No Missed Connections
Connect to the HD3 any way you like: wirelessly or wired, digital or analog. Stream your music library, TIDAL, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, etc. to the HD3 from just about anywhere in your house (within 30 m) without dropouts. Wireless setup is designed for simplicity and only takes about a minute. And if you're using the HD3 on your desktop, connect it with a USB cable. The USB input bypasses your computer's built-in headphone jack for an enhanced listening experience. If you're not keen on USB or wireless, you can still use any stereo RCA or 1/8" audio cable to connect.
Expandability
The HD3 is expandable, so if you want deeper bass, just connect your subwoofer.
Plug In Your Headphones
The HD3 includes a dedicated headphone output on the front panel, so you can listen without waking the neighbours. Its headphone amplifier is designed to deliver quality sound that drives even the most demanding headphones.
Retro-Forward Design
The HD3 features aluminium trim accents and detachable magnetic grilles designed to blend with any decor.
Built-In Amplifiers
Built-in power amplifiers save space and eliminate the need to connect the HD3 to a stereo receiver or external power amp. Simply plug the left speaker into a power outlet and connect the included speaker wire from the left to the right speaker. All internal components of the HD3 are designed and tuned together for a more uniform sound than traditional separate speakers and amplifiers.
Integrated Design
The speaker cabinets, drivers, bass port designs, amplifiers, and passive crossovers are all tuned together specifically for the HD3. This is designed to provide for a more efficient system that requires less power than passive speakers and a separate integrated amplifier or similar A/V components.
Built-In B1 and D1
Features from the Audioengine B1 aptX HD Bluetooth receiver and D1 24-bit DAC are combined in the HD3 to help make it a complete digital audio system.
Bluetooth and aptX HD
The HD3 is designed to easily connect to any of your devices that have Bluetooth, but for enhanced sound quality, use a device that supports Bluetooth aptX HD. For Apple devices that don't have aptX HD, such as the iPad or iPhone, Apple generally uses the AAC codec. It sounds good as well, and you'll get the extra benefit of the upsampling 24-bit DAC.
Extended Wireless Range
Through signal management circuitry and antenna tuning, the HD3 offers a solution that has up to three times the range of standard Bluetooth for multi-room use with no degradation in audio quality.
24-Bit DAC
The HD3 Bluetooth receiver and USB input both utilize the PCM 5102 DAC, which is designed for low noise and high fidelity. The PCM 5102 is used as an upsampling DAC and will pad all bit depths to 24-bit, achieving a higher signal-to-noise ratio and lower noise floor. Due to the high signal-to-noise specs of the PCM 5102, the fact that the digital signal is upsampled to 24 bits – as well as the added benefit of onboard triple-redundancy power source conversion and filtering – the HD3 Bluetooth implementation presents low noise and low distortion characteristics with a noticeable improvement over other Bluetooth devices.
HD3 Headphone Amplifier
The HD3 contains a headphone amplifier based on the OPA2134 low-noise opamp. This amp is designed to provide low-impedance, high-fidelity audio and a 2V output, which can drive a wide range of headphones.
Amplifier Design
The amplifiers in the HD3 are located in the left speaker and are a class A/B analog monoblock design. This is a more traditional speaker/amplifier configuration, which is designed to provide quality audio and greater flexibility. All circuit boards for the power and preamp sections are vertically mounted for enhanced mechanical shock protection.
Driver Designs
The HD3 uses ferrofluid-cooled silk dome tweeters with neodymium magnets. Silk tweeters are fashioned to hold up well under high power, and the edge-driven design gives a smooth response. The woofers are Kevlar-woven glass-aramid composite with rubber surrounds. Kevlar is designed for strength, so the woofer can retain its shape when being driven at high levels.
Magnetic Shielding
The speaker drivers in the HD3s are directly magnetically shielded.
Additional Features
- RCA and 1/8" audion inputs for easy connection to various audio sources, including a turntable or TV
- USB input for computer connection with up-sampling 24-bit DAC
- 1.90 cm thick MDF cabinets with wood veneer
