I am interested in either the A2 or the A5 and I took the opportunity to listen to them in a shop today.
The A2 speakers are tiny, no bigger than most computer speakers. BUT - I didn't find they sounded particularly bad compared to the A5. They sounded a little "boxy" and constrained compared to the A5, but not bad. Certainly loud enough, certainly enough bass - I found they were bassier than the A5. You definitely don't need a sub with these things. Now of course the A5 sounds "effortless". I did find their input level trip point a little high, I had to really crank the input volume to get them to turn on. This would mean the Squeezebox alarm fade-in wouldn't work, it would only kick in when the volume reached near maximum so it would start late. On the other hand, there was a bunch of stuff on the A5 that I'd be paying for but couldn't use - USB charging jack, secondary inputs, 120 VAC power outlet. And that bright blue LED would be distracting in a dark bedroom. I found the A2 finish better than the A5, a glossy piano black, very smooth, much like the SB3 black plastic and the remote plastic. The A5s looked cheaper actually, a matte plastic, some fit and finish blemishes and not the nice finish the A2 comes in. The back panels on each are very impressive, quite solid and with a considerable amount of connection options. The two speakers are connected together with conventional speaker wire, meaning you could use a custom length. The A2 has a metal volume knob on the back, the A5 a plastic volume knob on the front which feels cheap. Obviously I'm leaning towards the A2. I could be very happy with that sound actually. The A5 sounded better - but with a couple of caveats. I may not be able to justify the price difference between the A2 and the A5. -- Mark Lanctot Ben Klass: "I won't even eat a pre-7.0 meal. Well, unless it involves bacon." SB2, Transporter, beta SBR, beta SBC, pre-production SBC ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mark Lanctot's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2071 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=40455 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
