relative to price, the A2s stand out as great value speakers. In the USA they retail for US$199. At that price, I would consider buying the A2s a no-brainer. The amount of value for money is almost unheard of. In Australia however, they retail from about AU$349 to AU$375 making the decision making process a little lengthier for those interested in these speakers.

That said, at AU$350 I would still consider the A2s to be a bargain for those seeking quality active bookshelf speakers. The majority of active speakers in the same price range, particularly computer speakers, are generally less neutral sounding and more bass-heavy, better suited to games and movies . The A2's strength is in their accuracy and neutrality in music reproduction for their price, making them great value for money if you care about your music.

Final Thoughts

The Audioengine 2 speakers are very full sounding speakers of incredible quality for their size and price, and definitely fill a frustrating gap for those wanting good sounding speakers that look nice and don't break the bank.

I can easily recommend them to those who simply want to move up from generic speakers, or want something that doesn't take up too much space in a small room or a bedroom but still sounds great. Coupled with a high quality external DAC, their price also makes them a great solution for those on a budget looking to build a decent audio setup, computer-based or otherwise.

If you fall into any of these categories then the A2s are definitely worth checking out and I sincerely recommend them.

This article was originally written for Tech Wired Australia on January 21, 2009.