AE Aego m - sub huming when powered on.

[JMRoe]

Hi, I received my aego m 2.1 speakers today. The box was a bit bashed up n old looking. Concerned I checked the speakers but they seamed all good. I then took out the sub and noticed white drieded powderary substance on the power cord and no plug protector plastic thingy. All seamed as it should so I plugged it in to the mains and instantly hear a buzzing sound coming from the internals of the sub. I then plugged the speakers in the sub and could hear the static buzzing coming from both speakers.

So I plugged my HTC through it and was wowed by the quality and clarity. I listened closely to the speakers a could not hear the buzz but the sub buzz is constant. I played them for about 6 hrs and it was great. The only other thing is on certain tracks the sub vibrates and causes the bass to be distorted.

Does this sound like a faulty unit? I only received it today and am busy till next week so won't miss it for a few days if I sent it back. Or do you think I'm being picky?

Your comments would be appreciate greatly.

Many thanks
Jay

 

[Marsman]

Yes, sounds faulty to me. Although the hum you can hear from the subwoofer should not be the cause. It appears to be common and would appear to be a design flaw. Transformers can give off a slight hum, but it would seem in the case of the Aego M, the transformer is attached to the back plate which is amplifying it. This is something that AE should have rectified by now, especially when you consider the Aego M now sell for around £140. A £50 increase on the original price 6 or so years ago.

The hum you can hear through the sub unit, should be nothing more than that though, annoying as it may be to some. It shouldn't affect the bass or what is heard through the satellite speakers though, so something else is going on as well. I'd RMA them.

 

[JMRoe]

Hi Marsman thanked for your fast responce. I have read a few reviews were AE has fobbed of its customers saying this is normal and all units do it. But many users replied saying there aego m don't hum. This person returned the speakers for an exchanged but the 2nd unit hummed even worth as well as the power led faintly flashed when switched off.

He then contacted AE and was told that all units do and would not be satisfied by any other unit sent out.MA electrician replied to him stating the power supply in the sub are poorly designed and not earthed correctly. He then said as you did that the humming is amplified by being on the back of a back plate of the sub. He solved the issue by relocating the PSU to the bottom of the sub surrounding it with that sound proofing stuff.

Too me this sounds like a lot of time effort went into the design and then was handed over to the cheapest of cheap manufacturer and was built too a economy standard, which in my mind is not exceptable for a £150 speakers.

I'm unsure what to do. Should I live with it and hope it works for many years to come, or return it for another pair of speakers such as the corsair s2500.

What to do???

 

[Marsman]

I'd return them and either try another pair, or go for the Corsair's. I'm disappointed with AE to be honest, given that they make good hi-fi speakers as well, so it's not as if they are a company with no clue. As I said before, they should have rectified this in the past 6 years, and for the price to increase by an extra £50 and for the same issue to be present, is not on really. It's a shame, as they have been one of the best 2.1 speaker sets for the past few years.

If you'd prefer not to bother with a replacement and would rather a refund, get on the phone ASAP to whoever you bought them from and get a RMA number. The fact that they are faulty means you are entitled to a refund, and if it's still within the seven day period since you received them, the retailer should have no argument.

 

[JMRoe]

Thanks for your wisdom marsman. I really like the speakers and like to give I'm ago, so what im gonna do is return my current set then purchase another set else were and see if that might help, if not then return that pair too. I would like to give the corsair sp2500 but I read far to many negative comments on it and the fact you have to return it too the Neitherland at the buyers expence puts me right off, I was originally gonna purchase the sp2500 but when I found out that I was like no way.....! I bet it would COST a fortune to send to Europe.

If it gos wrong with the next set, which other speakers would you recommend me too buy. My limit is £200. I don't want anything more than a 2.1 system but mainly great sound and reliable.

Thanks a lot Marsmen.

 

[Marsman]

If you don't mind the look of them, Harman Kardon Soundsticks III. Some people are put off by the funky look, but if you can get past that, for £100, they are probably the best 2.1 speaker set in that price bracket.

Creative Gigaworks T3 are also worth considering. There's also the Edifier S330D, and whilst they do look good and well made, they aren't as good as either the SSIII or T3, when it comes to sound quality. They are still decent enough though, if you prefer their looks over others. Always best to go for sound quality first though, as after all, that is what they are there for. Wonderful looking speakers aren't much good if they don't sound as good as they look.

 

[Reality Bites]

Not read all the replies but a hum could also be a poor power supply or interference on the connections. Mine hums occasionally but you can only hear it when the room is silent.

Better power connections and cables can help. It helped mine but still there a little.