"This tiny system really trumped some of the larger systems out there costing thousands more. I have had friends over and could not wait to put them in the sweet spot to hear what it can do with one's music. Every time I saw the proverbial dropping of the jaws, eyes getting wider, etc. One friend insisted that I had a subwoofer hidden somewhere. The bass that comes from these speakers is tight, controlled and accurate. I typically don't like ported enclosures but it all really worked out well here."
"For the price, you just can't beat it. For the sound, well, you be the judge. If you can take my word for it, this system is so synergistic it really put a new perspective on high-end audio and now how good it's gotten while not breaking the bank."
- Pete Davey, PositiveFeedback, Issue 59, January-February 2012
"For $399 the AudioEngine 5+ powered speaker delivers more than enough music to be satisfying, even if you’re used to listening to far more expensive gear. Dynamic, well designed, and well made, the 5+ offers an elegant solution to the problem of choosing a high-value desktop/nearfield monitor."
- Steven Stone, Playback, April 9, 2012
"Bass performance was nothing short of remarkable… delivering amply convincing bass on almost any pop or jazz material. The very lowest musical fourth or so of bass guitar/viol sacrifices a bit of heft, but the Audioengines’ ability to deliver a solid, rocking rhythm section just about intact was downright impressive."
"Perhaps the 5+’s most dramatic aural attribute, though, was its stereo imaging. In in-the-room listening the Audioengines threw out a rounded, rock-steady sound stage that hung between and extended fully to the two speakers. When the speakers were used in a desktop array this was, if anything, more dramatic, placing centered soloists smack-dab “on” the computer’s monitor with ghostly believability."
- Daniel Kumin, Sound+Vision, March 12, 2012
"The A5+ speakers are light on their feet, sound subtle and boast impressive dynamics. Their sonic scale is striking for the money, happily filling our room better than similarly sized iPod docks."
"The sonic balance is more exciting now too, a change from the smoother sound of the old model."
- What Hi-Fi? magazine
"Without being hyperbolic, the 5+s sounded like altogether different, far more expensive speakers… the 5+ combines quality sound with an attractiveness and remote-controlled, multiple-input convenience that separates it from its competitors. Emphatically recommended."
- Hans Wetzel, GoodSound!, May 1, 2012
"These speakers are easy to set up, easy to use, easy on the ears... They sound great and if you put these on your workstation or desk we think you're going to be impressed with what you hear."
- Clint DeBoer, Audioholics, February 22, 2012
Praise for the Original Audioengine 5
"Several of Stereophile's editors were excited about the compact and inexpensive Audioengine 5 amplified speakers, which were bringing forth some sweet sounds playing files directly from a laptop," reports Stephen Meijas on the Stereophile HE 2007 blog.
In the January 9, 2007 issue of the Boston Herald, Tom Rose raves, "The best speaker of the year is Audioengine 5. More than 50 new speakers were put to the test this year, but there wasn't the need for a 'listening-off' to pick the winner. These matching bookshelf speakers, the first product offered by Audioengine, blew away all rivals in terms of audio excellence."
"When it comes to listening to and recording music, there are no other speakers in this price range that come close to the clarity and balance offered by Audioengine 5," marvels the Mac Observer for March 29, 2007. "Ridiculously good... a slam dunk."
"As the cornerstone of a high quality, inexpensive and unobtrusive desktop audio system the Audioengines are pretty much ideal," trumpets Audio Ideas Guide online. "Comparing them sonically with the mass-marked iPod 'dock' systems out there, many of which cost around the same amount, isn't even fair."
In the November 2006 issue of Home Theater magazine, Tom Fleischmann reports, "It's well suited to compressed music formats, not only getting good bass out of them, but a pragmatically sculpted midrange, as well. It's also revealing enough to get the best out of better signal sources, up to and including analog."
"If someone told me the Audioengine 5 were $1,500 I would have believed them!" says Enjoy the Music. | 
