Audioengine 2 Desktop Speaker System

Audioengine has recently released the "little brother" of its popular A5 speakers - the A2 Desktop Speakers - and we have today a pair of the Audioengine A2W (White) speakers. They are marketed as the "little brother" because they are smaller, less expensive and deliver less power. These multimedia speakers are designed to be used as PC system speakers and with home stereo equipment. They are nice looking, have a solid feel to them and with built-in amplifier adds a little bit of heft as well. But how do they stack up when put to the test by an avid PC gamer/recording artist/music and video junkie?

Design and Features

The A2s are made from the same materials as the A5s: 1) high-gloss Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) for the cabinet, 2) kevlar mid-range drivers, 3) silk dome tweeter. The main difference is that they are 1/3 the size of their bigger sibling with less power. The A2s deliver 60W peak power total and 15W RMS / 30W peak per channel.

The speakers are designed so that they can be used with standard PC audio cables (stereo 1/4” jack) and standard RCA audio cables (red and white L/R input). The speaker connections are all gold plated for the best signal. The speakers are shielded against magnetic transfer so they can be set next to any video source (TV/monitor/projector/etc...) without causing interference.

The left speaker is powered and the right speaker is passive. This means that the audio amplifier is built into the left speaker which is common among this type of speaker system. On the rear of the left speaker is located the power input which, oddly enough, is shaped identical to an S-Video port. You will also find the ¼” stereo audio input and the RCA audio inputs on the rear panel of this speaker as well as a volume control knob. Below are two speaker cable connectors marked “out to right”. The rear of the right speaker has only two speaker cable connectors marked “in from left”.

Dimensions of the A2 speakers are 6”(H) x 4”(W) x 5.25”(D), and the weight of the left speaker is 3.55 lbs and the weight of the right speaker is 3.15 lbs. The retail price is $199 / pair.

Box Contents

• Power supply with detachable AC power cable
• Speaker cable (16AWG), 2 meters (~6.5 feet)
• 1/8” mini-jack audio cable, 2 meters (~6.5 feet)
• 1/8” mini-jack audio cable, 20cm (~8 inches)
• Drawstring power supply bag
• Drawstring cable bag
• Drawstring speaker bags (2)
• Setup Guide
  

You also get two foam pads that adhere to the bottom of each speaker to keep them from moving or vibrating on their set surface.