Audioengine has been making brilliant desktop active speakers at an affordable price for years and without compromising the sound quality which is quite an impressive feat. The Audioengine A2 is one such active speaker where it has been well-received and highly rated by delighted users ever since its debut. It has an elegant speaker design that has become rather iconic. Of course like every other speaker, the A2 does have its own strengths and limitations.
Due to its compact size and a small 2.75″ aramid fiber woofer, the Audioengine A2 active speakers are not really cut out for impactful bass performance. If you want thumping bass and that deep rumbling low-end delivery, a subwoofer will be needed. A powered subwoofer can help by supplementing the overall bass performance, delivering the low frequencies which the Audioengine A2 speakers couldn’t reproduce, and delivering them at a prominent level. For listeners who use their desktop sound system to watch movies or play video games, integrating a subwoofer should greatly improve your experience.
Finding a subwoofer that will match the Audioengine A2 active speakers will require us to gather more data. Once we have learned more about the A2 as well as your subwoofer requirements, we can then prepare a list of the best subwoofers which we could go for and partner with these active speakers.
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Sonic Characteristics and Merits of Audioengine A2
The Audioengine A2 comes with a built-in amplifier that outputs 15 Watts per channel (RMS) and up to 30 Watts per channel (Peak). The frequency response is 65Hz-22kHz (+/-2dB) and these specs are rather remarkable for such a compact size speaker at this price point. Audioengine A2 overall bass performance exceeded our expectations, especially the midbass delivery where it has weight and is tight. For a speaker of this size, the A2s were able to dig deep and deliver the low frequencies out but do lack the impact and prominence though. The agile bass delivery blends in nicely with the upper registers.
The treble can be a bit bright and fortunately does not sound harsh when pushed. Overall sound reproduction is clean sounding and is packed with details. Stereo imaging is good as well but the sweet spot is quite narrow. The soundstage is decent at best which is expected from a pair of compact size speakers. For nearfield music listening, the Audioengine A2 active speakers are certainly amazing for the price. When it comes to watching movies and gaming, the bass performance will not be satisfying and impactful without the integration of a subwoofer.
Subwoofer Requirements
Working on your budget should be the first and foremost task to do as the amount allocated to invest in a powered subwoofer will determine how many choices you can go for. Setting a comfortable budget with a bit of headroom will be a great idea as well. Another important requirement to consider will depend on the music you are listening to. Are the music bass-heavy and involve instruments that deliver subterranean bass frequencies? If you answer yes, then you really should go for subwoofers where they can efficiently reach down to 20Hz or below and reproduce these bass frequencies prominently.
If you mainly use your desktop sound system to watch movies and/or play video games, going for ported subwoofer will be a better option as ported subwoofers are more efficient when it comes to bass output and has a higher max SPL. For listeners who find their music listening experience is the most important, going with a sealed cabinet subwoofer will be an ideal choice. Sealed subwoofers are faster, more accurate, and agile to keep up with the Audioengine A2 speakers. The bass quality of a sealed subwoofer is usually what audiophiles would prefer. You probably would be using the Audioengine A2s for nearfield listening and if that’s the case, you wouldn’t really need a large subwoofer. Larger and more powerful subwoofers are usually meant for medium to large size rooms.
The Audioengine A2 will do fine in a small listening room but if it is bigger than that, we will suggest getting a larger pair of speakers instead of a bigger subwoofer. Sealed cabinet subs can be excellent for home theater use so don’t count them out yet and we will suggest hearing them out first before finalizing the type. You will need to allocate a permanent space for the subwoofer and this alone will also heavily influence the size of the sub you should get. These are the usual main requirements you might want to go through and also you should add in a few more of your own. When you are more or less firm with what you require from a sub then please check out the list of the best subwoofers to partner with Audioengine A2 active speakers below.
Best Subwoofers to pair with Audioengine A2
The Klipsch R-12SW is one of the best subwoofers to pair with your Audioengine A2 active speakers. This is a very highly rated subwoofer and is praised by many of its satisfied owners, not to mention, it has an affordable price tag too. The 12″ front-firing driver of the R-12SW along with its 400 Watts of dynamic power will be enough to fill a small listening room with exciting bass performances. There is a rear-firing bass port and we will suggest placing the Klipsch R-12SW at the corner of your room. This will allow the walls behind and beside the R-12SW to reinforce its bass reproduction. At this price point, it is definitely worth your time to check it out.
More Information at Amazon – Klipsch R-12SW Subwoofer
For listeners with a really tight budget, the Elac SUB1010 will be one of the best subwoofer choices to go for and match it with your Audioengine A2 speakers. The Elac SUB1010 has a very affordable price tag which should fit almost everyone’s budget. It is a 10″ subwoofer with up to 120 Watts of peak power (Class AB amplifier) and can reach down to 38Hz bass extension. The SUB1010 will be able to improve the overall bass performance and deliver slightly deeper bass frequencies than the Audioengine A2 speakers. For a subwoofer at this price point, we can’t really nitpick the Elac SUB1010.
More Details at Amazon – Elac SUB1010 120 Watt 10″ Powered Subwoofer
Going with Audioengine S8 will be an excellent choice as both the A2 active speakers and subwoofer are designed by the same company, they most probably will have similar sound signatures, providing us with a more cohesive performance. It has an 8″ down-firing driver with a front-firing bass port and can muster up to 250 Watts of peak power. The Audioengine S8 has a frequency response of 27Hz-180kHz (+/-1.5dB) which is pretty remarkable for a compact subwoofer at this price range. The visual aesthetic of the S8 will also match nicely with the speaker designs of the Audioengine A2.
More Details at Amazon – Audioengine S8 250W Powered Subwoofer
For listeners who find their music listening experience very important to them, the SVS SB-1000 Pro will be an amazing choice to go for and pair it with your Audioengine A2 active speakers. It is an entry-level sealed cabinet subwoofer designed and made by the coveted SVS brand which specializes in making high-performance subwoofers. The SVS SB-1000 Pro is considered to be a very powerful sealed subwoofer at this price range with up to 820 Watts of peak power and can dig down to 20Hz. It can deliver articulate and agile bass performance where it will fit in nicely with your Audioengine A2s.
More Details at Amazon – SVS SB-1000 Pro Sealed Subwoofer
If you are an HT enthusiast or a bass fanatic, the SVS PB-1000 Pro will be one of the best ported subwoofers to go for. It is a powerful 12″ subwoofer with 325 Watts RMS power and has a peak of 820+ Watts. The PB-1000 Pro is capable of reaching deep into the sub-bass region of down to 17Hz and delivering them out with efficiency. It will match well with the Audioengine A2 speakers especially if you want an exciting home cinematic audio experience with thunderous bass reproduction. The SVS PB-1000 Pro has a modest price tag as well and you should definitely hear them out.
More Details at Amazon – SVS PB-1000 Pro Ported Subwoofer
The HSU Research VTF-2 MK5 will be one of the best subwoofers to match with the Audioengine A2 speakers especially if you want more versatility. This is a hybrid subwoofer where you can switch to either sealed or ported mode with 1 or 2 ports open, giving you plenty of flexibility. You can switch to the sealed operating mode when playing your favorite tunes or ported mode for watching movies or gaming. It is very powerful as well with up to 1400 Watts of power (short-term) and delivers down to 16Hz bass extension with 1 port open. It is modestly priced and will be an exemplary subwoofer partner for your Audioengine A2 active speakers.
To Conclude
You can shortlist the subwoofers either based on your budget or main usages such as music listening, HT use, gaming, etc. The shortlisted subwoofers should be auditioned and from there you can find out which sub sounds the best to you. You might want to audition these subs in your own listening room together with your Audioengine A2 speakers so as to get a more accurate result. Feel free to use this subwoofers list to compare it with other brands or models not shown here.
