Fatman iTube Carbon or AudioEngine A5?

[admin_exported]

I've been looking into buying a cheap & reasonably portable system for use in a 5x7m living room. The input source will be uncompressed CD rips from my laptop and sometimes mp3s from an ipod.

Looking around, two systems stand out to me:

1. Fatman iTube Carbon (the revised edition with 25w/channel and 3.5mm input) + either Monitor Audio BR2 or Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 speakers (between £400 and £500)

2. The AudioEngine A5 (£200).

Have anyone heard both of these systems? How do they compare? From reading reviews it sounds like the AudioEngine is better value for money, but will the iTube system provide superior sound?

I suppose I can use a SqueezeBox with either, but with the AudioEngine I also have the option of using the cheaper Airport Extreme.

Cheers!

 

[Anonymous]

If no one's heard both, how about the A5s compared to the standard Fatman iTube??

Or compared to any amplifier + speaker pair for around £500 for that matter. I've seen a lot of good comments for the A5, but most compare them to docks and other active speakers. I'd love to know how they compare to an amplifier + passive speakers.

Cheers

 

[Simon Lucas]

monkeybrain:From reading reviews it sounds like the AudioEngine is better value for money, but will the iTube system provide superior sound?ÿ

You're spot on, monkeybrain. The A5s are among the best pound-for-pound iPod upgrades we've heard, but more money spent on the Fatman Carbon provides superior sound.
Actually, I should qualify that a little. Since we gave the Carbon a Group Test win in September, Fatman has undertaken reengineering of the Carbon to accept both original and 3G iPhones. The prices returns to £400.ÿ
We haven't yet received a sample of the updated Carbon, and until we do we can't make a judgement on its sound. If you can find one of the outgoing 'Made for iPod' models we so enjoyed, go for it. If you can't, bear with us while we try to find out what the upgraded model is like.