Audioengine HD6 vs Audioengine HD3: Short Comparison

vemuda.com - In today’s post, we’ll share with  you a dedicated comparison between Audioengine HD3 and the speaker that we're  going to replace it with, the Audioengine HD6, and to top it all off, we're also going to throw in a quick comparison of both of them partnered with the Audioengine S8 Subwoofer and at the end, we’ll provide you with a proper recommendation which one should you choose, with that said, let’s get into it.

Let’s start with a quick unboxing experience of the Audioengine HD6 and then we’ll compare it  side by side with the HD3. The Audioengine HD6 came in a huge and heavy box which gave me an idea of how massive the difference is in terms of size and weight compared to the HD3. Upon opening the box, the speakers are nicely  protected by a couple of thick styrofoam, and the speakers themselves are also extra  protected by a very soft velvet cloth. 

Audioengine HD3 vs Audiengine HD6

Lifting the speakers out of the box requires a lot of effort as they are really massive and hefty. Aside from the speakers, inside the box,  we also have a premium remote made out of brushed aluminum. We also have the external antenna, a warranty and support guide, the quick start guide, and a couple of pouches that house the cables.

We have a 16AWG speaker wire, a mini-Jack audio cable, an RCA audio cable, and a power cable. As you can tell, the unboxing  experience is really nice considering this is Audioengine’s flagship speaker. The speaker unit is well protected not only by a soft velvet fabric but also by another thin layer of foam cover. 

The first time we saw this in person our first impression was holy crap, this is massive and I was actually afraid that it will not fit the space on our desk. More on that later. But yeah, AirPods Pro for scale. It measures around 7.25” tall, 11.75” wide, and 10” deep with a hefty weight of 8kg for the active left side with all of its ports and huge heatsink and around 5.5kg for the passive right side with only a couple of speaker ports. These are made out of thick 18mm high-resin MDF with real wood veneer and are available in three different colors including black, walnut, and high-gloss white that we have here. 

Aside from the physical attributes, it is a powered speaker with dual-mode connectivity featuring Bluetooth aptX HD. Alright, let’s take a quick look around before we compare this with the smaller audioengine HD3. In front of the left speaker unit, we have the 5.5” Aramid Fiber Woofers and the 1” Silk Dome Tweeters.

We also have the LED indicator with an IR receiver beside it, and the volume knob all in a brushed aluminum accent lining. I wish it had a headphone jack though like the HD3 and has a volume indicator. The volume knob here rotates infinitely which doesn’t make sense, functionality-wise.

Looking at the back, we have all the main input and output ports. We have the massive heatsink, the Bluetooth antenna, a Pairing button, a stereo mini jack input port, optical input, stereo RCA input, and output ports, a speaker output port for the right passive speaker, the power switch, a voltage switch, a fuse and the AC power port. 

As for the right speaker unit, we essentially have the same design, just without the volume knob and LED indicator in front, and just the speaker ports at the back since this one is passive. We also have an optional cover here with strong magnets to keep them in place. 

Overall, the design and construction of the  Audioengine HD6 speak volumes when it comes to top-of-the-line quality, this is easily the most premium speaker I’ve ever had. Which it should, because this mammoth right here is not cheap for around 35000 Php. With that said, we can probably say the same  about the quality of its smaller and more affordable brother, the Audioengine HD3 which we've been using for a couple of years now. 

Looking at them side by side, as you can tell,  the difference in terms of size is absolutely massive. But you’ll be surprised later how the Audioengine HD3 is able to stand against the HD6 in terms of sound quality, will get to that later but first, let’s take a look around.

In front, the clear winner here is the Audioengine HD3 with a conveniently placed pairing button, a headphone jack, and a volume knob that also doubles as a power button. This makes the Audioengine HD3 desktop friendly, compared to the Audioengine HD6 which is more targeted towards a home theatre or a living room setup. Essentially, it is a setup-and-forget type of speaker especially with the remote.

The audio engine HD3 features smaller 2.75”  aramid fiber woofers and .75” silk dome tweeters. At the back, both feature an external  Bluetooth antenna, RCA input and output ports, a stereo mini jack input port, and output  ports to the right passive speaker. The audio engine HD3 has a micro USB input port but doesn’t have an optical input port. It also has a dedicated bass switch which the audioengine HD6 doesn’t have. 

So yeah, overall, input and output ports-wise,  they share almost all the essential ones, with the Audioengine HD6 having an optical input port for home theatre and living room type of setup and the Audioengine HD3 having a micro USB input for connecting to a PC.

By the way, while we’re at it, here’s a quick view of the Audioengine HD6 besides the Audioengine S8 Subwoofer, also in High Gloss  white finish. I’m also planning on releasing a dedicated unboxing and sound test for the s8 so make sure to subscribe so you won’t miss out. Alright, with the side-by-side comparison out of the way, let’s finally do a quick sound comparison between the Audioengine HD3 and the Audioengine HD6.

Let’s listen to the side-by-side sound comparison between the Audioengine HD3 and Audioengine HD6. And for kicks and giggles, here’s a quick sound  comparison with the Audioengine S8 subwoofer.

We're not an audiophile so we won’t pretend I know a lot of things when it comes to small intricate details, but as a regular consumer, we feel like the Audioengine HD3 is a more forward-sounding speaker with a sound signature that leans more towards the brighter side with enough kick on the low end even without a subwoofer and is just a fun and engaging speaker to listen with. The Audioengine HD6 on the other hand, provides a laid-back, warmer sound signature with a deeper low end and an overall wider sound stage.

Honestly, even if we keep our Audioengine HD3, we will still be more than happy about its sound quality, especially considering the price difference. But having the Audioengine HD6 just really provides that top-of-the-line experience especially when partnered with the Audioengine S8 Subwoofer and as you can tell, it perfectly matches my new Desk Setup. 

Ultimately, these premium speakers are not for everyone, I’m just sharing my own  experience of being able to try both of them side by side. Audioengine speakers have their own target market space and there are a lot of more affordable alternatives out in the market.

At the end of the day, all we can say is that, if you have the budget, you can not go wrong  with these Audioengine speakers, yes, they are a bit pricey than most of us can afford but  what you’re getting here is an absolute premium quality speakers in terms of design, construction, features and most importantly, sound quality. As for our recommendation, for desktop use, we can still recommend the Audioengine HD3 unless you really like the bigger design and form factor of the Audioengine HD6.

Honestly, we think the audio engine HD6 is more suitable for a living room or a larger room setup to get the most out of it. In a bigger room with you farther away from it, you can push the volume louder for a fuller sound without being uncomfortable. We will still keep my Audioengine HD6 though as our desktop speaker because I really like how it looks and how it sounds and I can also use it to blast music to the entire studio whenever I’m shooting brolls and stuff and again like I said earlier, it looks absolutely perfect on my new Desk setup. 

We will now move my Audioengine HD3 to our bedroom to partner with my LG C2 Oled TV.  And if we can only choose one here to recommend, we’ll choose the Audioengine HD3 because of the amount of value you’re getting for its price.

Speaking of our new desk setup, I know some  of you are going to ask about it, the custom Speaker Stand that we have here is from Iron Meets Wood and is made out of solid Mahogany and Birch wood with the Birchwood painted with black for a nicely appreciated contrast. You can have yours tailor-made to your speaker's size and you can also choose from a variety of wood combinations. And there you have it guys, thank you for reading,  and see you next time, have a great day guys, you’re awesome.