I wasn’t initially familiar with relative newcomer to the audio industry, Fifine Microphone, but after reading some positive reviews online, I was excited to see what their Ampligame A22 speaker system had to offer. What I found was a flexible, affordable audio solution that might be just what you’re looking for if you’re just sending an older kid off to the first semester of their college life.
On the surface, the A22 looks like just another set of mid-range 2.1 stereo speakers. The hexagonal, bookshelf-style left and right satellites look quite snazzy in the production photos, as does the horizontal subwoofer, which lacks the RGB lighting of the satellite speakers and instead features a top-mounted row of control buttons.
At least, I thought this was going to be a solid new set of speakers for the family gaming PC, but as soon as the shipping box arrived, I knew I was in for something special.
Proper packaging is very important in my home, and the Fifine Ampligame arrived in a manner that far exceeded my expectations for a speaker system costing around $75. All of the components were safely packed in a single box between two special foam inserts. Nothing had shifted or been damaged during transit, and that was without any additional packing material.
There were no individual boxes or crinkly cellophane wrappers. Aside from a few cable ties on the wiring, the box and inserts were basically the only packaging. This meant that unpacking, setting up and, yes, breaking up the packaging for recycling was a breeze. (Luxury brands, take note – this is the right way to present your product to a new customer.)
The A22 comes factory-installed with virtually everything you need to take advantage of the various audio interface features. Simply connect both speakers to the subwoofer using the included USB-C to USB-C cables (which have little notches to keep everything in place), then connect the subwoofer to power and plug it in.
From there, I continued my review in the most mundane way possible: I connected the auxiliary input of the A22’s subwoofer to the PC’s audio output and I was good to go. A long press on the power button brought the system to life and the integrated RGB lighting flashed a few times.
The A22 offers three preset sound profiles that you can cycle through using the EQ button: the balanced game, the tinnier movie, and the more bass-heavy music. I tend to default to a single EQ rather than constantly switching between settings, and while I usually prefer the music profile, I found Fifine’s movie setting to offer better sound overall.
A dedicated RGB button lets you turn the satellite speakers’ lighting on and off with a long press, while a short press cycles through different colors and patterns. My favorite was a dark red lighting scheme that responded to my gaming audio (Mode 3), but if your keyboard and mouse use single or rainbow-colored lighting, you can probably find a pretty good match for your speakers as well in the suite of 18 different modes.
My only gripe with the basic controls are the hybrid volume up/next track and volume down/previous track buttons. Yes, they’re combined. A short press simply increases or decreases the volume, while a long press changes the music track…but only when you’re in USB or Bluetooth mode.
This brings me to the mode switch/mute switch. The Ampligame offers a pretty impressive number of connectivity options, and it was here that I realized the speakers can do more than just serve as a quick PC audio upgrade.
In short, the soundbar in the small den where my kids and I spend most of our weekends watching TV and gaming has recently started to give us problems. And while I hate the native sound of wall-mounted flat-screen TVs (which inevitably send sound straight into the wall instead of out the front and into the TV room), we’ve put up with it until I get a new soundbar.
However, since the A22 had such an interesting array of outputs, I decided to unplug everything and put it in this side room – and, wow, what a difference a subwoofer makes!
After plugging in the speakers, I connected our Amazon Fire TV Stick via Bluetooth. Pairing was super quick using the mode switch (and the A22 deserves credit for announcing each connection type when pressed), and the Firestick remembered the device even after several power cycles. The audio—again, in my preferred Movie mode—actually managed to fill the room at moderate volume. It was also every bit as rich and responsive as I’d hoped.
Encouraged by this discovery, I decided to try out the AUX input, but found the signal from my TV’s available headphone output to be tinny and had a bit too much line noise for my liking. However, when I switched to the optical input – I had to bring my own optical cable as none was included with the speakers – things really came to life.
I booted up my Xbox Series X and started my current obsession, Diablo IVand was quickly drawn into the game’s cinematic soundtrack and rich ambient sound. Again, I found the overall balance to be better in Cinematic mode than the dedicated Gaming EQ, but this may be different for you.
Without an IR remote, companion app, or HDMI support, the Fifine Ampligame isn’t a seamless audio solution for your TV, but in smaller spaces, such as a small study or college dorm room, it more than holds its own. The Bluetooth and 3.5mm interfaces also make it easily compatible with your mobile phone, but since there’s no internal battery, it’s not exactly a portable audio station either.
However, if you’re looking for a set of speakers that’s great for desktop gaming, but can still be used in those other environments with a little effort, the Fifine Ampligame A22 is for you. Best of all, this flexibility, not to mention the overall performance and clarity of the speakers, is far better than you’d probably expect at a $72.99 price tag.
Review material provided by Fifine Microphone. This post contains affiliate links. Yes, I’m a fan of responsive lighting.
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