Description
The HD3 Powered Bluetooth Speaker is a perfect example of the extension of this mission. With music streaming services and digital music players becoming the centre of the modern music system, consumers have had to accept a loss of the premium components resulting in the loss of sound quality. The HD3 Series of Desktop Speakers are a culmination of 13 years of product development, combining the same exceptional sound quality with modern features, including high resolution aptX HD Bluetooth with 30 meter range. The built in analog amplifier allows traditional Hi-Fi speaker separation and the analogue audio inputs allow connectivity from many different sources, including a computer, turntable,TV, or Sonos Connect. The HD3 is an incredibly versatile audio system.
Luigi.R –
Audioengine HD3
Prodotto eccellente, anche se un pò costoso. Ma la qualità si paga. Acquistate come diffusori per il mio PC. Confezionamento eccellente, qualità dei materiali e finiture impeccabili. Ottimo suono, ovviamente non si possono pretendere bassi spacca vetri. Da dimensioni così piccole. Molto facili da configurare. L’unica pecca , visto il costo, potevano metterci un telecomando. Per chi se la sente di spendere i soldi necessari, sono consigliate. Ho ordinato anche i supporti originali. Ovviamente costosetti anche loro💰😔
Juan Pablo Munoz Mendoza –
Sonido muy nÃtido, no esperen mucho en frecuencias bajas.
El sonido es muy bueno. La calidad de la reproducción es excelente. Las bocinas pueden hacer el switch entre señales de entrada de manera casi inmediata. Para un escritorio son excelentes ya que pueden recibir señal señal por distintos medios. Las uso con un subwofer de Edifier y son una maravilla. Obviamente no son drivers grandes, son pequeños, por lo que para una habitación media/pequeña son suficientes, una grande, les faltará potencia. Las recomiendo ampliamente.
Raffaele –
Ottima resa per ambienti medio-piccoli
Casse attive pensate e studiate per ambienti piccoli, medi al massimo (inferiori ai 20mq), esprimono tutto il loro potenziale se connesse direttamente mediante USB con il dac interno in grado di supportare brani in hi-res. Tuttavia se volete una marcia in più collegate un dac esterno superiore (io ad esempio uso l’Hip dac dell’ifi), scartate i cavi audio al suo interno (buoni ma non eccezionali) in favore di un cablaggio più consistente e duraturo e ottimi risultati vi attenderanno. Bassi corposi, mai invadenti, frequenze medie precise mai taglienti, alti puliti e in perfetta armonia con le altre frequenze. Buona la scena ma molto fa anche il corretto posizionamento delle stesse casse, consiglio l’utilizzo di un supporto esterno per indirizzarle al meglio ed evitare sgradevoli vibrazioni. Buono il volume massimo, non distorcono in alcun modo, bluetooth stabile e affidabile con la compatibilità del codec aptx. Sono l’acquisto perfetto per gli audiofili in erba o per chi ricerca una soluzione compatta senza scendere a compromessi del tipo qualità /prezzo.
Jose C Merino –
for their size they are good, but the bass is 3 out 10.
For the size they sound nice, but the bass is missing to me. If you have the space theAudioengine HD4 for ~$20 more are worth the upgrade. With those I don’t an extra sub.
Z. HAQUE –
Great speakers, desktop PC size
I’ve spent 5 figures on my sound setup in the past, in a combination of headphones, dac and amp. I eventually got tinnitus which the headphones probably contributed to, as well as the audio gear.Truth be told, high end audio gear is generally rife with issues, and a lot of it snake oil. And the differences are somewhat minimal.That being said, there are clear differences as well as strengths and weaknesses to different setups.This is one of the easier options for strong audio quality for your PC. I got these for the speaker quality and the dac. The DAC is solid but not really great, I think it’s clear something with the ESSABRE series chips are going to sound better—but those are also much more expensive. They also start taking up a LOT of space.With this option, you have everything you need and things work just fine. You’ll be happy with the sound quality most likely.The bass is a bit low, Audioengine has a subwoofer option that might be worth looking into, but again that does add costs and adds space.I didn’t take a star off for it but my product came with a defective cable. It’s a standard micro USB and I wound up borrowing one and ordered another from Amazon. They are inexpensive, but it definitely was a bit annoying. Just bad luck on my part I guess, but if it does happen to you, it’s something to look out for (the end was plugged up and couldn’t be inserted into a USB slot).Fortunately I do not have the issue with the sound not coming in for a few seconds. Mine comes in right away. I also didn’t bother attaching the bluetooth antenna, as I never plan to use it. For me this is strictly for my PC, and in terms of placement it makes little sense for me to do it any other way.Overall I’m very happy with this purchase and will probably eventually add the subwoofer. There are some alternatives out there, but depending on space requirements and what you already have, they might not really be worth it. But that’s always a personal decision.As it is, these have a great soundstage, are clear, and are very solid in detail.Oh and a note on the banana plugs, they require a bit of force to get in but they will go in, and you don’t need to worry about damage or anything, they’re designed to work that way.Edit- Wound up returning these. The lows and highs just weren’t where I wanted them to be. I wound up getting an AudioEngine subwoofer, but it just would not wake up from sleep most of the time, and once you’re used to the subwoofer that really reduces the sound enjoyment when it’s not coming on (especially as you’ll be configuring the crossover for it).Audioengine took awhile to get back to me, and I wound up deciding to just return everything. I had the subwoofer for less than 2 days and had the speakers for about a week. Now I’m waiting on refunds before I begin my next step. Shipping everything back cost me about $40 (a little more with buying a new cable too), but that’s probably better than having $700+ of equipment I’m not happy with and might worry about down the line.There was a rare mic feedback style crackle I’d heard once or twice a day, not sure if that was going to be a long term issue either, but with everything together I decided that was best for me. I did decide to ding a star.Hopefully things work out for you if you go with this option. I might suggest going with the cheaper A2+ however and a different subwoofer. As for me, chances are I will just go with a separate dac and studio monitors, and just work with that. Space does become a bit of an issue with that, but I will try and make things work. Or I’ll just keep my current speakers, Edifier Exclaims, which are definitely a tier below but are perfectly okay for casual watching, listening and gaming.
Will –
Love it.
These are awesome! Bought these for a home office and gaming workstation. They sound great alone but a sub is a must have and will bring the experience up a level.
Steve Bickle –
The sound is impressive for their size
I bought these to use in the office, they fit nicely below the 4k monitor. They were gifted to me for Christmas, so we tested them in the dining room, where they were able to fill the room with sound. They were used in preference to the Bose Acoustic Wave speaker over the holidays; the bluetooth was more convenient, I found that vocals and classical instruments were clearer, but missed the deeper bass. In the office they are ideal though. Seems like a crazy amount to pay for such small speakers but I would miss them.
Stephan –
Exzellenter Klang mit einer kleinen Einschränkung
Vorab: Ich bin kein professioneller Tester und so habe ich nicht jede Funktion der Lautsprecher geprüft. Ich verwende sie mit der USB-Verbindung und genau das bewerte ich auch.Der Klang über USB ist am PC sehr gut, da leistet der integrierte DAC ganze Arbeit. Ich empfinde den Klang als sehr ausgewogen, habe allerdings Verständnis dafür, dass dem ein oder anderen etwas Bassfundament fehlt. Ich denke, dass das auch der Grund ist, weswegen man mit den Lautsprechern keine Wohnzimmer-Party beschallen sollte. Sie klingen einfach nicht kraftvoll genug, wenn man einen 25 qm Raum in einer dafür notwendigen Lautstärke beschallen möchte. Dafür habe ich sie allerdings auch nicht angeschafft und dafür sind sie ja auch nicht gedacht. Als PC-Lautsprecher machen sie einen ganz hervorragenden Job. Weder Tiefen, Mitten oder Höhen drängen sich auf und der Klang bleibt auch bei so hohen Lautstärken noch ausgewogen, die ich – wenn ich direkt vor den Lautsprechern am PC sitze – niemals hören würde. Gleichzeitig ist der Klang sehr detailreich und nuanciert. Man hört viele Feinheiten, die schlechtere Lautsprecher einfach verschlucken würden.Würde ich sie für den Preis (350-400 Euro) als reine PC-Lautsprecher empfehlen? Das wäre aus meiner Sicht für den Preis schon grenzwertig, aber gerade noch vertretbar. Was die HD3 für mich allerdings zum absoluten Preis-/Leistungsknaller machen, sind der integrierte DAC und Kopfhörerverstärker. Genau richtig für meine “audiophilen 5 Minuten”, die ich zwischendurch immer wieder mal habe. Wäre ich tiefer in der Materie drin, würde mir das vermutlich nicht ausreichen, aber für einen Gelegenheits-Audiophilen ist das auf jeden Fall ein Trumpf und war für mich der Hauptgrund, warum ich so viel Geld für PC-Lautsprecher ausgegeben habe. Hätte ich alles einzeln gekauft (Lautsprecher, DAC, Kopfhörerverstärker), dann hätte ich unterm Strich mehr ausgegeben und hätte sicher keine Lautsprecher erhalten, die am PC so hervorragend klingen.Was gibt es sonst noch zu schreiben? Andere Eingänge und Bluetooth habe ich nicht getestet, also kann ich dazu nichts sagen. Und an der Verarbeitungsqualität gibt es auch absolut nichts zu meckern, die ist hervorragend. Besonders gut gefallen haben mir die Magneten, mit denen die Lautsprecherabdeckungen befestigt werden. Das sorgt bei demontierten Abdeckungen für einen sehr sauberen Look der Lautsprecher, ganz ohne Befestigungslöcher.Einen Stern muss ich jedoch abziehen, auch wenn es eine ganz knappe Entscheidung war, denn wenn die Lautsprecher eingeschaltet sind, jedoch gerade kein Signal ankommt, dann rauschen sie ganz leise und piepsen auch ganz leise. Es ist nur ganz gering über meiner Wahrnehmungsschwelle und wenn es mich richtig stören würde, wären die Lautsprecher auf jeden Fall zurück gegangen, aber das ist zum Glück nicht der Fall. Meist merke ich es erst nach 2-3 Minuten Stille und dann könnte ich die Lautsprecher ja immer noch ausschalten, was ich aber meist nicht mache, weil es eben so gut wie gar nicht stört. Trotzdem denke ich, dass insbesondere das Piepsen nicht hätte sein müssen in dieser Preisklasse und deswegen ziehe ich den einen Stern ab.Update vom 12.09.2019: Ich konnte den Gedanken nicht ertragen, dass ich für 350 Euro Lautsprecher gekauft habe, die evtl. defekt sind und habe mir ein Ersatzpaar zuschicken lassen. Auch diese rauschen und piepsen ganz leise. Behalten werde ich die Lautsprecher dennoch, da sie in der Summe ihrer Eigenschaften einfach zu gut und auch relativ alternativlos in der Preisklasse sind, aber etwas schade ist es schon und wenn gleich zwei Paar Lautsprecher betroffen sind, ist der eine Stern Abzug definitiv gerechtfertigt.
Choco –
I’ve never owned any of their products before but I’ve read through various audio forums of how great their products where
I ordered these from Amazon the moment they were announced by Audioengine. I’ve never owned any of their products before but I’ve read through various audio forums of how great their products where, especially the popular A5+ powered speakers. I was originally running a set of Swan m50w speakers paired to an external sound blaster omni sound card. The DAC from the omni was decent and the audio was pretty great good, especially when playing high bitrate media such as FLAC. However, I was thinking of getting a smaller set of speakers to fit on my desk and started exploring and remembered audioengine was highly spoke of and started to browse their website. At first I was tempted to get the A5+ and say why not I could just shift some stuff around and plug it into my omni or schiit modi 2 to see which worked better as my main DAC. But then that would mean more equipment as I have a magni 2 plugged to my modi 2 for my headphones.I saw the HD3 and started reading the specs for it. It had bluetooth and a built in DAC. The best part was that it wasn’t any random part, but actually from their popular D1 DAC along with the BI bluetooth receiver crammed into these speakers. I was a bit amazed and it would save me the hassle of purchasing another DAC. Another plus was the size of these speakers would fit great on my desk. I ended up purchasing them and when they arrived, they looked stunning. I plugged them immediately into my pc via the provided usb cable along with the extra bass switched on. I was pretty surprised at the audio being pumped out from these small speakers. Music sounded crisp and smoother compared to my swan m50s. I admit the swan m50s sounded great but the HD3 had that spark that was missing from the swans. I’m not really a bass head and usually turn it down often but the bass from the HD3 will do the job. It will give you that thump but just don’t expect anything crazy, especially if you’re playing a bassnector song and expect the floor to reverberate. However, I was a bit curious as how would the subwoofer offered by audioengine would sound. I ended up getting the S8 and then paired it with my HD3. The way to do it was to have the cable plugged in from the output of the HD3 and into the input of the S8. Once these were paired, I switched off the extra bass mode on the back of the HD3 and then played a song. Holy smokes,this definitely made the HD3 shine even more so. Music sounded incredible and I find myself listening more music through the speakers than my headphone setup. I would suggest that if you’re able to dish a bit more, the S8 sub is worth it. It just brings more life into the music. Hopefully this helps people in deciding to pick these up.tl/dr: Awesome set of speakers. Sounds even greater when paired with an S8 sub from audioengine.
Dave –
Quality
What can I say. You get what you pay for.