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Orlandoech

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 2, 2011
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What are the best 2.0 speakers under $200?

I was looking at the;

M-Audio AV30's
M-Audio AV40's
Audioengine A2's


Any input?
 
AV40s are fantastic. Been rocking those for about 4 years now.
 
I bought both the AV40s and the AudioEngine 2s, the A2s just came in today so I will be comparing them and sending back which I dont like.
 
Oh btw, the AV40s sound really good. I like them a lot, minus their size. Cant wait to test the A2s when I get home.
 
How do the A2s sound? I am about to order some new speakers and found your thread.

I really like the A2s too, I think at higher volumes the AV40s sound better and less distorted but I love the size of the A2s so I kept them. Overall the A2s are still awesome and comparable to the AV40s.
 
I really like the A2s too, I think at higher volumes the AV40s sound better and less distorted but I love the size of the A2s so I kept them. Overall the A2s are still awesome and comparable to the AV40s.

Thanks for the reply. I am also looking at the Mackie MR5mk2s. Have you seen anything on the Mackies?
 
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Thanks for the reply. I am also looking at the Mackie MR5mk2s. Have you seen anything on the Mackies?

I have not, but after breaking these A2s in more I cant believe how amazing, crisp, sharp and accurate they sound. Music is a whole new world with them, Wow. :D
 
I just bought the AV40's yesterday and I'm really enjoying them. I thought the size would be a bit much but I next to the 27" iMac I think they're a fine fit.

What is the size difference in the A2's?

Edit: I just looked up the specs and see the A2's are roughly 2" smaller on each dimension. How much is there in sound quality. I would prefer smaller speakers but not sure if the smaller form factor and quality is worth the extra $80 for me. It's not much but I dont have the extra cash at the moment.


If possible, can you post a pic of side-by-side for comparison?
 
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I just picked up the A2 yesterday and was immediately surprised at how small they are. They seem to be a bit larger than an adult males fist.

I'm not sure about the sound yet but I have 15 day's to return them to the store if I don't like them. They certainly are well built and rock solid but I notice a lot more sound differences with my mp3 files than I did with el-cheapo speakers. The A2 makes it pretty obvious which tracks were poorly recorded/produced and which tracks were from my download days of the late '90's. Quality produced recordings that are ripped at 192/256 Kbps sound much better and start generating all those audiophile nonsensical buzz words like depth, soundstage, blah blah.

We'll see in a week if they are worth the money to me.
 
I don't have AV 40's to compare the A2 to visually, but I saw this image online of a guy holding an A2. They are surprisingly small for how they sound.

Again, this is not me.

audioengine_narrow.jpg


Looking at the specifications sheets for the AV 40 and the A2 I noticed that the AV 40 doesn't go as Low (85 Hz vs 65 Hz) or as High (20 KHz vs 22 KHz), nor is it as sensitive (90 dB vs 95 dB). The problem with specs and sound is that it doesn't tell the whole picture. Sound is subjective and is much more than watts, Hz, and dB.

I really (really) like the small size of the A2 as I don't have much room on the desk, and I am glad that they are a quality product that actually sounds pretty good. They are also tastefully finished wood and don't have a "look at me!" design with logos, lights and swooping lines to attract the eyes. If I decide to keep them I know that I am going to have these for the rest of my life or at least as long as I care about playing music through a computer. If I had the desk space though I would have seriously considered the AV 40 as it is cheaper, has the TRS inputs (which is only helpful if you are somewhat involved with pro-audio), and probably sounds just as good in it's own way.
 
I just bought the AV40's yesterday and I'm really enjoying them. I thought the size would be a bit much but I next to the 27" iMac I think they're a fine fit.

What is the size difference in the A2's?

Edit: I just looked up the specs and see the A2's are roughly 2" smaller on each dimension. How much is there in sound quality. I would prefer smaller speakers but not sure if the smaller form factor and quality is worth the extra $80 for me. It's not much but I dont have the extra cash at the moment.


If possible, can you post a pic of side-by-side for comparison?


I no longer have the AV40s to do a side by side pic, sorry :( But they are much smaller, I was surprised, so much so I returned the AV40s.

They dont sound much, if any different so if you dont have the extra $ stick with the AV40s as they are amazing too.
 
I don't have AV 40's to compare the A2 to visually, but I saw this image online of a guy holding an A2. They are surprisingly small for how they sound.

Again, this is not me.

Image

Looking at the specifications sheets for the AV 40 and the A2 I noticed that the AV 40 doesn't go as Low (85 Hz vs 65 Hz) or as High (20 KHz vs 22 KHz), nor is it as sensitive (90 dB vs 95 dB). The problem with specs and sound is that it doesn't tell the whole picture. Sound is subjective and is much more than watts, Hz, and dB.

I really (really) like the small size of the A2 as I don't have much room on the desk, and I am glad that they are a quality product that actually sounds pretty good. They are also tastefully finished wood and don't have a "look at me!" design with logos, lights and swooping lines to attract the eyes. If I decide to keep them I know that I am going to have these for the rest of my life or at least as long as I care about playing music through a computer. If I had the desk space though I would have seriously considered the AV 40 as it is cheaper, has the TRS inputs (which is only helpful if you are somewhat involved with pro-audio), and probably sounds just as good in it's own way.

I agree with everything you just said.
 
I really (really) like the small size of the A2 as I don't have much room on the desk.

I no longer have the AV40s to do a side by side pic, sorry :( But they are much smaller, I was surprised, so much so I returned the AV40s.
They dont sound much, if any different so if you dont have the extra $ stick with the AV40s as they are amazing too.

Thank you both for you input. The size doesnt bother me much, if anything actually, but I would defintiely perefer the smaller form factor.

My set up:


The pic Steevo posted really gave me some perspective of their actual size so I might just return these and just wait and purchase the A2's.
 
Here is a pic from my setup, ill post a better picture tonight when I get home though.
 

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Here is a pic from my setup, ill post a better picture tonight when I get home though.

I ended up returning the MAudio's and ordered a pair of A2's. Ive only had the A2's for an afternoon but I must say I'm ver impressed with the sound from the pint size speakers. On paper they I know they're smaller but in person they seem almost tiny.
 
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