Hello everyone! Im (obviously) new here, but have been over at AVS for a while. Just thought I would share my experience with the Emeralds here on ACI's forum.
The journey to find my perfect speaker seemed like a very long one. Before the Emeralds I had the Bose companion 2.1 speakers connected to my computer (dont kill me! lol). I had these throughout college and when I moved into my house. Well it got to the point where I couldn't listen to those things very long... they just seemed to hurt my ears. The highs were excruciating (sp?) the mids were practically non-existent and the low end left much to be desired. So I began a quest to find my perfect speaker. Like so many people on this forum and various others I relied heavily on (subjective) reviews from magazines to get somewhat of an idea of what a speaker had to offer. I also scoured many of the major forums looking for personal opinions on what I could use for a very near-field environment for my computer. I wanted to a least get a taste of what true audio quality was all about.
So that led me to my first choice after reading several reviews and recommendations - the Audioengine A5 powered speakers. Well after hooking them up and listening to them for about 2 weeks I had this nagging feeling that I was missing something. They seemed a bit dry (for lack of a better word). The highs did not fatigue my ears like the Bose and the mids were very nice and punchy for what the speakers were. But all the while I was looking for a non-powered bookshelf speaker that would better suit my needs. After reading several more reviews and chatting with Mike at ACI I ordered a pair of B-stock Emerald XLs and returned the A5's for a refund. I didnt get a chance to compare the two side by side b/c I was nearing the 30 day period on the A5's.
So the UPS man showed up with a rather small box at my door. I opened the box up to find a flawless pair of gorgeous piano black Emerald's. B-stock?
Hardly, these looked brand new! I powered these speakers with a Harman Kardon HK3490 stereo receiver hooked up to the optical out of my soundcard. First of all let me say that my speaker placement requirements were less than ideal. They're very close to a wall at the back and a little less than 2.5 feet away from a wall on either side. Well I just have to let you know that I had no idea what I was missing without these! It blows my mind to know that I've listened to certain songs for years and not noticed some of the things that these little pearls brought out! Now these are no low end monsters obviously. I had a subwoofer for that...or so I thought. I had these hooked up and listened to them several days without the sub connected. Well when I hooked the sub up, to my surprise it actually took away from the enjoyment I was having with the Emerald's by themselves. Granted this was only an 8" driver and I should have spent more money up front on a quality sub. So the only negative to these little guys is that I am now spending more money on a quality sub driver for my DIY project. I can listen to these for hours on end without a hint of fatigue. They are exactly what I was looking for and they have faithfully reproduced all of my music from Beethoven to Metallica and Tool to Tommy Castro and Antoine Dufour. They can get very loud with no sign of distortion. I haven't maxed them out yet because, well my ears give up before the speakers lol. I believe I have found a true audiophile quality speaker and I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute I've spent with these speakers. I definitely would have no reserve about recommending these to anyone.
Here's the speaker placement and thats a 28" screen for size reference.
So my journey to find MY perfect speaker has ended. Mike really nailed it with these guys! I have never had such amazing customer service in all my life. The whole experience from inital questions to the purchase to the listening tests was absolutely a breath of fresh air. Anyone who is in the market for a small bookshelf should definitely have this speaker on their short list! Truly amazing sound, perfect fit and finish, very solid build and amazing looks! Whats not to like?
A loyal ACI customer for life,
Mike
