Sound quality: Audioengine's A2+ had satisfactory sound quality - this model reproduces music and dialog reasonably well despite the obvious shortcomings in its sound. Bass has decent impact, is slightly subdued, and deep bass is lacking. The lower midrange is a bit prominent, and overall the midrange is somewhat hazy, and a bit grainy. Treble is fairly extended, but is a bit sizzly. Does a good job of recovering room ambience, sounds somewhat congested, and lacks fine detail. This two speaker model comes as a stereo pair, and its sound stage width and focus depends on how well it is placed. When it is well placed, there is good stereo separation and the sound field extends somewhat above and to the sides of the speakers but doesn't have much depth. Since they come as a stereo pair they can be placed to provide better stereo separation than many other models. There was no significant difference between Bluetooth, USB, Aux and RCA sound quality. Provides a decent volume level in a medium sized room, but better for small rooms and close listening.
Ease of use: We found the Audioengine A2+ ease of use to be satisfactory overall. Wired Setup: The speaker wires provided are ready, are of predefined length, tinned and split for screw mount posts (no tools required). Instructions are provided which explain to make sure to match polarity between speaker connections. Bluetooth setup is excellent as the unit is always in pairing mode when not already paired, shows a pairing mode indicator. Indicates when pairing mode has occurred and never times out. The volume control is an unlabeled multifunction knob (also power on/off) located on the back of the speaker. Lacks index markings for volume levels, but has a tactile indicator when max volume is reached. Source selection is plug-unplug: Bluetooth and line inputs and USB can play at the same time. Have to turn off audio from source so no overlap.
