Anyone Familiar With a speaker maker called "Audioengine?"

[jimmyj68]

:music: Their relatively small (about 6 inches square) stereo speakers have gotten rave reviews at $199 a pair- which means they reproduce sound at a much higher "price" level. Any AT forum folks ever hear of them or own a pair??

 

[mshan]

http://www.audioengineusa.com

Yes, they are very musical speakers (I own A2).

There is often a discount code floating around (I think 10 - 15%), so just google and see what pops up.

 

[jimmyj68]

Thanks for the savings tip.

I've a pair of the original Swan 200's that are starting to produce a lot of noise if there is no signal input and the volume is turned below 12, 0-clock. And, even with signal input connections there is noise but at a lower level. Also, the back is getting unusally warm with one screw directly above the output terminals to the left speakers getting really hot. I can't remember when I bought them but it's been close to three years ago or more so there is probably no warranty. The latest model Swan 200's are a little to expensive.

With signal input - it reproduces as well as always if volume knob is turned past 12 to make the noise go away, but the hum like crackly noise does not bode well.

P.S. With no signal connections, and the right speaker (non-powered) disconnected, the amp produces the noise with its loudest being at minimal voloume setting and reduces as volume control is turned up. I suspect the amp ---am I wrong????

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Isn't the right speaker the one with the controls? (I have the MKIIs)

Maybe there's some dust in the volume control? Trying turning it up and down rapidly several times (through the region that produces noise) to see if you can get some of the noise to go away... might be worth a try.

 

[Thump553]

If it's dust on in the volume control (an extremely common problem in all mechanical volume controls) I got an exellent solution-a spray can called Tuner Cleaner from Radio Shack. Stuff works great.

But with the heat, etc. it does sound like your amp is going flakey.

Edit: Here is one customer review I found of the A2: A2 review. I found this from audioreview.com, a site which has pretty decent customer reviews as a rule. Cavaet-people tend to review stuff right away, when they are still in love with it, so take customer reviews with a grain of salt, generally.

 

[mozartrules]

They are excellent speakers. I also have the A2 and for $199 they are very good. Not nearly as good as my main speakers, but that is expected (Quad 2905, $9k).

 

[jimmyj68]

I meant to say left - sorry - in a nut shell - with no connections to the right/amplifier speaker other than power there is persistant noise - not just when the pot is being moved. The pot "controls" the volume of the noise - i.e. the noise is loudest when the pot is at it's maximum voltage drop or lowest level for sound and diminishes as the pot is turned up almost going away after the pot passes the twelve. It is still there though if you put your ear tight up to the speaker ----signal input drowns out the background noise.

 

[unsped]

Simply put these are very danceable speakers.

 

[Thump553]

If your noise is a crackling noise when you move the volume control (which it seems like it isn't) the tuner cleaner I mentioned before might help. Is it a ground loop hum? Look at this wikipedia page-it describes them, solutions and has links at the bottom to show you what some of the types of ground loop hums sound like (there are other types as well). If its ground loop hum you would be better off fixing the solution with your current speakers because any new speakers could easily have the same problem.

If it's none of these, perhaps you'd want to open the speaker and see how hard a project it is to replace the amp (probably very easy), and then see if Swan sells replacement amps. I'd be a bit po'd at Swan if the amp is bad-I'd used a lot of other cheaper powered speakers that have lasted a lot longer than two years.

 

[SKC]

I also have the A2s, and am very happy with them. They produce huge sound compared to what their size would suggest. Excellent SQ, even with compressed music (ie MP3) sources