STATUS - SOLD
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Description :
The Acoustic Energy AE1 offers the soundstage, depth and breadth of much larger loudspeakers thanks to its innovative design. The drive-units employed have very high power handling, and are linear over a wide dynamic range. The woofer is intriguing in that its cone is fabricated from metal rather than the ubiquitous paper or plastic. The straight-sided cone is spun from aluminum alloy, with a graded thickness across its profile, and is then hard-anodized black on both sides. The cone is attached with a thermally conductive glue to an aluminum voice-coil former. The voice-coil is made from edgewound copper ribbon, and is capable of a 20mm peak-peak excursion without the coil moving from the linear region of the magnet gap. The bass loading is reflex via two ports on the front panel to reduce wind noise. Using an edgewound aluminum-ribbon voice-coil and ferrofluid damping, the tweeter of the Acoustic Energy AE1 is one of the most neutral high frequency units around. The crossover mounted on the rear of the recessed terminal panel acts at 3kHz and consists of a third-order Butterworth, 18dB/octave high-pass leg and a 24dB/octave low-pass leg with a phase-compensating network. The low-pass section uses iron-dust-cored inductors, the high-pass air-cored coils. Both use low-loss polyester capacitors. The cabinet is made from 22mm medium-density fiberboard, then a "high-density lining" is poured in and allowed to set asymmetrically so that the internal surfaces are not parallel. This both damps the cabinet walls and spreads out the air-space resonances in frequency.
The Acoustic Energy AE1 presents low-level details within the sound without being obscured by high-level information. Every detail remains clear, and the wide, deep soundstage is not affected by the tremendous dynamic contrasts. Even with instruments with competing spectra played loud, the AE1s still let everything be heard. String tones have no wiriness, excess acidity, false smoothness or mellow tone; just the correct mix of sweetness and astringency. Voices are natural, having an even tonality throughout the various registers, with no undue emphasis in any particular region. It has an ability to float a stable, deep, well-defined soundstage, completely detached from the loudspeaker positions. Instruments and voices hang in space, with the appropriate depth perceptible according to the amount of recorded ambiance associated with each. Bass instruments, however, are slightly recessed, presumably due to the speakers' inability to present low bass fundamentals with sufficient weight. Overall levels of coloration, however, are low. The Acoustic Energy AE1 plays without strain, immerses the listener in the music and redefines the art of miniature speaker design.
Specifications :
Type................................................Two-way, reflex-loaded loudspeaker
Drive Units.......................................2.5cm magnesium alloy-dome tweeter
.......................................11.4cm woofer with a 8.9cm anodized-aluminum cone
Crossover Frequency........................3kHz (3rd- & 4th-order Butterworth slopes)
Frequency Response........................70Hz to 22kHz +/-3dB.
Harmonic Distortion..........................Less than 0.1% at 2nd harmonic
.........................Less than 0.02% at 3rd harmonic
.........................Both at 98dB at 0.5m (frequency not specified)
Power Compression Factor...............Less than 1dB at minimum impedance (200Hz)
...............with an increase of 16dB at (1W:40W ratio)
...............Frequency response within -0.5dB at 40 watts ref. 1 watt
Sensitivity........................................84dB/W/m
Nominal Impedance..........................Minimum of 8 ohms at 250Hz, maximum of 40 ohms at 30Hz
Amplifier Requirements.....................Up to 200W program
Dimensions(w x d x h)......................18 x 25.5 x 29.5 cm
Weight............................................8kg each side
Miscellaneous :
Matching.........................................Acoustic Energy AE1 Speaker Stands
Made In...........................................UK, England
Condition.........................................5/10 (Discoloration. No Speaker Covers)
Product Information :
http://www.acoustic-energy.co.uk/Default.aspx?pagename=Reference-Series-AE1-Classic (Manufacturer's Website)
Reviews :
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/526/
http://www.whathifi.com/review/acoustic-energy-ae1-classic
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/hi-fi-and-av-speakers/acoustic-energy-ae1-classic-98245/review |
