Audioengine A1 vs A2+ (2021): Which Powered Speakers Should You Buy?

Powered speakers are ideal for desk setups or small rooms since they are capable of delivering excellent sound without taking up too much space. The Audioengine A1 and the Audioengine A2+ are two of the more affordable powered speakers that you can buy right now. Both of them feature a compact design with room-filling sound and they are equipped with Bluetooth chips for wireless music playback. The A1 are cheaper since they have less connection options while the A2+ are more expensive due to having more connectivity options. We compare the two below to help you pick which system is better for you.

Audioengine A1 vs A2+ Comparison Chart

Design

The Audioengine A1 and A2+ are both compact, but the A2+ are lighter.

When it comes to design, the two speakers have a lot in common. They have the same physical dimensions, with both of them measuring 6 x 4 x 5.25 inches, so they are quite compact. They also have the same driver configuration, featuring a 2.75” aramid fiber woofer and a 0.75“ silk dome tweeter in each cabinet.

However, they do differ when it comes to their cabinet exterior. The Audioengine A1 sport a hand-finished vinyl exterior while the A2+ come with a painted finish. Also, the A2+ have three color options available—satin black, hi-gloss red and hi-gloss white. On the other hand, the A1 are only available in grey.

These speakers can be placed on a desk as well as speaker stands. At their rubberized undersides are threaded screw holes for mounting. It is recommended that you angle these speakers slightly upward when placed on a desk, so that the tweeters are at ear level.

Connectivity

The Audioengine A2+ have more connection options than the A1 and they come with 5-way binding posts instead of spring clips.

On both speaker sets, the connections are located at the rear of the left active speaker. The left speaker of the Audioengine A1 has a single 3.5mm aux input and an LFE variable line-out for a subwoofer. It comes with spring clips to connect it to the right speaker. The set comes with a 3.5mm audio cable, a 3.5mm to stereo RCA, speaker wires to connect both speakers and a power cable. The Bluetooth pairing button and its volume knob/power are also located at the rear.

Meanwhile, the left speaker of the Audioengine A2+ has a 3.5mm aux input, stereo RCA inputs and outputs, as well as a micro USB input. The Audioengine A2+ have two more audio inputs than the A1 (stereo RCA and micro USB). Also, the A2+ use 5-way binding posts instead of spring clips to connect the left and right speakers, so you can use banana plugs for convenience. The Bluetooth pairing button and the volume knob/power switch are also located at the back of the left active speaker.

Performance

Both the Audioengine A1 and A2+ deliver accurate and detailed sound.

The two speakers sound the same since they have the same exact driver configuration. They are capable of delivering clear and detailed mids and highs. However, since these are fairly small speakers, the low and sub-bass are notably lacking.

If you are looking to get a pair of speakers that are all about bass, these aren’t for you. But if you are looking for speakers with incredible accuracy and clarity, these are excellent choices. Also, since they have subwoofer outputs, you can always add a subwoofer later on, for that extra thump and rumble.

As for their Bluetooth connectivity, the two are great. They don’t have issues with dropped connections and they cover a wide range.

Verdict

The Audioengine A1 and A2+ perform similarly when it comes to sound quality, the only difference is that the latter come with more connection options.

Since these two are essentially the same speakers, at least when it comes to audio quality, choosing one will depend on whether you need the extra connection options of the Audioengine A2+. If you are fine with just one analog input, the Audioengine A1 are the smarter choice since these are cheaper. However, if you need more connection options for your analog and digital audio devices, you should go with the Audioengine A2+.

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