Audioengine 2 Speakers

It’s the era of the iPod and compressed music; of small speakers that look better than they sound, and of course the gradual diminishing of pure audio applications. While audiophiles have isolated themselves from the consumer market and created a niche of highly expensive but great products, the unassuming casual buyer is more than happy purchasing some flashy device that 'sort of' reproduces sound.

There are very few products that bridge the gap between consumer and hi-fi audio, but this brand-new Audioengine claims to do just that. How far it can achieve great sound at a 'cheap' price is left to be seen, but reviews from around the world have been favorable and I was keen to see what they can do.

Design and Features
The speakers come nicely packed in a compact box with dimensions of 10.5 x 15 x 7 inches. The first thing I noticed is the number of cables provided; possibly every connection is covered, with EP wires, RCA wires and of course a single speaker cable to connect the right to left.

These are active speakers, powered by a dual class AB amp, the output stage being a torroidal transformer. The output rating is 30 W max per channel, which is great when you consider the small size. I was itching to see how it handled power.

Structurally the speakers comprise an 18 mm MDF, in a nice white finish. I understand that a black glossy finish is also available. The rear left panel contains a silver volume knob that also switches the speakers on/off.

An EP input and a separate RCA stereo input is present, and a speaker output pair to feed the right channel. The speakers are two-way, with 20 mm silk dome tweeters (neodymium magnets) and 2.75" Kevlar woofers. This promised to be fun, as I know the mids of Kevlar woofers are just astounding.

Overall the speakers look killer, sort of like mini studio monitors. The compact size is definitely an advantage, because at no point of time you feel you have a sleazy satellite in front of you, just a pair of small cool speakers.

One negative point I would like to mention is the universal problem of fingerprints on the glossy surface, but then the black speakers match perfectly with the shiny LCDs available today.