Audioengine Frequently Asked Questions

Why don’t Audioengine speakers have a built-in iPod dock?
Audioengine speakers were designed to work with or without the Apple Universal Dock. There are so many iPod dock products on the market right now so we made a decision early on to spend our development budget and time on audio quality and other features (like USB charging). Some dock designs are fairly clever and some are just, well, sort of not so good. We feel that Apple docks are the best, so why waste resources trying to redesign a nearly-perfect dock? We were also able to keep Audioengine pricing much lower without integrating a 30-pin dock system. If you don’t have an Apple dock, get one, sit it on top of our speakers, plug it in and you’ll see what we mean!

Why do I have to plug one speaker into the wall?
The speakers need wall power because the power amplifier for both speakers is built into the left speaker. We have also added an extra “always-on” AC outlet on the speaker rear panel (which just happens to be perfect for an Airport Express). Sweet.

Are Audioengine speakers portable?
Our 3 friends would ask us over and over “hey speaker guys, are there any good speakers for my living room that I can just plug in my MP3 player and not buy a big bulky stereo receiver?” There are so many portable iPod speakers on the market so we decided that Audioengine should be about making great sounding speakers for your home or office that don’t cost a fortune.

Just how easy are Audioengine speakers to set up?
Take them out of the box and place them where you want. We recommend using speaker stands. Plug in the AC power cord and connect the speaker wire from the left powered speaker to the right. Then plug in your iPod or dock into the top Combo Port and you’re ready to go. All required cables are included.

What is the best placement for Audioengine speakers?
It is true that proper speaker placement has a huge impact on sound quality. There are many different theories, but all rooms and tastes are different so it's impossible to specify a "correct" placement. We do suggest you experiment with a few different locations to see what works for you. As a general rule of thumb for the best soundstage balance, the speakers should be equi-distant from side walls and a different distance from rear walls. The tweeters should be at about eye-level in your most-frequent listening location. For the best bass response on Audioengine 5, we recommend that you keep a minimum distance of 6-12" between the rear of the speakers and the rear wall.

How can smaller speakers have so much bass?
One of the reasons Audioengine speakers have such amazing bass in such a small package is the bass port tubes on the back of each speaker. These aren’t just holes in the cabinet, but specifically shaped openings with tubes designed with precise calculations. The result is incredible low end with very minimal audible air turbulence. These are effectively mini-subs built into each speaker, allowing Audioengine speakers to be used without a separate subwoofer.

Can I control Audioengine speakers with my TV remote control?
Most TV’s, especially LCD, DLP, or plasma, now have variable audio outputs that work really well with Audioengine speakers. Just connect the left and right audio out RCA jacks from your TV to the 1/8 mini-jack input on the left speaker rear panel (we’ve included an RCA to 1/8 “Y” cable). Set the volume knob on the left speaker front panel and then use your TV remote to control the Audioengine volume.

What receiver or amplifier works best with Audioengine speakers?
No receiver or amps are needed as we’ve built the power amps into the speakers. However, if you wish to use Audioengine speakers with an existing stereo receiver just take the preamp out from your receiver and plug it into the Audioengine input (use the included RCA stereo “Y” connector to 1/8” mini plug cable).

Can I use a subwoofer with Audioengine speakers?
Even though Audioengine speakers have built in subwoofers which will easily fill a room and rival floor standing speakers many times their size, you can also connect an external sub if you wish.

Can I increase the length of the speaker wire between each speaker?
Yes. Any speaker wire will work, but we don’t recommend using wire thinner than 16 gauge. For the best audio performance we’ve included 12 feet of 16 gauge wire with each system.

Why do MP3 and AAC files sound better on Audioengine speakers?
Audioengine speakers were specially designed and tuned to make MP3 music files sound great. We spent over 6 months tuning each speaker and almost exclusively used MP3, AAC, and WMA 128 and 192kbps files during this process. We also tuned with lossless CD-quality audio, but found that MP3 files really do sound great on Audioengine speakers.

Do higher power output numbers mean that the speakers will be louder or produce better sound?
Not necessarily. Audioengine speakers and amplifiers are very efficient and designed to work directly together so we get way more volume output than other speakers that have higher wattage or power numbers.