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Review on πŸ”Š Audioengine HD6 Wireless Desktop Monitor Speakers - Home Music System with aptX HD Bluetooth, 150W Bookshelf Stereo Speakers, AUX, USB, Optical, RCA, 24-bit DAC (White) by Shannon Chisholm

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Audioengine HD6 experience (6 months)

When searching for speakers I couldn't find much information about the HD6 on the websites other than professional reviewers or from the manufacturer so I guess: Will a review writing after owning these speakers for over 6 months. I'm not an audiophile, but I study audio equipment and make purchasing decisions like I am. What I'm saying is that I don't have trained ears. Because of this, I can't make any definitive statements about the sound quality of these speakers. I can say that as a discerning amateur, I really like the sound of these speakers. I'm all for getting your information from those who have the right to spread it, so please consider my comments on the sound quality, which is worth a pinch of salt. In this review, I want to go into detail about the hardware/setup and features that I've experienced first-hand. I bought these to reduce clutter in my room. I had a receiver and it needed remote controls that turned on every time I wanted to use it (they used too much power to keep it on), extra space, a separate Bluetooth receiver and cables. It was basically a headache to use, so I didn't use it much. These speakers eliminate the need for a receiver and I am very glad I made this purchase. I connected these speakers to my TV via the optical input for watching TV/movies. Note that these speakers will only interpret the PCM signal if you intend to do the same. Dolby Digital signals are not reproduced through these speakers. With the regular 2012 Panasonic Viera cable TV, most channels use a Dolby signal. Most modern TVs let you change the audio output settings and convert to one format or another, but some older TVs like mine don't. I have since bought a newer Samsung TV and have been able to switch the signal to PCM so now all channels are played through these speakers. Even on an old TV that didn't convert to PCM, without changing the settings, it played the sound of my Playstation 4 perfectly. PS4 was connected to the TV via HDMI, the TV sent the sound to the optical output. My new TV does that too. If there is no sound after connecting, check the sound settings on your TV to make sure it is playing via the optical output and in PCM format. Automatic settings output the specified format, which may or may not be PCM. I also use speakers to listen to music. Audiophile communities generally discourage people from streaming audio via Bluetooth, so I was somewhat hesitant to use Bluetooth to play music on these speakers. I find I don't see the difference and for convenience I listen to a lot more music than I used to. There's also an AUX-in which is actually the gold standard, sometimes I use it when I don't want to use Bluetooth. The speakers need to be on (of course) to establish a Bluetooth connection, and the speakers have their own remote control that can put them to sleep and wake them up again. I used the Kill-a-Watt meter to check sleep and power consumption. I don't have my readings in front of me, but the difference in power consumption was only a few dollars a year, about 4 or 5 (the cost was $7-11 a year I think). So I prefer to leave it enabled. This means I don't have to take out the remote when I want to play music, I just have to select it from a list of Bluetooth devices and I can be playing music in seconds (without getting up!). The volume is controlled via the button on the speaker or via the remote control. Your audio input device can adjust the volume up to the maximum speaker volume setting. These speakers seem to have a priority list when receiving multiple audio signals. I haven't tested every situation, but I can say with confidence that Bluetooth signals take precedence over optical ones. This means I can watch tv and when audio is playing through my phone (or whatever is connected via bluetooth) the tv is muted and the phone audio plays. There's a very minimal delay when switching sources, probably a second before the phone rings. What I like is that I can connect my phone via Bluetooth and while the phone isn't playing any audio it keeps playing another source (TV), when I start a song on my phone it switches. If I pause the song or turn off the music, it switches back to optical (TV audio output) after a second or two. The transitions are almost fluid. In movies, the speakers have excellent low frequencies, but nothing to shake the house unless a very high volume is present. Unless I'm playing in a very large or crowded room I wouldn't worry about these speakers not being loud enough. If you plan on using them for parties I would do more research. I daresay they are loud enough for house parties. For video games, the highs and mids are excellent. The low level is significantly better than anything but the subwoofer. I have no experience with computer subwoofers, so I can't say if they are any better than small subwoofers. I paired them with a 12" SVS SB2000 subwoofer and saw a definite improvement in the wow factor. I used the speakers for a month or two without a subwoofer. chest and a sense of terror that was not there without the additional subwoofer.Except at higher volumes without a subwoofer you do not feel the music (literally vibrate from the low frequencies), and you do not feel explosions in games / movies. I'm explaining this because I was worried about it before I bought it. I can't say they fail with unrealistic, distorted loud bass, although I don't think they can be improved much as speakers. The subwoofer really can't be replaced as it's just something that requires a certain size (more powerful, smaller ones, although they can mimic a larger subwoofer to some extent). I can't imagine going back to my old chunky setup, I was impressed by the highs, mids and lows, but because I love the feeling of explosions I added a subwoofer to my setup. As for the music, I really don't think I could ask for more. Playing music on them via bluetooth is very easy as the power consumption is so low that you don't have to turn them on and off so you can connect whenever you want. If anyone who has read this has any questions or comments, please let me know! Thank you for reading.

Pros
  • WHAT'S IN THE BOX: Pair of Audioengine HD6 wireless active speakers, Bluetooth antenna, aluminum housing remote control, 4m speaker cable, power adapter and cable, 2m mini-jack audio cable 3.5mm, 2m RCA audio cable , Microfiber speaker bags and cable bags, Installation guide, Brochure
Cons
  • Anything I can add