wrcwill Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I hear great things about each of these speakers, but never comparing them to each other. I'd like to see what you guys think. I'll be hooking them up to a FiiO e17 line out for now, and upgrade DACs later. Probable a Dacmagic or VDAC, or anything else you guys might seem reasonable for speakers in this price range. Pros/Cons for each, and price/performance? I am going to buy soon, but I am stuck deciding Thanks! Denon DT1560/Dacmagic -> Nad S100 > Nad S200 > B&W Nautilus 804 Link to comment
JeffH Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/EmotivaPro-Airmotiv-5 Jeff Main system: MPaD -> Fanless VortexBox -> Emotiva XDA-1 -> Adcom GFA-555II -> Working on the restDesktop System: J.River Media Jukebox -> WIN7 -> HRT Music Streamer II -> Virtue Audio One.2 -> DIY Martello speakers Link to comment
Stan Man Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Given that both the AE and the Airmotivs have a 30 day trial and if you don't mind having both on the credit card... I would get both and compare side by side. I probably should have done this but on blind faith from Steve Guttenburgs review, I went with the Airmotiv 5's and think they are great (see my mini review a bit of the way down). Link to comment
ItemAudio Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 The Airmotivs are inherently superior by design - having said that, any good little pro audio monitor offers shockingly good performance for the price. For transparency of declaration, I sell Audioengine and Swans powered speakers, and like them. Having said that, the Focal, Adam and the baby Fostex true active speakers are all better-sounding devices at the price. We don't sell them, but even the little KRKs are amazing pound-for-pound performers. For little boxes, you can't beat active. Link to comment
NWDave Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I've been auditioning these now for a couple of weeks and I can't say enough good enough things about them. Bass is ample and very tightly focused. Vocals are superb. Couldn't tell a huge difference in sound quality between them and some multi-thousand-dollar passive/amp combos I auditioned (not a slam on the systems I auditioned, rather witness to how good the AE 5+s are). The only reason I *might* end up not keeping them is that they can seem very bright with certain recordings. I don't know if that's a flaw with the speakers or the recordings. I'm using Lossless files from well-recorded classical and acoustic tracks and have blankets and pillows strewn about the room, yet I still find myself wincing a bit more than I'd like to. I think if you're not overly sensitive to high-frequencies (I do have tinnitus at 11 kHz in one ear), they're a steal at $400. I may, however, try to find a much warmer active/powered speaker in the sub-$750 range. Best, David P.S. Not to threadjack, but if anyone *does* have recs for very warm active/powereds under $750 and it will also help OP with their decision-making process, please post away. Link to comment
Stan Man Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 AE 5+ vs Airmotiv comparison http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/audioengine-a5 Link to comment
Panelhead Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Just saw the flyer. That is 100.00 off. George 2012 Mac Mini, i5 - 2.5 GHz, 16 GB RAM. SSD, PM/PV software, Focusrite Clarett 4Pre 4 channel interface. Daysequerra M4.0X Broadcast monitor., My_Ref Evolution rev a , Klipsch La Scala II, Blue Sky Sub 12 Clarett used as ADC for vinyl rips. Corning Optical Thunderbolt cable used to connect computer to 4Pre. Dac fed by iFi iPower and Noise Trapper isolation transformer. Link to comment
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