Well, over at Playlist, our own Chris Breen has just reviewed the new Audioengine 5 — where he gives it four and a half play buttons out of five. Cost? $350 — same as the iPod Hi-Fi.
He writes:
At the same time, the sound they offer is impressive. While I find the iPod Hi-Fi's sound too mid-heavy, the Audioengine 5s are more balanced to my ears. The bass is pronounced without the thump, the low-to-mid range is a touch heavier than I like but the application of a little iTunes/iPod EQ clears that up (the speakers include no tone controls of their own), and there's enough high end to lend a nice sheen to my classical and jazz recordings. And, of course, because you can separate the speakers, you can create the kind of soundstage that the iPod Hi-Fi can only dream of. The speakers' sound quality is no match for my living room's B&W speakers, but those speakers are unpowered, larger, and significantly more expensive. Compare them instead to powered speakers priced under $500 that are intended for the portable music market and you'll feel the way I do-nothing can touch them.
