Audioengine AW1 Conclusion

Sound Quality Performance

To conduct the testing of the Audioengine 5 speaker system, I connected it to three different sources. The first and most rigorous testing was done with a Sansa Fuze 4GB and Audioengine A5 speakers, the second was with a Toshiba Satellite laptop with built-in Realtec audio and A5 speakers, and finally the third was with my home theater using the Harmon Kardon AVR 247 as the receiver and processor and my Polk Audio speakers.

After completely the ridiculously easy setup with the Fuze and the A5 speakers, I cycled through a few of my more recent favorite playlists. The selection includes about 25 pop, hip-hop and alternative songs. I was very much impressed with the clear and accurate reproduction of the music - it was virtually indistinguishable between listening with the AW1 wireless adapter and connecting the Fuze directly to the A5 speakers with a 3.5mm mini-jack cable. I was happy to hear that the AW1 does live up to the claim of providing CD-quality listening through wireless data transmission. The one difference that I did notice is that I had to increase the volume level on the A5 speakers a bit more when using the AW1 adapter. Other than that, the sound quality was excellent and all of the highs, lows and mids were reproduced faithfully through the AW1 adapter.

To continue testing I hooked up the sender AW1 unit to my Toshiba Satellite laptop as the source, and the receiver AW1 unit to the A5 speakers. For the testing I played a number of songs using iTunes. The laptop immediately recognized the AW1 once I had plugged it into the USB port, and I was ready to listen in a snap. I was again greeted with smooth sounding high frequencies and a solid low-end thump from the A5 speakers. The vocals were even and did not sound imbalanced, and instrument separation was as good as you can expect with iTunes songs. I was impressed by how well the AW1 integrated with my laptop and how accurately the music was reproduced. It has absolutely no trouble performing as advertised, and I never had any static or pauses in the playback. This is quite a feat, considering that I was browsing the web through my 802.11b wireless network connection during the entire listening session!

My final round of testing was to see how well the AW1 would perform on my home theater system. I used my laptop (stationed upstairs in the kitchen) as the source and connected it to my Harmon kardon AVR 247 receiver in my basement. This setup was a bit more difficult, as it involved using the USB AC adapter to plug into a nearby power outlet. This called for a use of an extension cord, which made the whole exercise much more effort than I had anticipated. I would not normally use the AW1 for this purpose simply due to the fact that I really dislike using extension cords, but the only other alternative was to move the location of my receiver.

The first thing I noticed was that I really had to crank the volume level up - both on the receiver and on the laptop - to get the sound as loud as I wanted it to be. Once I got the volume turned up to a sufficient level, I was able to sit back and enjoy the music. I did not perform any real critical listening, but the 320kpbs MP3s sure sounded nice in both stereo playback mode and 5-speaker surround. The main point of this test was to see how reliably the music played from a distance of about 40 feet. The AW1 handled it without any issues, and I again did not hear any static or interference in the playback. I was also very happy with the response time between the sender and receiver units. As soon as I clicked ‘next’ to play the next song, the music immediately started playing without any hint of lag.

Audioengine AW1 Wireless Audio Adapter

The Audioengine AW1 is one of the few products that I have ever tested that lives up to all of the marketing claims - it provides an extremely simple, easy to setup wireless music streaming solution that does not sacrifice one iota of sound quality. I cannot imagine any way that the AW1 could be made simpler to setup or use, which is a testament to the Audioengine design team.

Add in the fact that it is extremely flexible in terms of how it can be used, and does not limit you to any certain types of devices or music formats, and this product really starts to pull away from the competition. This is a huge plus in terms of how long you could continue to happily use the AW1. Consider this - how many other gadgets do you own that you are confident in saying you will still be happily using them in 1, 2 or even 5 years?

The $149 MSRP price tag might seem a bit high to some, but there’s no doubt that you are getting a lot of bang for your buck with the AW1.

Pros: Excellent sound quality, simple setup and operation, no lag time or drops/interference in playback, works with a wide variety of audio devices.

Cons: Pricey compared to other wireless music options, could use another USB AC adapter or possibility for battery power.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

www.audioengineusa.com