Audioengine dealer in Chennai

[psychotropic]

My wife is buying me a pair of audioengine A2s to connect to my plasma, as an anniversary present (on my request of course). I need to know where I can get them in Chennai.

 

[dejavu007]

Belated Anniversary wishes dude. I am definitely coming to your place pretty soon. We also need to go shopping for the HT setup.

 

[vinod_david]

My wife is buying me a pair of audioengine A2s to connect to my plasma, as an anniversary present (on my request of course). I need to know where I can get them in Chennai.

Hi Psychotropic:

Sadly, no dealer in Chennai for AE products, as far as I know. The closest is in Coimbatore - Audio World - 09843039824.

The other option would be sumaria.in or audioproductsindia.com for online purchase, both selling for same price.

 

[psychotropic]

truly bizarre.....now i am stumped....i don't want to buy without an audition....although i have heard only rave reviews everywhere....

 

[psychotropic]

anyone owns one here? Would you recommend I buy it without audition?

 

[Nishanth]

Not 100% sure but I think Pro Musicals, Egmore have them.You can call them at 28193445 and check out.

or

You can contact their Indian distributor - Sanen Acoustics, Mumbai at 9820187582/ 9820301066

Regards
Nishanth

 

[moserw]

anyone owns one here? Would you recommend I buy it without audition?

Never do that buddy. What works for one need not work for another. Audition and only then go for them if you are satisfied. Speaking from my personal experience...

 

[gopi]

Psycotropic,
Please do not buy A2 without auditioning. The reason I am saying this is specifically for A2 is because its not a normal neutral sounding speaker. There is a highly artificial bump on the bass (midbass or something like that) to create an effect that as though the small boxes are putting out a huge amount of bass. To me it needed an EQ always to play as I like, the highs were rolled off for my tastes as well. However, it seemed better than the other ones around that price. I suppose A5 will not have this bass hump. In anycase, A2's were not for my liking and thats why I sold it, while still there are some people in this forum happy with their A2's. So, do audition before buying.

 

[psychotropic]

Short of travelling all the way to Bombay, i couldn't figure out any way of auditioning the buggers, so I have bought them....they have been delivered to a friend of mine, and they will (hopefully) be reaching Chennai soon. Anyway it is 10,000 bucks (which considering the converted dollar price of 9550, if you buy it in the US, is not bad), I am not expecting anything astonishing....I will post my reviews as soon as I get my hands on them.

 

[psychotropic]

okay, so it's coming on sunday. Reviews soon.

 

[psychotropic]

It has been got! And it's everything I was expecting it to be. They come very nicely packaged, with each speaker, and the various cables and accessories in draw-string bags of soft cloth, in addition to the foam padding and the two boxes (yes two boxes!).

2 meters of 16 AWG speaker cable are provided. I am not going to be crazy enough to spend money on replacing those cables.

So I hooked everything up, and plugged my Transcend MP3 player into it first. The sound was decent, but it seemed lifeless, as if the Transcend needed a phono-stage equivalent. So I was concerned whether these were actually a let down.

Then I hooked up my laptop to them, and played wave files of a Sheffield Audio test CD, and my jaws dropped. The sound was superb. Excellent clarity and detail, clean powerful mids and highs, and frankly surprising bass from such a small speaker. Someone had mentioned that there seemed to be a bass-bump, I don't think I can agree, they seemed to be fairly neutral and the bass reproduction seemed to quite natural. It's not earth shattering, or even tub-thumping.... but it's tight, fast and precise, without any blooming or squishiness.

The synthesised percussion and the synth grooves on "stranger in my bed" by power of seven were reproduced with superb articulation considering the size of these buggers. Thelma Houston's "dish rag" was a revelation, with A2s reproducing the snare hits with edible crispness, and the horn sections being large and bombastic. Through the classical and jazz bits the A2s continued to dazzle. I shifted to some MP3s. Kochi band motherjane's carnatic infused prog-rock was handled in convincing style. Dave Brubeck's Take Five, Kailash Kher's "Chak De Phattey" and "Saiyyaan" were all handled with equal competence. An audio CD of Bob Marley's "natural mystic" from my Sony NS708 DVD player was also handled beautifully. These speakers don't seem to have a preference for any one kind of music, which is a useful thing. The disclaimer here is of course that I am not an audiophile, and my "sources" are not audiophile grade either. I imagine these buggers would sound even better with good sources.

sound-staging is again surprisingly large and convincing, and while of course not competing with larger and pricier speakers, would wipe the floor with anything else of this size and/or price.

The only tragedy now is that while my original plan was to hook them up to my TV, that seems a bit of a waste with such musically adept speakers, and my transcend MP3 player seems to be falling short. Plugging it directly to my DVD player would mean I miss out on the speakers for TV viewing.....which I can probably live with. Anyways, will need to mix and match and see what works best. watch this space.

And in the meantime, feel free to buy these babies, because for Rs. 10k, they are not much more expensive than they would be if bought in the US (199 USD converts to about 9500 INR), and they are a very good value proposition.

 

[gopi]

pschotropic, it was me who talked about the bass hump Anyway, all is well if you love them. So, congratulations and I will keep praying for regaining my ability to stop analysing and enjoying the music. I curse hifi

 

[psychotropic]

Thanks Gopi! I think the bass bump could possibly have had to do with (a) the source and/or (b) the positioning.....even though they are marketed as desktop speakers, a desk top actually may not be the best place for these fellows. But yes, i am pretty happy so far Once I listen to a bit more music, I will post more on how it is doing.

pschotropic, it was me who talked about the bass hump Anyway, all is well if you love them. So, congratulations and I will keep praying for regaining my ability to stop analysing and enjoying the music. I curse hifi

 

[venkatcr]

Psychotropic, Congratulations. You have purchased a pair of very good speakers.

Gopi, please read Stereophile's review of the AE 2 speakers. It is available at Stereophile: Audioengine 2 powered loudspeaker.

Some extracts on the particular points that have been raised.

The AE2 is also on Stereophile's list of recommended budget components. It is not easy to get on that list.

Cheers

First, in my affordable reference system, with every tune I played, I heard no noticeable coloration throughout the speaker's entire range; it was as neutral-sounding as any under-$1000 speaker I've heard. The highs were extended and detailed, and the Audioengine 2 was able to recreate room ambience and low-level dynamic articulation at levels of quality I'm used to hearing from far more expensive speakers.

What shocked me most about the Audioengines was how LARGE they sounded. All vocal recordings were completely devoid of coloration, and vocal images were holographically projected at lifelike size with all low-level phrase articulations intact.

How deep could the bass from such a small speaker possibly go? With the Audioengines on the Celestion Si stands, ie, not cheating by getting a little subjective midbass bump from placing the speakers on a desk or coffee table.I spent a good bit of time listening to solo acoustic jazz bass. There was not a thing missing, even in the instrument's middle-lower registers. I was riveted by bassist Peter Warren's infectious opening riff in my favorite Jack DeJohnette tune, "Zoot Suite," from Special Edition (CD, ECM 1892); the lower notes of that riff had slam, dynamics, and didn't lose a bit of power. Ditto for Ray Brown's solo in "I'm an Old Cowhand," from Sonny Rollins' Way Out West (CD, JVC VICJ-60088).

I wouldn't expect high-level blasts of bombastic bass from the Audioengines, however. My normal subjective criterion for a speaker that's not bass-shy is that it produce a convincing 55Hz with normal program material. I'll wager John Atkinson's measurements will reveal that the Audioengines miss that mark, but I never felt I needed a subwoofer to enjoy music through the 2s.

 

[moserw]

Hi Psychotropic,

Congrats and a great buy indeed. I have checked out the A5 myself and the little brother A2 is also rated highly. Great VFM for 10K. I am planning on the A5 myself, getting them from the U.S. early next year.

 

[gopi]

venkat,
i had the A2's myself and sold them off. I think what did me in was some high expectations from the reviews. I was using ipod as a source and "Bass reducer" EQ which made them nice. I actually envy you in particularly more because you are able to appreciate something in the A2 range to Audire. Somehow, most of the components I have tried last year have only left me wanting. I was happy with a good nice Sony headphones till 2 years back. Once, I have started analysing the sound, things have gone haywire.

 

[dejavu007]

Congratulations dude!!! This is awesome. I cant wait to come home and see it and hear it play stuff.

 

[venkatcr]

i had the A2's myself and sold them off. I think what did me in was some high expectations from the reviews. I was using ipod as a source and "Bass reducer" EQ which made them nice. I actually envy you in particularly more because you are able to appreciate something in the A2 range to Audire. Somehow, most of the components I have tried last year have only left me wanting. I was happy with a good nice Sony headphones till 2 years back. Once, I have started analysing the sound, things have gone haywire.

Well, I have'nt heard the AE2s, so I am not sure how they sound. I usually don't go by any magazine reviews, but Stereophile is a bit different as they back up their subjective reviews with clear technical analysis.

I did what you did some time ago.. I purchased Bose AM5s and sold them off the next day. But in the recent past, I have been careful of what I have been buying and have done that after careful personal review and a lot of comparison.

Though all of us want the ultimate sound system, we have our limitations. And we must try to get the best system we can have within those limitations. I am sure you will also find what you are looking for. If I can help in any way, I will be glad to do that.

Cheers

 

[audiodelic]

Hi Psychotropic,

Congrats and a great buy indeed. I have checked out the A5 myself and the little brother A2 is also rated highly. Great VFM for 10K. I am planning on the A5 myself, getting them from the U.S. early next year.

Once you get the AE a5's be sure to pm me. Would like to audition them before i take the plunge of 20k .... How much are you paying for the A5 from the u.s ?

btw nice review psychotropic. some pics if possible.
Also try playing a well mastered dvd in dolby 2.0 format. The higher bitrate track should really make these speakers shine.

 

[moserw]

Once you get the AE a5's be sure to pm me. Would like to audition them before i take the plunge of 20k .... How much are you paying for the A5 from the u.s ?

btw nice review psychotropic. some pics if possible.
Also try playing a well mastered dvd in dolby 2.0 format. The higher bitrate track should really make these speakers shine.

Hi audiodelic,

I have a sister and a sister-in-law in the US so fortunately I will not be paying anything personally, but either one will be paying the listed price of $349.00 for the Black A5B or $449.00 for the Caramel A5N. I am still not decided whether the increase of $100.00 is justified on the Caramel A5N. Another option is to order them on Sumaria. If I go this route then I will probably settle for the A2B which is listed at Rs.10,400. The A5B on Sumaria is listed at Rs.19,500. Either way I will keep you posted so you can come and audition the Audioengines when they arrive.

BTW anyone ordered stuff off of Sumaria and if so how are they? What about the warranty? Please let me know if any other online retailer from whom I can order.