Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

With over 100 hours of output and a few dozen of actual listening to the Audioengine HD3 speaker, with a reservation, I have decided to keep these speakers. The Pros: Sound Quality Onboard amplifier quality and analog input resolution Headphone output quality Form factor Fit and finish Capable of sustained, quality unreasonably loud and generally unflappable output The Middle: Where the reduced bass selector switch cuts bass Backplate of the powered speaker can get super hot, doesn’t affect sound quality. The Bad: Onboard DAC in USB mode instantly shuts down on silence cutting off the start of every sound sent to it, even going from track to track. Other: The HD3 is one of the only pieces of audio equipment I have ever used that actually does break in and requires a period of use before its actual output sound is realized. This is opposed to the typical scenario where the user gets used to a piece’s sound signature. The sound output is definitely the star of the show with these speakers and has cemented in my mind that Audioengine considered the actual speakers, drivers, and driving section first and foremost. When connected to a Schiit Yggdrasil, a Denon DA-300 USB, Pioneer XDP-100, or run off of the analog output from the connected PC they playback admirable levels of detail and personality intrinsic of each source. They render sound with an impressive level of resolving capability that is particularly noteworthy. I have a couple of class A amplifiers and the amp section of the HD3 is no slouch. The HD3s are sho’nuff pretty in walnut, well put together. I personally like the design choices they made in regards to Bluetooth functionality. Loud or whisper quiet, these speakers are stunners. Better still, the headphone output is something of note and one of the principal reasons I have decided to keep these speakers. The headphone output is excellent regardless of whether I am running my 8 ohm Shure SE846 IEMs despite being a smidge below Audioengine’s specification of resistance for best results. With the SE535 or SRH-1840 they do a similarly great job. Not perfect but for most, even my picky self, the HD3 is good enough to be the sole amplification source for your headphones. You are going to spend comfortably beyond Fiio money to fully outstrip the HD3 in this regard. In regards to output volume I generally do not understand the few but consistent complaints I have read about their output level. As desktop speakers they have a lot of headroom for volume before running the risk of damaging hearing in extended playback scenarios. For a small room, say 20’x16’x8’ they will be overwhelming for room acoustics at max output. For larger rooms, there are bigger speakers available. Even with hearing protection their output on a desktop is clear and loud enough to be uncomfortable at max so even those with notable hearing loss should be well satisfied with these as a desktop speaker. I do have minor concerns about to longevity of these speakers owing to the fact that when driven hard the amp backplate gets hot. Really hot. You wouldn’t be able to grab the speaker, cupping from the bottom and carry it for about 5 minutes after shut down unless you work in a weld shop or as a cook and can withstand more heat than normal. This is to be expected from a Class A/ AB amplifiers designs but some heat sinking would have really helped in this regard. My guess is the form factor is the limiting factor as other Audioengine products have said cooling and I am willing to bet the engineers did their homework here like they did everywhere else and these will survive past the warranty period without a problem. How long is the question. If I get three years of service and they then promptly die I will be satisfied and would instantly short list the HD3 again. The output quality is that good and my concerns are few given my experience with class A and A/B designs. These speakers are truly a wunderkind so I don’t want to overemphasize my biggest nit with HD3 but it’s egregious and almost had me returning them. The DAC inbuilt the HD3 seems to want to instantly go to sleep the very moment there is no audio sent to them and then takes between half to a full second to come back online only to instantly shut off again. If you let output lapse for any measurable time they will shut down and cut off the first moments of audio output as described. EVERY TIME. Transitioning from track to track in VLC media player, Tidal’s web streaming in Chrome, from the Tidal app, or when Windows generates a notification sound absent of background music results in the first half second of audio being cut off. This doesn’t occur via Bluetooth or analog inputs… just the USB DAC. #*^&ing borderline unforgivable. If I hadn’t had a spare DAC sitting around I would have boxed the HD3s back up and returned them hastily in/from/of disgust. One of my main reasons for purchasing this speaker system was the ability to use the USB DAC inbuilt and neat up the desktop wire situation as much as possible. This is just unacceptable functionality and a shame since the DAC is of pretty OK quality. I don’t know why Audioengine would even bother integrating it if they felt it necessary to have the power saving be set so aggressively other than they wanted to check off the feature box. It’s an inkblot on an otherwise stellar report card. This problem occurs on two separate computers. I even went as far as blowing out the driver install on both computers and fiddling with settings configurations to no avail. Neither computer exhibits this behavior when running the Schiit Yggdrasil or Denon DA300 so I am comfortable with assigning the blame 100% on the HD3. Of much less concern is the cabinet tuning can make for some… overpresence in the lowest frequencies of output, especially with the bass selector switch in the “full mode”. I don’t want to call it boominess but it is the first word that comes to mind even though it is not quite right. Much less but definitely still there with the bass selector switch in reduced position at rather high output levels. This was a design choice and not an easy one. I get why Audioengine landed where they did. Some, maybe most will never run these speakers with a subwoofer and the HD3 as a standalone output solution is comfortably worth the price charged with out a sub. I am of the opinion that if they do not satisfy (impress is more appropriate considering the physics going on…) your expectations are not realistic. The audio enthusiast in me wishes they had set the low level cut off to avoid the… overpresence at loudest output levels in reduced mode and allow me to put it all on a pair of subwoofers to maintain image. This suggestion is something that could easily be ruminated over several pages of prose but suffice to say I am being REALLY nit-picky by even mentioning it. Long story short. If you are dead set on using these with the integrated USB DAC I would suggest you look into other solutions given the playback problem I have described above or prepare to feed them audio some other way. The DAC itself is solid enough for desktop casual use but its cutting off of every track or sound is just unacceptable. Instinct had me wanting to take three stars off for it but the rest of the HD3’s performance is so good it pains me to not give the review a solid five stars. That performance is why I have kept them. It’s why the have HD3 earned those 4 stars that lead off the review. It is why I will consider these first the next time I am shopping for something in the sub 90 square inch foot print (yes, 90) category or shortest is “bestest” bin. Considering the Audioengine HD3’s price to play and how infuriating I find the DAC’s behavior consider everything written as a glowing endorsement that these speakers become your next set. Equipment used to assess list: Audioengine DS1 desktop stands Ryzen 2700x based computer Alienware 17r4/7820HK/GTX 1080 laptop Schiit Yggrdasil digital to analog converter Denon DAC300USB digital to analog converter Pioneer XDP-100 portable music player Galaxy S9+ phone Shure SE846, SE535, and SRH1840 “headphones” SVS SB-16 Ultra subwoofer.