Included with the A5 are all the cables and wire you will need to get connected. These items include

Setup consisted of connecting the power cord, attaching the music source via one of the included cables, choosing a suitable location, and turning them on. It's so easy a cave man could do it.

I first listened to the A5 while they were positioned on my little bar table in the back of my theater room. I connected my iPod, picked out a song and listened to about a minute of it. To be honest I don't even remember what that song was. Now I know what your thinking, but just hold on and let me explain. This will all lead into one of my complaints that you may or may not agree is even a complaint at all.

After about a minute of hearing this song playing from my iPod, it was immediately apparent that this just would not do as a setup and a source. These little speakers were far better than what an iPod could dish out to them. So yes, you can use them to listen to your iPod or MP3 player. I tried it. It worked. Now let's move on to some more serious listening.

To really hear what these speakers were capable of, I broke out my extra set of speaker stands and positioned them up front - right next to my Paradigm Monitor 7s. That's right, folks, I was about to critically listen to a pair or self-powered, portable music device speakers. Crazy, huh? After setting them up on the stands, I ran upstairs and grabbed my wife's 12in powerbook. I needed a good, but practical source to be subjective right?

The first thing I noticed was that the soundstage was nice and deep with pin point imaging. In fact, imaging was as good as my Monitor 7s though the soundstage was not quite as big. Highs were reproduced with crystal clarity, without a trace of sibilance. Details such as the distinct sound that a plastic tipped drumstick makes when it hits metal symbol could clearly be heard. I was also able to hear the nuances of the pick being strummed across slightly muted strings and the harmonics that it produced. I was impressed, these are a much better speaker than the Paradigm Atoms I have in the rear. Midrange was never muddied and vocals remained clear even when driven hard. Dynamics were also good, telling me the amp section was doing its job equally well. I have heard many budget 2-channel systems that did not sound this good.

Audioengine states a frequency response of 60Hz-22kHz +/-1.5dB, while I did not measure it, my in-room response seemed like it might be even a tad lower than that. Bass was tight and low for a 5-inch driver. Even when I approached what I thought might be safe excursion limits of the drivers they never lost detail or sounded strained. They did have the small driver bass sound (or 'thump' some might call it) but it was never boomy or boxy sounding. This is due no doubt to the solid cabinet construction and the drivers being well tuned to the enclosure. The amount of low end these speakers do have is amazing considering the driver size.

Next up was one my all time favorite disks that I have carried with me on countless trips to audio stores to demo equipment. Linda Rondstadt's What's New on DVD-Audio. It just so happens this disk also has a Dolby Digital track that I could listen to through the laptop. I have owned this recording in every incarnation they have made, including the half speed mastered LP. I am extremely familiar with all of its nuances and subtleties. The second cut, "I've Got a Crush on You", is a real test for tweeters because, if they are not up to the task, you will have sibilance galore.

Once again the Audioengine 5 strutted its stuff and kept the sibilance down to a bare minimum. Brushes across the symbols were easily picked out and Linda's vocals were clear, strong and upfront. I was able make out every breath she took and the horns sounded natural and never grating. In fact these speakers never became fatiguing in any way. Again dynamics were good and about the only thing missing was the lower octave stuff, but hey we are talking about a 5-inch two-way here.

While they certainly did not sound as full as my mini monitors or my monitor 7s, they were certainly on par with any other sub-$400 set of bookshelf speakers I've heard and better than most.

I have heard many iPod/MP3 player systems, but this is by far the best one yet. It is really in a class all by itself. The fact that it is so good is my only complaint because it very quickly reveals the limitations of a portable device such as the iPod and that of highly compressed audio. While I whole-heartedly would recommend the Audioengine 5 for a computer system or some other higher quality source, I feel I must give you this warning. If you use the A5 for an iPod or other MP3 player, you may end up being somewhat disappointed. Not with the Audioengine 5 but rather your MP3 player and all the highly compressed audio on songs that we hope you legally purchased. When using iPod, we recommend encoding in 192kbps or higher (preferably non lossy) to achieve the best sonic results to better take advantage of what these speakers have to offer.

After writing the initial review it has come to our attention that the manufacture is planning on making some changes to benefit the product line. First, they will be offering a black finish in addition to the white. Second, they are also in the process of switching the spring clips terminals in favor of preferred binding posts. I might also add that Audioengine does in fact assemble their drivers in house, which is really quite remarkable for a product such as this. We are appreciative that Audioengine is receptive to their customers and reviewers and are serious about improving upon an already solid product line.