Sound quality: Audioengine's A1-MR had Good overall sound quality - this model reproduces music and dialog reasonably well despite the obvious shortcomings in its sound. Bass has decent impact, is slightly subdued, and deep bass is lacking. Midrange is a touch nasal, somewhat hazy, and a bit grainy. Treble is fairly extended, but is slightly smeared and a touch prominent. Does a good job of recovering room ambience, but sounds somewhat congested and lacks fine detail. This two speaker model comes as a stereo pair, and its sound stage width and focus depends on how well it is placed. When it is well placed, there is good stereo separation. Since they come as a stereo pair they can be placed to provide better stereo separation than many other models. No significant difference between WiFi and Aux sound quality. This model sounds strained at higher volumes; it is best suited for medium and smaller sized rooms and moderate to near-field listening distances.
Ease of use: We found the Audioengine A1-MR ease of use to be Very Good overall. Wired Setup: The speaker wires provided are ready, of predefined length, tinned and split for screw mount posts (no tools required), instructions provided states make sure to match polarity between speaker connections, but do not show or explain matching polarity means. WiFi setup requires an app downloaded to a device or device connection, easy but not intuitive, requires manually leaving then coming back to the app and input of WiFi password. DLNA: incorporated into app, but makes no reference on how to set up the DLNA server on the network. The volume control is a multifunction power/volume labeled knob located on the back of the speaker. Lacks index markings for volume levels, but has a tactile indication when max volume is reached. Plug-unplug: Bluetooth, both line inputs play at the same time. Have to turn off audio from source so no overlap.
