Audioengine A5+

Audio Features
Enclosure Design
Controls & Connections
Mounting Options

Audio Features

Overview: Audioengine 5+ (A5+) Premium Powered Speakers deliver audiophile-quality sound from your digital audio player, computer, TV, or any other audio component for great stereo sound in any room. The A5+ offers superior stereo separation & incredible imaging from a pair of compact powered speakers.

Two-Way Speaker System: Each of the Audioengine 5+ has two drivers; a 3/4" silk dome tweeter & a 5" Kevlar woofer. The A5+ provides a real, natural sound; very near to the originally-recorded music. The A5+ has a frequency response of 50Hz to 22,000Hz (+/-1.5dB)

• Silk Dome Tweeters: Audioengine uses audiophile-quality, ferro-fluid cooled silk dome tweeters with neodymium magnets. Silk tweeters hold up well under high power & the edge-driven design gives very smooth response.
• Kevlar Woofers: The woofers are Kevlar woven glass aramid composite with rubber surrounds. Kevlar is very strong, which means that the woofer retains its shape when being driven at high levels.

Built-in Amplifier: The A5+ is powered by a 50-watt RMS x 2ch amplifier (SNR: >94dB, THD: <0.05%), built into the left speaker. The built-in power amplifier saves space & eliminates the need to connect Audioengine 5+ to a stereo receiver or external power amp. Simply plug the left speaker into an AC outlet & connect the included speaker wire from the left to right speaker. All internal components of the A5+ are tuned together, providing a more efficient system requiring less power than passive speakers & amplifiers.

Note: With the amplifier built-in, the left speaker is heavier than the right (15.4 pounds vs. 9.6 pounds)

Toroidal Transformers: Power transformers are a large contributor to the overall audio performance, especially in the low end (bass response). Audioengine uses gapless core toroidal transformers which have a tighter radiated magnetic field, directly translating to lower noise. They are lighter than standard, lower-cost "EI" transformers and also generate less heat.

Break-in Period: The speaker will sound great out of the box & will get better over time. No need to do anything else, but listen to them. Do give them at least 30-50 hours of break-in time before doing any critical listening.

Enclosure Design.

Construction: The cabinets are built using 1" MDF with internal bracing. Internal sound-damping material reduces unwanted reflections inside the cabinet. The cabinet edges are rounded to reduce high-frequency diffraction effects on the front baffles. The speakers are hand finished, then tuned & tested together to be sold in matching pairs.

Bass Reflex Cabinet: One of the reasons the Audioengine 5+ has such great bass response for a compact speaker is the design of the rear bass port on each speaker. The rear bass ports are specifically shaped and have been precisely calculated. The result is incredible low end with minimal audible air turbulence, so you can use the Audioengine 5+ speakers with or without a separate subwoofer.

No Grilles:  The speaker materials & construction are robust & extremely durable, so speaker grilles aren't needed.

Colors: The Audioengine 5+ is available in a Satin Black, Hi-Gloss White, or Solid Carbonized Bamboo finish.

Controls & Connections

Controls: The Audioengine 5+ features a rotary volume knob, power switch, and includes an IR remote control.

• Volume: A front-panel rotary knob on the left speaker's front-panel controls the system's output volume.
• Power Switch: An on/off power switch is located on the rear-panel of the left speaker for the built-in amplifier.
• Remote: An IR remote control is provided for wireless operation of the A5+ powered speaker system. The remote control includes Volume up/down, Mute, and Sleep (power saving) mode functions.

Connections: Most of the A5+ system's connections are on the left speaker; the only terminals on the right speaker are the binding-post speaker level inputs for connection to the left speaker's corresponding outputs.

• Audio Inputs: The A5+ has two stereo audio inputs on the rear-panel of left speaker. The A5+ is fitted with a 3.5mm stereo minijack input & a stereo RCA input. There is no input selector switch, so both inputs are live simultaneously; if different signals are presented to both inputs, they are mixed together & both are played through the speakers.
• Binding Posts: Each speaker is equipped with a set of gold-plated 5-way binding post speaker terminals to connect the two speakers to one another.
• Variable Output: The A5+ includes a variable preamp audio output so you can connect a subwoofer, other Audioengine powered speaker, or an Audioengine wireless adapter to daisy-chaining music to other system around the house. This output is variable (adjustable) so the volume level can be controlled from the A5+ front-panel or remote control.
• USB Port: On the rear-panel of the left speaker there is a powered USB type-A output (5V/500mA). Its purpose is only to power or charge a USB bus-powered device; for example it will charge an iPod, but not control the iPod, & the audio signal is not transferred through the USB port.

Note: Because the Audioengine 5+ speaker system includes built-in power amplifiers, do not connect the speaker terminals to the speaker outputs of a separate stereo receiver or amplifier.

Optional Accessories: Audioengine offers wireless adapters (772W3, sold separately) that can be powered using the speaker's USB port. The W3 includes a Sender (transmitter) & Receiver; the system is designed to deliver an audio signal wirelessly between your source component & the A5+ power speaker.

Mounting Options

Placement: For the best soundstage & imaging, the speaker should be equidistant from the side walls & and a different distance from rear walls. Both speakers should also be equidistant from your primary listening position (and at least 6' apart). Tweeters should be at approximately eye-level in your most frequent listening locations. For the best bass response, Audioengine recommend at least 6" of clearance between the rear of the speakers and the wall behind them.

High Density Foam Isolation Pad: Both speakers have a high-density foam isolation pad on the bottom for placement flexibility.

1/4"-20 Threaded Insert: Threaded 1/4-20 brass inserts are included on the bottom each speaker cabinet to provide the ability to attach the speaker to free-standing floor stands. These inserts, however, are not designed to support the full weight of the speakers and therefore should not be used with single-point wall or ceiling mounts.

Video Shielded: Both drivers (woofer & tweeter) are directly video shielded & allow you to place the speakers within a few inches of a video monitor. This shielding also offers protection for hard-drive digital music players.