Pros & Cons
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- Excellent audio performance with solid bass depth and clarity throughout the frequency range.
- High-quality Bluetooth streaming with 24-bit upsampling.
- Wired connectivity options.
- Can be used with a subwoofer.
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- No source knob.
- Limited remote control.
Audioengine A5+ Wireless Specs
| Bluetooth | |
| Channels | Stereo |
| Physical Connections | 3.5mm |
| Physical Connections | Stereo RCA |
| Voice Assistant | None |
Wireless audio is convenient, but it isn't exactly smiled upon by audiophiles. Audioengine's A5+ Wireless system combines the capabilities of the company's Bluetooth receiver/transmitter, the B1, with the audio performance of its excellent wired 5+ speakers. The result is a wireless sound signature aimed at purists, but there's plenty of bass depth and clarity throughout the frequency range to make everyone happy. It isn't cheap at $499, but it should be the go-to speaker set for anyone seeking high-quality wireless stereo audio, and earns our Editors' Choice.
Design
Available in matte black, high-gloss white, or a natural bamboo finish (for $569 instead of $499), the A5+ Wireless speakers have rounded edges and a classic bookshelf look. They each measure 10.8 inches high and 7.0 inches wides. At 9.0 inches, the left speaker is a bit deeper than the right (7.8 inches) because it houses the controls and connections, as well as a heat sink that protrudes off the back panel. It's also heavier, at 15.4 pounds compared with the right's 9.6 pounds. Unboxing the system, the presentation is classy—each speaker gets its own gray velour drawstring protective pouch, and there's a smaller pouch for the cables.
The left speaker's front face houses a volume knob, a LED power indicator, and a receiver for the included remote control. The volume knob works independently of your paired mobile device's volume controls. Each grille-free speaker houses a 5-inch Kevlar woofer and a 0.75-inch silk dome tweeter. Each channel delivers 50 watts of power, combining for 100 watts (150 watts peak). Internally, a 24-bit upsampling D/A converter ensures high-quality playback. The frequency range is 50Hz to 22kHz.
The bottom panels of each speaker have foam rubber coverings to keep them stable. There's also a threaded screw mount on the base of each. If you're using them as desktop speakers, the drivers aren't angled upward, so you'll want some wedge-style stands to aim the tweeters more directly at your ears. In a large room, with more distance between the speakers and the listener, this won't be as much of an issue, but you should still try to match the height of the tweeters with your ears (see our suggestions on how to set up your speakers for more).
The back panel of the left speaker houses the connections. From top to bottom, there's a Bluetooth antenna, a pairing button, a 3.5mm aux input, RCA inputs and outputs, and a connection for the banana plug cable that links to the right speaker. (All cabling is detachable and included.) Below these, there's a power switch, a Voltage Select switch, a fuse, and a connection for the power supply.
The included remote control looks classy, with its brushed aluminum contour. It houses only four buttons, however—Volume Up, Volume Down, Mute, and Sleep Mode. In other words, it's a pretty limited remote, and you're more likely to use the mobile device that you stream from to control playback, track navigation, and perhaps even volume.
The pairing process is simple. Turn the system on, and it appears in your Bluetooth menu immediately. Connecting a cable to the aux or RCA input doesn't kill the Bluetooth connection, presumably because Audioengine wants you to be able to have multiple sources connected simultaneously. This presents a minor issue, however: In the absence of a source switch, you can play multiple sound sources (like a Bluetooth streaming source and an aux input source, for instance) simultaneously. This doesn't really pose any risks for the drivers, but it feels like an oversight.
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Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the speakers deliver some palpable thump—it may not be the thunder many bass lovers are used to, but it's not thin either. This is partially because the speakers are designed to work with a subwoofer. As is, the speakers still deliver some powerful bass depth, and get insanely loud before approaching distortion.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the sound signature. The drums on this track can sound thunderous on bass-boosted systems, while here they simply sound full. This is a good thing—their natural presence isn't supposed to be a bass-heavy affair. Callahan's baritone vocals receive a nice warmth—the rich lows are balanced well with a crisp, but not overly sculpted, high-mid presence. The acoustic guitar's attack and the higher register percussive hits also benefit from the high-mid and high frequency presence. There isn't really any aspect of the frequency range that sounds heavily favored over another. In other words, this is pretty close to the flat-style frequency response many audiophiles seek, which is rare in the wireless speaker realm.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop gets plenty of high-mid presence—enough to accentuate the attack and push the loop's punch forward in the mix—but it doesn't sound overly sculpted or edgy. The loop also has a full-sounding bass presence to it, but nothing over the top. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat perhaps sound a bit dialed back—there's depth there that we don't quite hear, but this could be handled by a connected subwoofer. The vocals sound excellent, with ideal clarity that lacks the overly boasted high-mids and highs that can make things sound too sibilant.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound stunning through the A5+ Wireless. The lower register instrumentation has a robust, full presence that doesn't seem boosted much at all—just full, round, and accurate. The same can be said of the higher register strings, brass, and vocals—there's plenty of crisp, bright presence here, but nothing sounds invented by the drivers—this is pretty close to the true sound of the recording.
Would I opt for a subwoofer? Yes, I must admit that I love sub-bass and what it can do in a mix when applied with restraint. I don't feel a sub is required here, but if you know you like the rumble and thump one can bring, the A5+ Wireless will sound excellent with a well-balanced unit.
Conclusions
If you want a good-looking, high quality all-in-one wireless speaker system, perhaps with a companion app or voice assistance, you have strong options in the Google Home Max, the Sonos One, and the Urbanears Baggen. But not everyone wants a "smart" speaker, and most audiophiles will want to completely avoid voice assistance and notification interruptions, heavily applied digital signal processing (DSP), and the typical lack of stereo separation that is often part of the deal.
Audioengine's A5+ Wireless system delivers a high-quality Bluetooth stream in a bookshelf-style form factor that offers stereo separation and avoids dynamics-crushing DSP. Some listeners might want to beef up the audio with a subwoofer, but the system sounds great without it. It's a pleasure to review gear that advances convenience without sacrificing sound quality, and the Audioengine 5+ Wireless easily snags an Editors' Choice.
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