Getting Speakers off desk Audioengine A5s

gdpeck

Hi All,
I use Audioengine A5s and a Velodyne SPL800 Subwoofer in my desktop system. I typically drive them from the headphone out of my macbook pro. I listen to a lot of MOG which is either 320Kb/s or 256Kb/s mp3., and also a lot of FLAC files using the Logitech Squeezeplay player. Although I really like the setup as is, I'm looking to improve it as much as possible, without upgrading the speakers. I'll explore DAC options soon, but before I do that, I am looking to get the speakers positioned a little more optimally than they are. I've attached a picture of how they are set up now. They actually sound really nice where they are, but I think they could better. A couple of things about the picture. In my typical seating position the speakers are pointing almost directly at my ears. The tweeters are 8-10 inches below ear level, and the speakers are not angled up or down at all. I've experimented with toeing them in further, but desk space is kind of an issue here. Also, they are not as close to the walls as they look from the picture. They are about 10 inches from the wall, so the ports do have a little breathing room. One thing that really helps is that they are connected to the line out of the Velodyne subwoofer which has an 80Hz high-pass filter. Without that crossover in place, the bass from the Audioengines is pretty flabby.

Right now I'm getting ready to order something to get them up off the desk, and I've narrowed my search to two options. First, are the Audioengine DS2 stands which are made for the A5 and P4 speakers. Second option, and the one I'm leaning towards right now is a set of Auralex Acoustics Speaker Dudes. Both solutions are approximately the same price I don't have experience with either, but the reading I've done makes me think that the speaker dudes will do a better job of supporting the speakers and of decoupling them from the desk. Also I believe I have more control over the angle of the speakers with the speaker dudes. The downside, is they are bigger than the speakers so I would have to trim them. On the other hand one downside of the audioengine stands is that they are smaller than the speakers and may not support them as well as I would like.

I'm looking for input from anyone who has used either of these solutions with desktop speakers. If you've tried both with Audioengine A5s and have a preference that would be ideal, but I'd also appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with one or the other stand, or who has other suggestions for placement and for raising the speakers. As far as their placement on the desk, I am a little flexible, and may try moving the monitor forward, and moving the speakers further from the walls and closer to me. The desk placement itself is not flexible, so options like pulling the desk into the room and putting the speakers on 28" stands behind it are out.

Thanks!
George

DMara

I'm using the Audioengine DS2 stands for my AP4. These stands are pretty flimsy, not worth the price at all, so I think you'll be better off with the Auralex. By the way I pair them with a Kingwa NFB-3 DAC and am very happy with the setup. (The Lexicon DAC in the below pic was just a temp solution while I was waiting for the arrival of the NFB-3).

gdpeck

Thanks DMara. That picture basically tells me everything I need. I'm going with Auralex. I really wish the A5s had ports in front instead of back. That would also solve a lot of my placement problems. Nice setup BTW!

Drenis

I have the Auralex pads for my small desktop setup. They are top notch! Stopped all the resonances and vibrations. I have mine set to angle the speakers up towards me.

gdpeck

@Drenis Are you using the small pads (Mopads) or the bigger SpeakerDude HDs?

Drenis

Mopads

CCNJ

I have Harbeth p3esr speakers on my desktop. I bought Primacoustic isolation pads from Sweetwater. A little on the expensive side but they are good quality and I have been happy with them. Here is a link http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RX5f/.

I have my speakers about 8 inches away from the monitor with a slight toe in. The little Harbeths throw a pretty good soundstage as I sometimes feel the vocals are coming from my monitor. You have some good desktop space there so you should play around with speaker placement.



Good luck

bradyb

Hi DMara,
The stands you have under your P4's look like the DS1, made for the smaller Audioengine 2 speakers. The DS2 stands are larger (about 5" wide) and designed for the P4 and Audioengine 5+ speakers. Just letting you know...

gdpeck

CCNJ wrote: »

I have Harbeth p3esr speakers on my desktop. I bought Primacoustic isolation pads from Sweetwater. A little on the expensive side but they are good quality and I have been happy with them. Here is a link http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RX5f/.

I have my speakers about 8 inches away from the monitor with a slight toe in. The little Harbeths throw a pretty good soundstage as I sometimes feel the vocals are coming from my monitor. You have some good desktop space there so you should play around with speaker placement.

I like the look of the Primacoustic pads, but they are indeed pricey, at about 4x the cost of the Auralex pads. I've already ordered and received the Auralex pads, so I am going to try them out for now, and experiment with placement. Nice speakers BTW. What's the rest of your desktop system like?

Thanks!
George

CCNJ

gdpeck wrote: »

I like the look of the Primacoustic pads, but they are indeed pricey, at about 4x the cost of the Auralex pads. I've already ordered and received the Auralex pads, so I am going to try them out for now, and experiment with placement. Nice speakers BTW. What's the rest of your desktop system like?

Thanks!
George

George - Not really necessary to spend crazy money on isolation pads. I'm sure the Auralex pads will serve the purpose nicely.

BTW - See my sig below for the rest of my desktop system.

Chris