AS5

Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (i5, 256GB SSD, 40GB RAM, Sonoma 14), 4TB external SSD with Thunderbolt 3, Audirvana Studio, Qobuz Sublime, Singxer SU-6 USB bridge, LHY Audio SW-8 & SW-6 switch, Sonnet Pasithea, LAiV Audio Harmony; Active filter: spl Audio Crossover MkII; Power amplifiers: Vinshine/Kinki Dazzle & mono Ncore 500 Nord Acoustic amps on subwoofer; Headamp: Enleum AMP-23R; Phones: Raal 1995 Immanis; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan] Cables: Exact Express Flame, Furutech; Power delivery: 2 x Kinki/Vinshine Tai Hang on amps and source stack, Furutech DPS-4.1 between wall and conditioners; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, AudioQuest FogLifters; Room: 6 x 8m with open door behind listening seat; Room treatment: 2 x PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps
2nd system: Source: FiiO R7 into Soundaware D300Ref SD transport to Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Preamp/filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos; Loudspeakers: ModalAkustik MusikBoxx; Subwoofer: Zu Method; Cable loom: Exact Express Earth; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra, Akiko Audio Corelli Corundum & Castello Solo; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Furutech cable lifts, Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
2nd headfi system: DAC: Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Headphones: Raal 1995 Magna, HifiMan Susvara
Desktop system: Source: HP Z2 workstation Win11/64; USB bridge: LHY UIP; Ethernet bridge: LHY EFI; Ethernet reclocker: Stack SmoothLAN; DACs: Audalytic DR701 & Gustard R26II; Headphone/preamp: FangSound Dionysus; Speaker amps: Topping B200 monos; Loudspeakers: Virtual Hifi Viper; Headphones: Final D-8000, aune SR7000, FiiO FT7
Upstairs headfi system: FiiO R7; Headphones: Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3
2nd upstairs speaker system: Source: FiiO R7; DAC/pre: COS D1; Amplifier: Kinki EX-M7; Loudspeakers: sound|kaos Vox3 with Dynaudio S18 subwoofer
2-channel video system: Source: Oppo BDP-105; All-in-One: Gold Note IS-1000 Deluxe; Loudspeakers: Zu Mission; Subwoofer: Zu Mission; Power delivery: Furutech eTP-8, Room: ~6x4m
Review component retail: €895 delivered 

Anatomy of a perfect desktop speaker? On June 4th I'd penned a feature on aune's AS5: "Compact. Dual-concentric. Dual mono fully active. Analog filters. Class AB power. Linear power supply. Here dims of 186x240x275mm WxDxH check off compact. A 5½" bio-fibre cone with 1" silk-dome throat tweeter checks off dual-concentric. 60/40W amplifiers for mid/woofer and tweeter, per speaker, check off dual mono fully active. Analog active xover, 100W toroidal transformer and class AB gain circuits check off more specifics. Add RCA/XLR inputs, 5-step bass adjustment, 'high-transparency' grills, golden ratio dimensions, HDF construction and strategically shaped slot port. Say hello to Aune's 8kg/ea. AS5 with claimed response of 45Hz-25kHz. For dispatch to Ireland, Amazon lists a €602.63 base price plus €292.55 for shipping & VAT so €895.18 delivered. Done!" A month later my aune contact Shelly Chen and I emailed about review timing on their new flagship headphone, the AR9000. Its production tuning had finally locked in but not yet the launch campaign and its associated review strategy across sundry platforms including ever-popular YouTube. In the hear/now, I thus proposed taking a closer look at their desktop speaker. My timing proved spot on. Did I prefer black or white? I'm a paleontologist. Definitely white.

Analog active crossover | linear power supply.

Now let's break down my header's Easter egg of perfect. A desktop implies the nearfield. That means close proximity. Here the ideal speaker's geometry is the single-driver widebander; or its modern equivalent, the dual-concentric or coaxial driver. Think Tannoy, KEF, Fyne and any number of Andrew Jones designs for TAD, Elac and Mobile Fidelity. Cabasse even do tri-concentric. A desktop also implies limited real estate. That mostly counts out a Zu Method 8-inch coax unless we park it on separate stands on either side of our desk. So aune shrink the diameter of their proprietary coax to 5½ wave-guided inches. Limited on-desk space then prefers active over passive to at least build the amplification into our computer speakers. Here the virtual default is class D. Class AB is rarer and typically implies higher costs but also, perceived sonic superiority. Another virtual default is a DSP crossover; or if analog, a classic passive filter. A third virtual default is a switching supply because it's cheaper, lighter, smaller and cooler. Just shop the MeanWell parts catalogue. A fourth virtual default is MDF construction. Now you appreciate how aune's AS5 conforms to certain desktop conventions but breaks others. It breaks normalcy with linear power, linear amplification, active analog filters for zero latency and HDF cabs like Danish luxo brand Børresen.

Zu's Method bookshelf is too chunky to directly fit on most desktops. The aune shrinks its coaxial diameter to hop off such stands and onto the desk proper.

I found this mix of context conformity and divergent execution most unusual. Hence my interest to experience this exercise in person. If you dislike 'digital' speakers which must digitize your analog sources to run their processing voodoo, the all-analogue AS5 could have your number. You'll simply need a variable analog source or preamp to front it with. This is not an all-in-one streaming DSP proposal. Should you remain mystified by how to say aune, Shelly explains that the Germans always get it right. That makes it ow'neh, with the first half pronounced like 'owl' without the 'l'. Is the AS5 only a desktopper? The back panel's +2dB bass setting suggests rather greater utility than just a desktop's built-in boundary gain in the LF. Hence I had another nearfield but free-space setup in mind. I even had a 2.1 video system with compact monitors of similar size that could simply swap out. With three likely agreeable listening stations on hand, I'd definitely put the AS5 through its paces. In fact, my happy Irish clover had a fourth most serious leaf in petto: my main system. Enter an electronic fully analogue external crossover to execute a variable mirror-imaged signal split into a high pass (monitors) and low pass (2×15" sub). My spl Crossover MkII's 60-120Hz hinge options add in-room tuning flexibility. Removing LF from aune's voice coils would destress them thermally and limit excursion needs by a factor of four for each octave cut.

Dreaming big: replace Qualio IQ with aune AS5. Eliminate Kinki/Vinshine's Dazzle amp. Keep the spl xover and nCore-500 mono amps for the sound|kaos sub in play. Fill a 6x8m room with compact 5½" dual-concentrics?

It's how one shines up capable bandwidth-limited small speakers to their max. Armed with such advanced audiophile ancillaries, just how awesome might the AS5 act? Truth told, I suspected rather more vitamin A.wesomeness than an initial brief of yet another computer speaker might have suggested. On my desktop, I'd drive the aune off a Gustard R26II DAC's variable XLR outputs through an analog ladder-on-a-chip volume control. In the above system, fully balanced volume control goes to four silver-wired attenuation autoformers in 1dB remote-triggered steps. That means elite voltage/current conversion rather than generic resistive signal cut. Only the video system would need rejigging to replace its usual Gold Note integrated with a COS D1 DAC/pre with analog volume. That would run the aune off its variable XLR and if needed, my Zu Method sub off its RCA. Best-laid plans. Any mice around? A day after signing up I had two DHL trackers from Wuhan, "the sprawling capital of Central China's Hubei province, a commercial center divided by the Yangtze and Han rivers." Superior shipping efficiency. Its next stops would be Guangzhou then Hong Kong before heading for Dubai or Istanbul. This speaker pair thus travels in two cartons. If separated in transit, we might get one a day before the other. It's happened to me more than once. Perhaps some HT fans would run one as centre channel? Whilst I had Shelly on the line, I asked about the AS5's input sensitivity and voltage gain. And here is some historical context from aune's founder.

… to be continued…