If you’re short on time and just want the highlights of this article, here it is:
The Audioengine HD4 Bluetooth Speaker System is a great all-around option for listeners who are looking for good sound quality and easy connectivity. Its features include a 4” woofer and a 0.75” tweeter in each speaker, customizable finishes, aptX HD coding, extended range Bluetooth, a built-in headphone amplifier, and a 24-bit DAC.
When it comes to sound quality, the HD4 speakers offer full and clear sound with good bass and treble. I was pleasantly surprised by how vibrant the vocals sounded and how clear the treble was. However, I did find some areas in which the HD4 could improve its sound quality, such as increasing the bass response and smoothing out the highs.
The Audioengine HD4 offers excellent connectivity with its 3.5mm input, stereo RCA input, micro-USB input, and Bluetooth connection. The Bluetooth connection is extended range for multi-room use and features aptX HD coding. Furthermore, the HD4 also has a high-performance headphone amplifier and a 24-bit DAC to provide low-impedance, high-fidelity audio.
Overall, the Audioengine HD4 speakers provide good sound quality that is sure to satisfy music lovers. The balanced sound and easy Bluetooth connectivity make it a great option for listening to music. That said, there are still some areas that could use some improvement, such as increasing the bass response and smoothing out the highs. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a good set of Bluetooth speakers with great sound quality, the Audioengine HD4 is worth considering.
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Now let’s get to its bolts and nuts.
Audioengine HD4 Review: Sound quality
Let me tell you something right off the bat.
The sound quality performance you'll end up getting from a speaker will always depend on your room acoustics - particularly room dimensions and speaker positions.
The impact of the combination of these two is actually so strong that in most cases, it doesn't even make sense to utter a single word on sound quality without speaking of them.
This is also why it's not unusual to see completely different reviews of the same speaker.
In one case the speaker might be placed in a sweet spot inside the room and hence the user might be satisfied. In other cases the same speaker might be ill placed and hence user might even have returned it.
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The point most people miss here is that it mostly isn't even about the engineering behind the speaker itself. It's about where you place the speaker inside which room.
So, in order to solve this problem, I've partnered with Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD Andrea Cicero from AC Acustica and created Soundton - a simple, 2D, browser accessible online speaker placement calculator.
With Soundton, now there's a way to figure the sound quality of most speakers before you buy them.
Read more about its working principles at soundton.com.
The end colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) acoustics.