Gutted about poor sounding Acoustic Energy Aego speakers

mobfant

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I've just received some Acoustic Energy Aego M speakers for my laptop and given them a play and to be honest, I'm gutted. The sound quality is much poorer than I expected, completely underwhelming. I've tried a range of songs (classical, pop, rock) and the vocals are crisp and clean, like the many raving reviews say, but the midrange is non-existent and the sound is completely lacking in warmth. The system has been tested with a few songs and I brought in a couple of mates for a second opinion, all who think it's a good quality set up but nothing special and has this cold feel.

So, question is, do I leave them to play to break them in, in the hope that the quality will improve, or stop playing and try and return them? Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 
So what is driving these speakers you forget to advise us?
What sort of compression is being used if MP3, WMA etc.
It maybe the source that is creating the problem as the speakers will struggle to give good quality if let down by the source material.
 
Generally mp3 192 kbps, although (cheaper) speakers I've had before have played the same tunes at much higher sound quality, and given that most of my music collection is encoded at this quality I wouldn't want to keep speakers that couldn't make it sound good. I'll download some flac tunes and see if that makes a difference.
 
So what is driving these speakers you forget to advise us?

They're PC speakers, the amps are in the sub unit. As for sound quality they're highly rated on another forum. But considering most there don't have a clue about sound quality wouldn't trust them. On the other hand they're made by AE so shouldn't be terrible.
 
I think they are considered excellent as far as 2.1 computer speakers go.... So yes, they probably are excellent when compared to Creative or Logitech setups, but when compared to even a very cheap stereo system fall short.

I have a pair and use them with a computer, I think they are ok and are quite decent value. What do you normally listen to music through?
 
Ive got the same speakers through my desktop and they sound really good and very loud and powerful for the money there is nothing under £150 that come close. But dont forget they are what they are dont even try to compare them to any stereo system but do sound better than some micro stereos ive heard. I only paid £70 new of ebay for them there £100 to £130 RRP every were else.:clap:
 
Unfortunaly nearly every Sub/Sat package regardless of price are designed to be bright for gaming and movies. The only manufacturers I have heard that make warm AV gear are Arcam and some Mission gear, not alot.

If you want a cheap HiFi setup, look at eBay loads of bargains to be had.
 
You paid £70 for 2 speakers and a sub, you can't really expect miracles in terms of audio quality.
 
I paid £100 for them on ebuyer (couldn't find them cheaper on ebay at the time). It's not that I'm expecting world-class quality at this price, it's that when I compare them to the cheap micro system of my housemate and the £50ish Creative speaker system that my other housemate has, and previous systems I've had, they don't sound anywhere near as good. I'll see if ebuyer will take them back and then reconsider exactly what I want and how much I'm willing to pay. Thanks to all for your advice.
 
What size are the sat drive units? Really need to be 3" or 4" to have half decent mid range capabilty. 1" or 2" aren't suitable. Bose ;)
 
I have these speakers and can say they sound great on my pc - playing mp3 and cd - . Especially when they cost £100 pounds. maybe there is a problem with them or something
 
I agree with what has been said here. Either you were expecting too much from them, or there could be something wrong with your setup. After having a listen to mine I honestly cannot see how someone could be 'gutted' about the sound quality.
 
If you dont like them - return them - but as already stated - £100 for a 3 channel amp, 2 mains and a sub is a long way below the level for top quality sound.

If you are not looking for a mobile solution, then get some nice bookshleves 2nd hand, (if you like warm mids go for paper or kevlar cones and slk tweeters) I would look at ruark or wharfdales, and an amp that sounds to your taste, but I still doubt you will manage this for under £100.
 
Coincidentally, I've just got these to use with my TV as I don't have room for a 5.1 system. Set them up and so far quite impressed, a decent improvement on the TV's own speakers. Perhaps a little bright & lacking in the midrange but I'm sure I've read elsewhere that after a while they 'settle down' too. For £105, I think they're pretty good.

Only thing I've noticed is that when the TV is switched off and the speakers/sub left on you notice some 'white noise' from the speakers. I don't know if this is because they're 'active' speakers but it's not much of a problem as you only notice it up close. I read elsewhere of earlier batches of these speakers (18mths + ago) having a fault whereby there was a buzzing from the Sat speakers but presume this was something else.
 
If you dont like them - return them - but as already stated - £100 for a 3 channel amp, 2 mains and a sub is a long way below the level for top quality sound.

If you are not looking for a mobile solution, then get some nice bookshleves 2nd hand, (if you like warm mids go for paper or kevlar cones and slk tweeters) I would look at ruark or wharfdales, and an amp that sounds to your taste, but I still doubt you will manage this for under £100.

Cheers. I'm not looking for top quality but as I mentioned, these sounded worse than my housemates' speakers that cost half the price.

Think I might pop into Richer Sounds and try and have a listen first hand to some. The main issue for me is that I only use my laptop for music and don't have a micro system or hifi. Plus, given the choice, I'd rather pay £200 - £300 for better a better quality speaker/sub setup than pay the same amount for a separate/micro system with (presumably) worse sound.
 
I've just literally purchased a pair of these speakers and connected them up to my PC last night.

They sound fantastic.

I have the bass switch set to "1" on the sub, and even at "medium" volume levels can see me upsetting the neighbours quite quickly..:rolleyes:

Just got to get a couple of extension leads and my barbecues are going to take on a whole new lease of life...:D:D:D

Not being funny, but are you sure you've got them connected up properly?

As I say, mine sound superb.
 
It could also be the latop having a crappy soundcard. Or due to any software equalisers/special effects some drivers have.

If other computer speakers previously sounded much better, perhaps they are tuned for poorer quality sounds e.g. low bitrate digital music/game sound effects?

If you have an old CD walkman, try playing that through them. If it sounds good then it's either the soundcard, or the highly compressed source. If it's still rubbish, vore with your wallet and send them back.
 
I've just literally purchased a pair of these speakers and connected them up to my PC last night.

They sound fantastic.

I have the bass switch set to "1" on the sub, and even at "medium" volume levels can see me upsetting the neighbours quite quickly..:rolleyes:

Just got to get a couple of extension leads and my barbecues are going to take on a whole new lease of life...:D:D:D

Not being funny, but are you sure you've got them connected up properly?

As I say, mine sound superb.

I'm not sure how I could have connected them wrongly though?

I have no problems with the bass or the treble, which do sound pretty great. The sound is too cold for me. Maybe I'm being pedantic or it's just the way my ears are set up.

I have a couple of bookshelf speakers that I used at my old house. Is it possible to connect those at the same time (i.e. put the wires into the same holes in the sub) as the smaller Aego speakers?
 
It could also be the latop having a crappy soundcard. Or due to any software equalisers/special effects some drivers have.

If other computer speakers previously sounded much better, perhaps they are tuned for poorer quality sounds e.g. low bitrate digital music/game sound effects?

If you have an old CD walkman, try playing that through them. If it sounds good then it's either the soundcard, or the highly compressed source. If it's still rubbish, vore with your wallet and send them back.

The speakers I used before were cheapish but still good bookshelf speakers I bought from Richer Sounds a while ago, running through an old stereo.
 
I've just received some Acoustic Energy Aego M speakers for my laptop and given them a play and to be honest, I'm gutted. The sound quality is much poorer than I expected, completely underwhelming. I've tried a range of songs (classical, pop, rock) and the vocals are crisp and clean, like the many raving reviews say, but the midrange is non-existent and the sound is completely lacking in warmth. The system has been tested with a few songs and I brought in a couple of mates for a second opinion, all who think it's a good quality set up but nothing special and has this cold feel.

So, question is, do I leave them to play to break them in, in the hope that the quality will improve, or stop playing and try and return them? Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Just recieved a set of Acoustic Energy Aego's yesterday, I must say out of the box, My first impressions where, I may have maid a mistake buying these:rolleyes: After some tweaking in Vista and with the sub, the sound is totally transformed;) I'm really impressed with the sound from these speakers for the size, picking up details I have never heard from my old Creatives:D bass, midrange, warmth it's all there:lesson: Would love to get this set up in a 5.1 configuration for my bedroom:cool:
 
Would love to get this set up in a 5.1 configuration for my bedroom:cool:

I'd prefer Girls Aloud....:smashin::smashin::smashin:

Joking aside, it's what I'm thinking too.
I bet as a 5.1 system it would sound gorgous
 
Just recieved a set of Acoustic Energy Aego's yesterday, I must say out of the box, My first impressions where, I may have maid a mistake buying these:rolleyes: After some tweaking in Vista and with the sub, the sound is totally transformed;) I'm really impressed with the sound from these speakers for the size, picking up details I have never heard from my old Creatives:D bass, midrange, warmth it's all there:lesson: Would love to get this set up in a 5.1 configuration for my bedroom:cool:

What did your tweaking in Vista and with the sub involve?
 

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