Swans M200MkII or Audioengine A5 ?

[mnmgri4]

I am looking at both of these and I am wondering how they compare for music and some gaming.

The A5's are more costly but are they worth it over the M200's ?

Thanks !

 

[ssbaudi]

with the discount code MW09 you get 25% off the audioengine a5's which isnt too much more than the swans + shipping. I was in the exact same position as you just a week ago, and I went to a local mac store and actually listened to the a5's and fell in love. I then listened to the a2's and was just as in love. With the coupon code i showed you you can get the audioengine a2's for 150, and then use the extra 99 bucks to buy an Energy ESW-8 sub.

 

[mnmgri4]

Thanks for the code. Could you tell much difference in sound quality between the a5's and the a2's ?

 

[ssbaudi]

no not really. I mean, if you are in a substantially bigger room then you might need the a5's. Then there is the pure physics - the a5 has a driver twice the size of the a2 so It can move a lot more air, but they are a lot bigger and in my opinion are not as good looking. The a2's have a front bass port which is really nice for desktop use, which is what they are made for. Played side by side, I didnt really notice too much of a difference in sound between the two, and especially for my college dorm room the a2's will fit the bill very well!

i'd say if you are planning on buying a subwoofer and are using this for computer usage mostly then pick up the a2's... but if you dont see yourself making a subwoofer purchase at any time in the future, I might go with the a5's. One last thing, the a5's are a bit more picky with how you place them - as you cant have them too close to a back wall due to the rear bass ports. People also say they sound better on stands, but thats just more $$$ to spend

 

[Shrimpanzee]

I'm happy with my A5s. I got them for about $260 with that code. I had an issue with the left speaker but customer support took care of it immediately. They mailed me a new one and paid for shipping both ways. Probably the best customer support I've ever dealt with...

 

[ashmedai]

Thanks for the code. Could you tell much difference in sound quality between the a5's and the a2's ?

If you must have small speakers, get the A2s, they're good for what they are. If you have room, the A5s are going to have much improved midrange & bass. A sub is still nice for either, but you'll miss it a lot less on the A5s.

The A2s are limited by their size...but sometimes that's all you have room for. They do a great job of making do with what they've got to work with.

 

[criccio]

I can't complain about my M200MKII's, the sound quality is excellent. I'm very happy with them.

 

[ashmedai]

In answer to your thread spam:

Edirol MA-15D: 4" woofers
Swan M200MKII: 5" woofers

I'm going to go with the physics here and say that the Swans probably sound better in the midrange & bass frequencies...it's not as big an issue above about 5", but smaller and you tend to have a quality trade-off.

 

[rosss]

Regarding sale price or discount...
theaudioinsider.com has the Swans M200MkII on sale for $189 (originally $299)

The Audioengine A5 looks to have a little more Bass on the low end of the frequency response compared to the Swans M200MkII....
but...
You should contact Jon at theaudioinsider.com and ask him when he can get the new M200MkIII in stock:
http://www.swanspeaker.com/product/htm/view.asp?id=401

 

[GJSNeptune]

Love my A5 speakers. The only negative is lack of input types. It only uses 1/8", but I love how they sound. The mids are beautiful. I don't have mine on speaker stands, and they're too close to the wall, so the lows aren't as deep as they could be.

I got them for $314 shipped with coupon DHT10.

 

[criccio]

Love my A5 speakers. The only negative is lack of input types. It only uses 1/8"...

Now I will agree that Audioengine's use of a 1/8" input instead of the industry standard stereo RCA jacks was a dumb idea aimed at making them easier for the "iPod crowd", a $2 adapter from pretty much anywhere will convert that input to stereo RCA jacks. Therefore the "lack of inputs" isn't really a valid con.

 

[GJSNeptune]

True. Just an extra step. It wasn't as simple for me though. I'm running SPDIF from my computer to my audio interface, but I had to search for a cable with a stereo 1/8" male end and two 1/4 male mono jacks on the other. Luckily Sweetwater.com has one.