New Acoustic Energy AE1s

[Mr_Sukebe]

Whilst in Lincoln over the weekend, had a listen to a pair of these. Have to say that I thought they walked all over not only the equivalently priced Proac stand mounts, but also the Proac benemoths that were standing around.
Yes, the AE1s are just a little unnaturally bright, and had a slightly bump in the bass, excluding that, they were ace, with no cabinet colouration, producing a very vivid picture.

Having said all of that, on Sunday I bought myself a pair of s/h Impulse Taus speakers, which make virtually every other speaker I've ever heard sound naff by comparison.

 

[zanash]

Hope you'll have them up and running by the week end !

Ae1s[originals] ...too in your face for me but in some systems with the right synergy ................

 

[Alex S]

Has anyone done a direct comparison of the original c.1983 and the re-release? I heard the re-release at a show and was underwhelmed although the amp wasn't nearly powerful enough. I really liked the originals and had them for 20-odd years. The Shahinian Super Elves showed them the door pretty quick though. New AE1 pricing looks good.

 

[pixies]

always been a fan of the original ae1's sound and asthetics - not too keen on the looks of the new ones though - the midband projection and clarity has to be heard to be believed. never actually owned any though but one day i intend to do a head a head against my dynaudio 50's on r1 stands just for fun; annoying dealers is a good way to spend a saturday afternoon...

 

[Alex S]

Do you mean the Mk3? I think the AE1 'Classic' re-release is supposed to look identical to the old.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Do you mean the Mk3? I think the AE1 'Classic' re-release is supposed to look identical to the old.

Yes I do mean the new AE1 "classic".


Pete>
The Taus are in and up and running. Awesome would be an understatement.

 

[Furyous]

Has anyone done a direct comparison of the original c.1983 and the re-release? I heard the re-release at a show and was underwhelmed although the amp wasn't nearly powerful enough. I really liked the originals and had them for 20-odd years. The Shahinian Super Elves showed them the door pretty quick though. New AE1 pricing looks good.

According to the review in HFC, the re-release is supposed to be identical to the original AE1 in pretty much every way. It came about because an engineer was looking at all their old stock spare parts and fancied putting a pair together to see how they compared to the Mk III. Fairly well, obviously, since they re-released the model.

The benefit is that they are much cheaper in real terms than they were back in 1983 (about half the price I think).

So all a comparison between a 1983 release and a pair of AE1 classics should highlite is how the speakers sound would change with 20 years of use compared to a new pair of the same speakers.

I'd really like a listen myself, but as you say, you need a seriously powerful amp to get the best out of them. Or else they will be underwhealming.

 

[Alex S]

I think I paid about £650 in 1983 which makes them good value now @ £850. The originals had soft rubber surrounds to the main driver, for sonic reasons I understand, but these perished after about 10 years use. I had mine replaced with new drivers which no longer had the soft rubber, nor do the re-release. Nit-picking, sure, but not quite the same speaker. I also wonder about the x-over. Replacement drivers alone cost about £350, btw.

 

[lazyscott1]

I had a pair of roeswood mk1's back in the mid 90's and used them with a tube tech unisis (30w valve intergrated) with no problems what so ever. So ime you don't need a power house of an amp to get great sound fron the AE1's.

 

[Alex S]

The original, black AE1 was 82dB efficient. By the time rosewood and other fancy veneers appeared it was in MK2 guise and more efficient. The re-release is back to 82. Nonetheless, its current delivery more than pure wattage that matters most and they can work with valves.

 

[bottleneck]

what about the price differential between the classic ae1

and the mk iii ?

799....vs ... 1499!


justified?

anyone heard both?

 

[Alex S]

I've heard both, in AE shows, so a level playing field of sorts. The MK3 looks nice and plays beautifully in the midrange at whisper quiet levels; turn it up at all and you hit the end-stops - it is the antithesis of the MK1 in many ways. The MK1 likes a good thrashing but, contrary to reputation, was quite successful quiet. Outclassed at any level by the Super Elves, though.