Hey. So what did you end up getting for your pc/laptop setup? I am searching for one now. I was going to get the HD3 since it is smaller than the A5. MY first pick was the sonos beam. I like that it is wifi and can be connected to your pc as well. The issue is that it will not fit on my desk. I've thought about mounting it underneath my desk but the sound could be hinder.
I think you must be picking up the hiss from your input, I have a pair of those and when I hook them up to my turntable they get a slight hiss when I turn the volume up, wich goes away if I unplug the RCA. I have them hooked to a Polk Audio active subwoofer and they sound great.
I have tried a lot of sources and there is zero noise (only when is connected to one that is intended for passive speakers). More: for a good sound you need a good source (not just a PC, but a PC with a sound blaster)
Just googled the DAC. I found an article on techhive in which a company rep told the author of the article that there's a higher DAC via bluetooth. But via USB it's limited to 16-bit. They should have made that clearer in the packaging/marketing. Also, perhaps the sound quality wasn't as good because you didn't have a stand for the speakers and also because you had them right up against the wall for some tests.
Sad to hear Audioengine isn’t making the grade; of all the A2 and A5 in this and family/friends homes are dead silent with USB connections. Most are using the included USB cable, but that cable was too short for a few installations, so they are on longer, good, shielded cables; but past that, no extra effort was required. I’d be super curious to know if you attached the same ‘hissy’ units to someone else’s computer, preferably in a different home/office. I’m having a hard time accepting that you don’t have some interference being introduced by your environment or your particular machine. Good luck!
Vtudio - Pro [in Training] I have multiple pairs of both A2 & A5 amongst my immediate circle; but I have a close friend who went A2+ because the Bluetooth was attractive; they sound and perform identically to the A2 when on USB. The Bluetooth latency isn’t horrendous, but it’s something I could never tolerate if using as a workstation; but for pure music, they’re just fine (and quite portable, to boot. I’m disappointed to think the company is cheapening the product after gaining such a solid reputation. Both the A2 and A5 landed on several publications’ top picks in their price range. Like I said on your older videos, they’re not the best in class in their size, but they are definitely a contender for bang for your buck. But now I worry about recommending them if they aren’t performing anymore. But, frankly, don’t you think it odd that every single pair you’ve tested has hiss/hum on the powered speaker? If that hiss existed for everyone, it would show up in reviews elsewhere - especially on the more expensive ones. I know you’ve done many things to isolate your power, but it could still be radio interference or a bad ground/floating neutral/reversed polarity in your office supply. I think you should take your MacBook to another dead quiet building and try the speakers there, preferably with the speakers running on pure battery tested against live AC. It’s just really hard to believe any speaker pair over $150 would produce any noise. I keep all my pairs at 99/100% volume at all times (controlling input volume) and I promise you, if they produced one single dB of noise, I couldn’t and wouldn’t tolerate it, so I get where you’re coming from. I really wish i could come help you; I’m a CS/EE and could probably figure it out. (Sorry for the lack of paragraphs; no return key on TH-cam iPhone interface). Cheers - F
@@headsoftech so sorry, I have to issue a correction; but first, I just dragged three teenagers with excellent musical talent and one with perfect pitch and undamaged hearing through the house to ask them if they could hear any hiss on the Audioengines in our house; they said they can't hear any except on one pair when they press their ears right up against the speaker. I'm old and admit to some hearing damage in my right ear, but I can also just barely hear it if I literally touch my left ear to the tweeter. That pair is an A2+ v09, and it turns out all my sets are A2+ and A5+; and I sincerely apologize for the incorrect statement above; it's been so many years since I purchased them I got confused and lead myself to believe the + model had the Bluetooth, and I specifically avoided that feature. The A2+/A5+ sets that produce no noise are all v07, circa 2016; the v09 set that does is circa late 2017. All are made in China. That's about US$2.2K in this house alone, and I don't regret a cent of it. I'm not an audiophile snob, by any means, but I am extremely sensitive to continuous high and low frequency noise (fluorescent light ballasts; fans; hard drives; motor hum; RFI; etc.), and in many environments I simply have to wear headphones or earbuds or IEMs to shut out that garbage, lest I go mad; so I know where you're coming from. If you can't solve your hiss, have you considered just wearing a set of open-back cans? Or can you not tolerate being tethered to your desk? Your hair is short and healthy; no need to worry about strap-head in your videos.
Thanks so much for your comments mate, I guess I'm just sensitive to those sound frequencies - I have been using laptops for the past 10 years so it's very unnatural to me. At the moment I'm just using my built in monitor speakers - they're very poor in quality, but no hiss.
@@headsoftech So I'm not trying to question your strategy or skills, but your office, to me, doesn't look so small that you couldn't get the speakers a bit further away, especially if you put them on speaker stands or wall mounts or just shelves; then you just aim them dead at your ears and turn them up a bit. Pro Tip 1: use camera tripods you may already own to mock up speaker stands (tabletop or floor). Pro Tip 2: buy a pair of $15 Ikea NOT lamps, and use the excellent base and poles to make a nice, heavy speaker stand at your choice of height (in 12" segments); if your speakers have ¼" female mount points, it's easy to convert the threads to the NOT pole for a really clean looking mount. If they lack mount points, you can rig a simple shelf on top, or a "sling" to hold the speaker. It also serves to remove all the vibration from your desk surface, and it's absorbed by the very heavy base. And I know you discussed somewhere why you don't just want an amp and monitors (unpowered speakers), but I can't recall why this isn't an option. You can go to the thrift stores here and buy small used amps with HDMI/USB input for $10-$20 all day long; even decent 5.1 and 7.1 surround amps are under $50 (but good luck getting one with a matching remote; they usually toss all those in one bin and it's like winning the lottery if you find a match). If you can't find one that has USB input, get one with HDMI input, and use a splitter so you can drive both your display and amp; or even a thirty year old AV amp with an optical S/PDIF / coaxial input and just get a cheap (or affordable) USB to optical DAC, and pair it with a decent set of unpowered speakers, Man! Even a crappy 16/24bit 44.1KHz USB-> S/PDIF for $10 would be better than hearing hiss, and you could do this all for well under $200. You just tried $500 Audioengine; surely you could put together a small, compact home hifi for well under $300 or even $200 that would sound great, if not fantastic. Over time (or up front if you want to drop the same $500) you can get a nice pair of studio monitors, and fire them from the thrift store amp; later you can upgrade the amp to a killer 96KHz 24/48bit DAC For a long time I just had two pair of (really pretty good) JBL surround speakers I got for maybe $75 ($500 new), and had them on a cheap (but decent) Sony 5.1 amp that wasn't overly large; I hid the amp under my desk and controlled volume from my Mac Pro using the stock 2 channel 96KHz optical audio out (later with a 7.1 DAC for Dolby/surround signals). At one point I added a center speaker and used it to mix surround for videos I was producing. The JBLs had both rear and bottom mount as well as a solid base; I put the rear pair on a bookshelf behind me, and the fronts I attached to VESA articulating arms on my VESA mounts for my displays (that I still use today to host my A2+, and occasionally swap out for a pair of A5+). The mounts are nifty because I can quickly change their direction and focus, depending on where I'm sitting or standing. And, again, I can touch them with my fingertips, pointing dead straight on my ears, and there is *zero* hiss.
Maybe the issue is within your electronic setup? Have u checked for any ground loop interference or ground isolator? Hm. As this seem to be a issue on so many speakers that others don’t seem to experience hm
Then you must have RFI from somewhere; there’s just no way the more expensive sets - all of them - produce (easily detected) noise. It would get roasted in every publication’s review.
Love your videos! Although more expensive, I went with a pair of KEF LSX speakers for my desk setup. Aside from a slightly mediocre app, the sound quality, and versatility is incredible. I highly suggest them.
I got the black model (they look more like charcoal to compliment the space gray MacBook Pro). I believe KEF is still running a sale on them through all authorized retailers. Maybe check them out it your local HiFi store for a listen! I also picked up a pair of mini camera tripods to use as stands for around $40USD to complete the look.
@@headsoftechthose are considered some of the best monitor speakers around audiophile wise for what its worth -- look at real monitors instead of gaming/computer speakers
im so comfused with this guys reviews i for one have and run multiple brands of powered and passive speakers through dacs/amplifiers through all of my equipment and not once have i ever heard hissing out of any of my speakers im currently running the newest A5+ for my desk top ive owned the A2+ and my home speakers ELAC and POLK never have i ever heard any hissing.this is not a speaker brand issue my friend.
The reason for why people tolerate the hiss is either they don’t care or are too lazy to bother to return it, that’s pretty much the Australian way.....
I agree with you that HD3 sound wrose with this tag price but I've never tried other in this price tag either ... I use audioengine D1 (DAC)(150$) with custom silver wire(10$) to my HD3(420$) and add a audioengine S8 (subwoofer)(420$). it sound great after all. I believe that the size of HD3 itself isn't enough to drive good bass with make that hiss sound. I still have small amount of hiss sound currently but I don't have plan to change my currently set up yet. with this setup price point, we have variety of choice. I believe we could have better speaker with same price tag. PS. I convert price from Thai Baht to US dollar.
Bruh. This man listens to his speakers at full blast with nothing playing. Who cares about the hiss? I listen to them while they're playing something as intended. If that's your only con I'm buying them!
3:54 is what u came for
actually 4:25
Hey. So what did you end up getting for your pc/laptop setup? I am searching for one now. I was going to get the HD3 since it is smaller than the A5. MY first pick was the sonos beam. I like that it is wifi and can be connected to your pc as well. The issue is that it will not fit on my desk. I've thought about mounting it underneath my desk but the sound could be hinder.
I think you must be picking up the hiss from your input, I have a pair of those and when I hook them up to my turntable they get a slight hiss when I turn the volume up, wich goes away if I unplug the RCA. I have them hooked to a Polk Audio active subwoofer and they sound great.
I have tried a lot of sources and there is zero noise (only when is connected to one that is intended for passive speakers). More: for a good sound you need a good source (not just a PC, but a PC with a sound blaster)
Thanks for the heads up
Just googled the DAC. I found an article on techhive in which a company rep told the author of the article that there's a higher DAC via bluetooth. But via USB it's limited to 16-bit.
They should have made that clearer in the packaging/marketing.
Also, perhaps the sound quality wasn't as good because you didn't have a stand for the speakers and also because you had them right up against the wall for some tests.
We is glad you brought ya Julie. Booyakash, respect.
Sad to hear Audioengine isn’t making the grade; of all the A2 and A5 in this and family/friends homes are dead silent with USB connections. Most are using the included USB cable, but that cable was too short for a few installations, so they are on longer, good, shielded cables; but past that, no extra effort was required. I’d be super curious to know if you attached the same ‘hissy’ units to someone else’s computer, preferably in a different home/office. I’m having a hard time accepting that you don’t have some interference being introduced by your environment or your particular machine. Good luck!
Do you own an A2 or A2+?
Vtudio - Pro [in Training] I have multiple pairs of both A2 & A5 amongst my immediate circle; but I have a close friend who went A2+ because the Bluetooth was attractive; they sound and perform identically to the A2 when on USB. The Bluetooth latency isn’t horrendous, but it’s something I could never tolerate if using as a workstation; but for pure music, they’re just fine (and quite portable, to boot. I’m disappointed to think the company is cheapening the product after gaining such a solid reputation. Both the A2 and A5 landed on several publications’ top picks in their price range. Like I said on your older videos, they’re not the best in class in their size, but they are definitely a contender for bang for your buck. But now I worry about recommending them if they aren’t performing anymore. But, frankly, don’t you think it odd that every single pair you’ve tested has hiss/hum on the powered speaker? If that hiss existed for everyone, it would show up in reviews elsewhere - especially on the more expensive ones. I know you’ve done many things to isolate your power, but it could still be radio interference or a bad ground/floating neutral/reversed polarity in your office supply. I think you should take your MacBook to another dead quiet building and try the speakers there, preferably with the speakers running on pure battery tested against live AC. It’s just really hard to believe any speaker pair over $150 would produce any noise. I keep all my pairs at 99/100% volume at all times (controlling input volume) and I promise you, if they produced one single dB of noise, I couldn’t and wouldn’t tolerate it, so I get where you’re coming from. I really wish i could come help you; I’m a CS/EE and could probably figure it out. (Sorry for the lack of paragraphs; no return key on TH-cam iPhone interface). Cheers - F
@@headsoftech so sorry, I have to issue a correction; but first, I just dragged three teenagers with excellent musical talent and one with perfect pitch and undamaged hearing through the house to ask them if they could hear any hiss on the Audioengines in our house; they said they can't hear any except on one pair when they press their ears right up against the speaker.
I'm old and admit to some hearing damage in my right ear, but I can also just barely hear it if I literally touch my left ear to the tweeter. That pair is an A2+ v09, and it turns out all my sets are A2+ and A5+; and I sincerely apologize for the incorrect statement above; it's been so many years since I purchased them I got confused and lead myself to believe the + model had the Bluetooth, and I specifically avoided that feature. The A2+/A5+ sets that produce no noise are all v07, circa 2016; the v09 set that does is circa late 2017. All are made in China. That's about US$2.2K in this house alone, and I don't regret a cent of it. I'm not an audiophile snob, by any means, but I am extremely sensitive to continuous high and low frequency noise (fluorescent light ballasts; fans; hard drives; motor hum; RFI; etc.), and in many environments I simply have to wear headphones or earbuds or IEMs to shut out that garbage, lest I go mad; so I know where you're coming from.
If you can't solve your hiss, have you considered just wearing a set of open-back cans? Or can you not tolerate being tethered to your desk? Your hair is short and healthy; no need to worry about strap-head in your videos.
Thanks so much for your comments mate, I guess I'm just sensitive to those sound frequencies - I have been using laptops for the past 10 years so it's very unnatural to me. At the moment I'm just using my built in monitor speakers - they're very poor in quality, but no hiss.
@@headsoftech So I'm not trying to question your strategy or skills, but your office, to me, doesn't look so small that you couldn't get the speakers a bit further away, especially if you put them on speaker stands or wall mounts or just shelves; then you just aim them dead at your ears and turn them up a bit.
Pro Tip 1: use camera tripods you may already own to mock up speaker stands (tabletop or floor).
Pro Tip 2: buy a pair of $15 Ikea NOT lamps, and use the excellent base and poles to make a nice, heavy speaker stand at your choice of height (in 12" segments); if your speakers have ¼" female mount points, it's easy to convert the threads to the NOT pole for a really clean looking mount. If they lack mount points, you can rig a simple shelf on top, or a "sling" to hold the speaker. It also serves to remove all the vibration from your desk surface, and it's absorbed by the very heavy base.
And I know you discussed somewhere why you don't just want an amp and monitors (unpowered speakers), but I can't recall why this isn't an option. You can go to the thrift stores here and buy small used amps with HDMI/USB input for $10-$20 all day long; even decent 5.1 and 7.1 surround amps are under $50 (but good luck getting one with a matching remote; they usually toss all those in one bin and it's like winning the lottery if you find a match).
If you can't find one that has USB input, get one with HDMI input, and use a splitter so you can drive both your display and amp; or even a thirty year old AV amp with an optical S/PDIF / coaxial input and just get a cheap (or affordable) USB to optical DAC, and pair it with a decent set of unpowered speakers, Man! Even a crappy 16/24bit 44.1KHz USB-> S/PDIF for $10 would be better than hearing hiss, and you could do this all for well under $200. You just tried $500 Audioengine; surely you could put together a small, compact home hifi for well under $300 or even $200 that would sound great, if not fantastic.
Over time (or up front if you want to drop the same $500) you can get a nice pair of studio monitors, and fire them from the thrift store amp; later you can upgrade the amp to a killer 96KHz 24/48bit DAC
For a long time I just had two pair of (really pretty good) JBL surround speakers I got for maybe $75 ($500 new), and had them on a cheap (but decent) Sony 5.1 amp that wasn't overly large; I hid the amp under my desk and controlled volume from my Mac Pro using the stock 2 channel 96KHz optical audio out (later with a 7.1 DAC for Dolby/surround signals). At one point I added a center speaker and used it to mix surround for videos I was producing. The JBLs had both rear and bottom mount as well as a solid base; I put the rear pair on a bookshelf behind me, and the fronts I attached to VESA articulating arms on my VESA mounts for my displays (that I still use today to host my A2+, and occasionally swap out for a pair of A5+). The mounts are nifty because I can quickly change their direction and focus, depending on where I'm sitting or standing.
And, again, I can touch them with my fingertips, pointing dead straight on my ears, and there is *zero* hiss.
I only watched to see her 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽🔥🔥🔥
The hiss is not in the speakers but in your source or cable/connection.
I'm looking to find some good speakers for my new setup currently have Logitech Z906 but it's time for a upgrade
Let me know which ones you go for mate
@@headsoftech K
Maybe the issue is within your electronic setup? Have u checked for any ground loop interference or ground isolator? Hm. As this seem to be a issue on so many speakers that others don’t seem to experience hm
Yeah, I run my power through a UPS with AVR.
Then you must have RFI from somewhere; there’s just no way the more expensive sets - all of them - produce (easily detected) noise. It would get roasted in every publication’s review.
Love your videos! Although more expensive, I went with a pair of KEF LSX speakers for my desk setup. Aside from a slightly mediocre app, the sound quality, and versatility is incredible. I highly suggest them.
Oh, and the KEF LSX have absolutely no hiss/dead air noise. These speakers can make AM radio sound brilliant!
Thanks for the tip mate, which particular model did you get?
I got the black model (they look more like charcoal to compliment the space gray MacBook Pro). I believe KEF is still running a sale on them through all authorized retailers. Maybe check them out it your local HiFi store for a listen! I also picked up a pair of mini camera tripods to use as stands for around $40USD to complete the look.
They're around $2k here in Australia so too expensive for me, but thanks for the millionaire dream board inspo.
@@headsoftechthose are considered some of the best monitor speakers around audiophile wise for what its worth -- look at real monitors instead of gaming/computer speakers
Like the eyes of your co-host, especially with this top.
What else do you like
im so comfused with this guys reviews i for one have and run multiple brands of powered and passive speakers through dacs/amplifiers through all of my equipment and not once have i ever heard hissing out of any of my speakers im currently running the newest A5+ for my desk top ive owned the A2+ and my home speakers ELAC and POLK never have i ever heard any hissing.this is not a speaker brand issue my friend.
Not everyone's hearing is equal: www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/hearing-different-frequencies
@@headsoftech you stated that it was the speaker making the noise
That's right, some people can't hear the noise.
@@headsoftech I see
I’m stuck between the edifier and the Bose companion
The reason for why people tolerate the hiss is either they don’t care or are too lazy to bother to return it, that’s pretty much the Australian way.....
For we are young and freeeee
This is too comical 🤣. I need to know have you purchased another? Thanks for the great insights 🥇
No, that's it, I've given up on sound. 😔
Vtudio - Pro [in Training] 😹😹😹
Love you’re energy Bro
Love your comment Bro
too good bro. Man i miss australia. Love the people. I got my first monitors today CRX3BT from mackie.
Congrats mate
I agree with you that HD3 sound wrose with this tag price but I've never tried other in this price tag either ... I use audioengine D1 (DAC)(150$) with custom silver wire(10$) to my HD3(420$) and add a audioengine S8 (subwoofer)(420$). it sound great after all. I believe that the size of HD3 itself isn't enough to drive good bass with make that hiss sound. I still have small amount of hiss sound currently but I don't have plan to change my currently set up yet. with this setup price point, we have variety of choice. I believe we could have better speaker with same price tag.
PS. I convert price from Thai Baht to US dollar.
I’ll save you all the time, jump to 4:25
men of culture we meet again
Thank you! I almost wasted my money!
Bruh. This man listens to his speakers at full blast with nothing playing. Who cares about the hiss? I listen to them while they're playing something as intended. If that's your only con I'm buying them!
Love your reviews 🙌
LOL headphones is the conclusion. this video was helpful, thank you
Try a set of IK Multimedia iLoud Mircos fantastic speakers!!!! At $450 AUD not cheap but many reviews rave about them for the cost!
I've read that they have hiss issues too. Do you own a pair?
Girl shows up at 4:25. Thank me later.
I use Genelec 8010a. No hiss.
First of all, RESPECT on owning a $1000 AUD speaker set. Second, I am not a millionaire yet, but when I am, I'll be buying them like a ton of bricks.
@@headsoftech cash in that mac pro refund my brother! ;) ;)
My wife's already spent it on new shoes 😭
My man James Franco
Say hello to my little friend
Now that edifier have the same price. I have an older Logitech ... only some types of music sound good enough.
using hd3...-.-...0 noise... sound quality...is best..of best...wth?...
Do you have a kenguru in your ear?
I have been looking for computer speakers as well but just bought cheap in ear headphones instead.
Smart move
Try Apples HomePod... no hiss
Thanks for the tip mate, but I can't handle the latency of bluetooth for my work.
in 3:54 i total lost you
Gronk!
what the... wearing such ugly scraps? :DD
designwise the speakers are ugly too...
haitch dee three