My A5s Arrived

[newspeakers]

Since I live in San Francisco and shipments from the ARX warehouse in Nevada arrive in one day, I may be the first to get the new A5 speakers.

I was about to leave for the dog park (the social high point of my day) so I was explaining to my wife to inspect the boxes and if there was any damage to open the boxes and check the speakers with the driver and refuse the shipment if necessary. Just then, at 2:16PM, the FedEx truck pulled up.

I watched as he brought the first 60-pound box up the stairs to my front door. It looked like he almost dropped it on the stairs. The first box was in fine shape. I got so excited I signed for the shipment without inspecting the second box, which had a small dent and a tear. I opened the boxes just to make sure there was no damage, then went to the dog park.

When I got back I unpacked them. They were double boxed with dense foam on four sides. They were very well-protected. I unboxed them and attached the bases easily with the four supplied screws. Because they are only a little over 7” wide, they don’t seem big or massive. My wife referred to them as “elegant.” Not a word often applied to ARX. Like the A1b, these are rock solid. When you knock on them it sounds like a solid piece of hardwood. These are well-made speakers. The internal bracing must be massive. I’ve still got the A1bs hooked up as mains, so a review of how they sound will have to wait until I break these in.

[Zac911]

LOL... I am away on business, but wifey told me that ours arrived today. Can't wait to get home to check them out. Enjoy!

[newspeakers]

LOL... I am away on business, but wifey told me that ours arrived today. Can't wait to get home to check them out. Enjoy!

Where do you live, Zac?

[Zac911]

I am out by Manteca. Used to live in Reno, but had to move closer for business. Got quite a sticker shock when we started looking at houses. LOL.

[Chane M&C]

Like the A1b, these are rock solid. When you knock on them it sounds like a solid piece of hardwood. These are well-made speakers. The internal bracing must be massive.

Quiet is good. What you get out of them depends to a large degree of what we take out of them.

[basven]

I am jealous :-). Mine were supposed to arrive today but noticed that they are pushed out to tomorrow :( which is too bad since I was going to take the day off and play with it all since the kids would be at school.

[newspeakers]

I am out by Manteca. Used to live in Reno, but had to move closer for business. Got quite a sticker shock when we started looking at houses. LOL.

Imagine the sticker shock if you had moved to San Francisco. I bought a house in 1975. That's why I was able to retire. If I run out of money, I've got my home equity.

[Zac911]

LOL... I am well aware of the costs in SF. That's why I live out in hell. Great investment you made.

[ryansboston]

I am so jealous!!! I'm on the east coast and my A5s havent even shipped yet... although I am excited to be expecting the A1bs on Thursday...

Since I live in San Francisco and shipments from the ARX warehouse in Nevada arrive in one day, I may be the first to get the new A5 speakers.

I was about to leave for the dog park (the social high point of my day) so I was explaining to my wife to inspect the boxes and if there was any damage to open the boxes and check the speakers with the driver and refuse the shipment if necessary. Just then, at 2:16PM, the FedEx truck pulled up.

I watched as he brought the first 60-pound box up the stairs to my front door. It looked like he almost dropped it on the stairs. The first box was in fine shape. I got so excited I signed for the shipment without inspecting the second box, which had a small dent and a tear. I opened the boxes just to make sure there was no damage, then went to the dog park.

When I got back I unpacked them. They were double boxed with dense foam on four sides. They were very well-protected. I unboxed them and attached the bases easily with the four supplied screws. Because they are only a little over 7” wide, they don’t seem big or massive. My wife referred to them as “elegant.” Not a word often applied to ARX. Like the A1b, these are rock solid. When you knock on them it sounds like a solid piece of hardwood. These are well-made speakers. The internal bracing must be massive. I’ve still got the A1bs hooked up as mains, so a review of how they sound will have to wait until I break these in.

[Aus10]

I got my A5s yesterday, I agree. They are solid speakers. Been playing music all morning trying to break them in. Kinda difficult since they are so powerful without bothering the parents. Being 17 and weighing 132lbs, I was struggling to bring them up the stairs and get them out of the box by myself. My parents don't even want to look at them because they know they will be hearing them soon enough :D

Only problem is... I didn't get any port plugs :(

[Chane M&C]

I got my A5s yesterday, I agree. They are solid speakers. Been playing music all morning trying to break them in. Kinda difficult since they are so powerful without bothering the parents. Being 17 and weighing 132lbs, I was struggling to bring them up the stairs and get them out of the box by myself. My parents don't even want to look at them because they know they will be hearing them soon enough :D

Only problem is... I didn't get any port plugs :(

We owe you all port plugs. If you haven't already, email us for them.

[Vaison]

East coast - received my A5's and A1b set today. Just getting set up and took a few shots plugging in.

[kmak81]

I also received my A5's yesterday. The speakers came in double boxed and were well protected with foam inserts. First impressions were they are slimmer, more compact than what I expected. Also the weight on them surprised me, they have a good heft to them as quality built speakers should. Finish was smooth and clean, the PVC vinyl wrap doesn't look cheap by any means. So far so good. I just swapped my bookshelve speakers out in place of the A5's since it was late and I did not want to mess with a new Audyssey calibration. The A5's sounded ok at first, nothing really jumped out at me. The soundstage was almost one directional and the bass was lacking. As I listened more, it seemed the soundstage had widened quite a bit and now seemed to stretch wall to wall. The sound now is crisp, clear, and even dynamic! The bass also seemed to get fuller and had more energy. I am sure it will get even better when they are fully broken in and when I actually recalibrate Audyssey. More in the future! Thanks to Jon for making such a good quality speaker :D

[D'Argo]

Cool, kmak81. I had the same experience. I know we talked about midwoofer excursion and the like on the other threads but when A5s started opening up I just wanted to sit back, relax, listen and enjoy the music. I haven't even removed the grills as of this point. If it sounds this good, no need to check it, I guess.

Let me know how it sounds after it's dialed in with Audyssey. Also, what version of Audyssey are you using?

[newspeakers]

I found out from experience to run Audyssey (or Yamaha's YPAO) during break-in, then rerun it after break-in. It really makes a difference even with "raw" speakers right out of the box.