Audioengine HD3

Good value for money – I bought the pair of speakers in white colour more than a year ago and it still works great. The Bluetooth connection could be a bit weak if you are far from the speakers but you could have the cord connection option. The bass is not too robust so if you prefer strong bass, you may need to get an operate subwoofer to reinforce the bass. All in all it is a good pair of desktop speakers good for music and computers.

The set up may be a bit of a process at the beginning but the picture for this review should be able to help.

Amazing little "Audiophile JR" computer desktop speaker setup for music & games – If you're after just a good pair of speakers for music / youtube / general use, that have good style & great sound, then look no further, fully recommended. Great speakers for those that like movies & music as your main uses, they work perfectly for gaming as well, but those that like first person shooters would probably prefer a surround sound setup instead.

Good stuff: - Great sound stage, put the speakers 2+ meters apart and you don't hear them as point sources, just sounds like it's coming right in front of you, just enveloping you in great sound. - Great detail, can hear a lot of subtle elements within any song or video and really appreciate the sound mix provided by the content. - "laid back" the audio isn't trying to beat you about the head, they are just slightly warm but retain great sharp detail. Easy to listen to for hours without fatigue. - No matter your preferred taste in music they're enjoyable to listen to, after listening to a range of electronica, Jazz, metal, pop, everything I threw at it, it was just enjoyable with only a single caveat (below). - Expandable, has a number of ports to allow expansion to a subwoofer or upgrade to a desktop DAC if you wish in future. - Easily fits on almost any desktop, they're reasonably small & very well designed.

Not so good stuff: - Lacks some bass, while they sound great, for example when playing funk, they will provide a lot of detail from the bass guitar & plenty to enjoy in drum and bass, they can be a little anaemic at times and just can't stretch to really low bass levels (to be expected for the size) If you prefer more thud, use the rear output ports to add a powered sub to enhance. Just double check you have the bass switch set correctly before buying more speakers first, may be fine for most. - Despite the claims in the datasheet of 24bit audio, Windows 11 only picks up the internal DAC as a 16bit 48khz, no use for your Tidal master subscription for these speakers. Having said that, they reproduce sound really well, so most won't notice at all. I suspect they're internally up-sampling to 24bit for noise reduction, but can't be sure. Otherwise, add an external DAC if that's what you have/want. - If you want to play REALLY loud, they'll struggle near top volume, no distortion, just less authority as you dial them up, perhaps get the larger sibling to this unit if you need to fill the room a bit more. - Probably wouldn't fill a large room, great for computer desktop use, wouldn't be as good in larger rooms. I think they're designed as a near-field (sitting relatively close to them) speaker setup.

I have no regrets investing in these speakers and can address any shortcomings with expansions/upgrades down the track should I feel the need. For now I'm just really enjoying the quality of the sound. Even without having fully broken them in, they're doing a great job and should slightly improve as they break in.

Only missing the last star due to giving the impression they're 24bit DAC speakers from their website/datasheet. For their size & price however, they're very easy to recommend over common computer speakers which these are a clear upgrade over.

Awesome high fidelity sound! – I was looking to purchase desktop speakers for my new monitor and had a budget of $299. Sonos would have been my preferred choice but unfortunately Sonos One's don't have an input for PC. So I searched and I watched many, many reviews and ended up splurging a bit and purchased a pair of Audioengine HD3's after finding them on special at PC Case Gear online for $399 (retail $599). The sound they produce is outstanding. They are positioned on my desk on either side of my Samsung 32" 4k monitor. Amazingly, it feels like the sound is projecting from my computer monitor. For their size and purpose I can't imagine a better sounding speaker. You can connect a sub if you want deep bass but music and movies sound great as it is. They are connected by USB but have blue tooth and other options for connectivity. They come with all the connectors you need. I like the on/off volume control on the front as this is very handy. They also have a powered headphone jack. Other speakers I looked at were too large or had limited connectivity. In conclusion, every time I listen to them, I'm so happy I spent the money on these puppies - they are worth $599 but if you can get them at a bargain even better.

AudioEngine HD3 Great Computer Speakers – Great sound, good size, nice looking, headphone amplifier, BlueTooth, USB, easy to setup no drivers required. Sound is beautiful. When playing piano music you can hear each note, it is really good! Bass is limited, but still good enough for computer list Great sound, good size, nice looking, headphone amplifier, BlueTooth, USB, easy to setup no drivers required.

Let’s start with the size, they small perfect for desk space. On left speaker are all the connection to the USB, to the right speaker, to Sub, any extra inline.

Sound is beautiful. I like soft music and classical. When playing piano music, you almost can see the strings vibrating. Sometimes, I go a bit crazy and listening load music. Then Bass is limited. To fix this limitation, I have pair the HD3 with AudoEngine S8 subwoofer, and bass issues go away.

How load are they? They are load enough, but not extreme. I would have like a few extras watts, but for its size, they are a great set of speakers.

When playing without the Sub, it is more than enough. I am Medal of Honour, Crysis, and MW type of guys. Explosions sound great, but you don’t feel them. Turn on the S8 Sub and then you will feel it.

Things that I have found a bit annoying are:

Bluetooth connection has priority over the USB connection

When using the headphone, it does not mute the subwoofer.

The Bluetooth connection has priority over the USB connection, so if your phone has been paired to the HD3 and is in range, it will take over the HD3. Computer sound will stop. Fix disabled the phone BT, which is annoying. I have to research if there is a way to disabled the BT in the HD3.

When using the headphone, it does not mute the subwoofer. When you connect the headphone to the HD3, it will mute the speakers, as per normal, but the subwoofer will still play. It is quite funny, when you first use the headphone, you go “Wow I didn’t remember this headphone had such an amazing Bass”. Then you find out that the subwoofer is still active. My solution was to get a remove control power board so I can such off the subwoofer from chair without crawling under the desk.

Am I happy with the HD3? Yes, very happy.

Since this setup include the S8 subwoofer, it is a very good sub.