Audioengine HD3 Powered Desktop Speakers (Walnut)

These HD3 speakers have a great warm sound, with excellent stereo separation and soundstage. I have them on my office desk, and coupled with the S6 subwoofer. Here's the thing about small speakers: do not expect a large speaker sound. Simple physics; a .75" tweeter and 2.75" mid-woofer can only produce what it is physically able to produce. In my application, these speakers are within two feet of my ears. I do not need, nor want large speakers. At close range, these are perfect!. With the subwoofer, the bass extension is super!. Now, for better input source to these speakers, invest in a DAC (digitial to analog converter), especially if your streamer is a pc, like I am using. with a higher quality signal source..... WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! do these speakers sing! There ... MoreThese HD3 speakers have a great warm sound, with excellent stereo separation and soundstage. I have them on my office desk, and coupled with the S6 subwoofer. Here's the thing about small speakers: do not expect a large speaker sound. Simple physics; a .75" tweeter and 2.75" mid-woofer can only produce what it is physically able to produce. In my application, these speakers are within two feet of my ears. I do not need, nor want large speakers. At close range, these are perfect!. With the subwoofer, the bass extension is super!. Now, for better input source to these speakers, invest in a DAC (digitial to analog converter), especially if your streamer is a pc, like I am using. with a higher quality signal source..... WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! do these speakers sing! There is a tight snap to the bass, a sharp crisp ring to the highs, and a nice warm midrange. I can clearly hear the vocals and not have them drowned in the midrange, like many less expensive speakers. I can distinguish between kick drum and bass, and can hear details I never heard before, like the pick plucking the guitar string, or the singer breathing in the mic during vocals. To recap, HD3s are superb for close range listening, like desktop application, purchase the S^ subwoofer for a larger audio range or listening, groom the source input with a DAC, and you will have a "desktop audiophile" sound system. Thank you Audioengine for your great American Made speakers and equipment. In fact, the HD3s are so good, I am thinking bout upgrading to the HD4s (if they will fit on my desk). Cheers!

I recently downsized from a full 5.1 system on my PC to these desktop speakers. I'm still debating whether or not to add in the subwoofer, though I likely won't. I haven't yet gone through the recommended break-in period, but they already sound amazing. They don't give me the bass that my giant subwoofer did, but I didn't expect that they would. They do still give rich sound, and are perfect for what I was looking for. The built-in DAC is a nice touch, so I'm happy with the purchase for sure. A much cleaner look than my previous setup, which is great, since I'm looking to minimize the *stuff* on my desk. I haven't even tried the Bluetooth yet, but that's not why I bought them. An added bonus. Terrific purchase. I would recommend to anyone looking for a good set of ... MoreI recently downsized from a full 5.1 system on my PC to these desktop speakers. I'm still debating whether or not to add in the subwoofer, though I likely won't. I haven't yet gone through the recommended break-in period, but they already sound amazing. They don't give me the bass that my giant subwoofer did, but I didn't expect that they would. They do still give rich sound, and are perfect for what I was looking for. The built-in DAC is a nice touch, so I'm happy with the purchase for sure. A much cleaner look than my previous setup, which is great, since I'm looking to minimize the *stuff* on my desk. I haven't even tried the Bluetooth yet, but that's not why I bought them. An added bonus. Terrific purchase. I would recommend to anyone looking for a good set of desktop speakers.

I bought the Audioengine HD3 to see whether the sound is as magical as the A2 line of speakers, but with the addition of a switch to smooth the bass response when adding an external subwoofer. The HD3s create the same crystal clear miniature orchestra that I have awakened to for the last 12 years on a pair of A1s. Improbable as it seems, it is easy to hear the difference between a 9ft Boesendorfer Imperial Concert Grand and the Steinway equivalent on these tiny speakers. The casework is a beautiful light walnut, which looks great with or without the grille. Positioning needs to be well away from adjacent flat surfaces and aimed above ear height for the optimum sound stage. My intended use case uncovers a problem, however. In my retirement I use a ASUS Chromebox for ... MoreI bought the Audioengine HD3 to see whether the sound is as magical as the A2 line of speakers, but with the addition of a switch to smooth the bass response when adding an external subwoofer. The HD3s create the same crystal clear miniature orchestra that I have awakened to for the last 12 years on a pair of A1s. Improbable as it seems, it is easy to hear the difference between a 9ft Boesendorfer Imperial Concert Grand and the Steinway equivalent on these tiny speakers. The casework is a beautiful light walnut, which looks great with or without the grille. Positioning needs to be well away from adjacent flat surfaces and aimed above ear height for the optimum sound stage. My intended use case uncovers a problem, however. In my retirement I use a ASUS Chromebox for my general web browsing and as a playback source. I turn off Bluetooth on the chromebox and use what the chromebox describes as “Audioengine HD3 Audio 1,0 (USB)” to send a digital USB signal directly to the HD3 micro USB input. I cannot reliably initiate that feed without first loading the YouTube start page and initiating playback of a YouTube video, and then, _while the video is playing_, I can initiate audio only playback with Audio Player, VLC or Google Music Play, which freezes the video and starts normal audio playback. If YouTube playback is absent or paused, the players act as though they are running but there is no sound output. The players seem to be able to interrupt an existing playback stream, but not to initiate one. I have had what I think is a similar problem with the A2+ Wireless, causing me to drop back to a pair of A2+, which work fine on the USB output.