Acoustic Energy Resurrects The AE1 Loudspeaker
All Image Credit: Acoustic Energy
Originally released in 1987 and discontinued in 2016, the Acoustic Energy AE1 was very well received. Now, Acoustic Energy have released the 40th Anniversary edition of this popular passive speaker. According to their press release, “None of the original parts remain in production so we meticulously broke the original down component by component, examining, appraising and, where possible, improving”. This edition will be available in both High Gloss Black or Walnut-veneered finishes.
So what has changed in this edition? The outer cabinet dimensions did not, remaining unchanged at 95mm x 180mm x 240mm. The cabinet walls now use Resonance Suppression Composite (RSC) Technology and over half a liter of internal volume was reclaimed that now contains the 0.5″ larger 5″ anodised aluminium mid/bass driver. The two front-firing ports were redesigned to augment the new drivers performance, providing a bass extension to 50Hz (-6dB). We are also told that an aluminium shorting ring has been added to the mid/bass driver to “greatly reduce distortion from motion-induced induction variances in the voice coil.”
The treble unit has been replaced with a with a new aluminium tweeter with a 29mm voice coil, 4mm larger than the original, now having a rear chamber absorbing its backwave and still being ferrofluid cooled and damped. The HF unit crosses over at 2.8KHz using a low order filter design that uses high-quality components to achieve a claimed “very natural ‘live’ dynamic sound.”
The revised design providing a frequency response of 50Hz – 45KHz (+/- 6dB), a sensitivity of 87dB and impedance of 6 Ohms.
Specifications:
- Tweeter: 29mm anodised aluminium dome
- Mid / Bass Driver: 125mm spun / hard anodised aluminium cone
- Frequency Range: 50Hz – 45KHz (+/- 6dB)
- Sensitivity: 87dB/m/2.83v
- Power Handling: 150w
- Crossover Frequency: 2.8KHz
- Impedance: 6 Ohms
- Design: 2-way
- Cabinet: 18-22mm RSC™ constrained layer HDF/bitumen construction, braced, twin reflex-ported
- Grilles: Cloth, magnetic fit
- Dimensions: 295 x 180 x 240 mm (HWD)
- Weight: 7Kg (each)
- Finishes: High Gloss Walnut and High Gloss Black
MSRP (pair):
- US: $2,065.00 (approx.)
- UK: £1,499.00
For more information visit the Acoustic Energy web site.
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