Speaker Defies Logic - Acoustic Energy AE300 Review
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- Опубліковано 23 лип 2024
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0:00 Start
0:34 Intro
1:31 Sponsored Content Ridge
4:01 Specs
5:25 Electronics
6:23 Bass
7:34 Soundstage and Imaging
8:52 Midrange
10:15 Treble
12:07 Final Thoughts
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I have the AE500 and if the 300's are anything like this then they must be good.Bass is on another level.
Can you do a review of the Schiit Gjhorn vs Emotiva BasX?
My husband has owned a pair of Acoustic Energy AE1 for 30 years. He hasn’t found any speaker that sounds better to his ears 🧐👍
A future speaker showdown is gold Jerry, gold!
Great energy and enthusiasm, Sir. Thank you for this engaging and tempting review and introduction to this equipment. Perhaps a wait for sale prices, but enticing all the same. Take care and all the very best.
Thank you kindly!
Great take as usual. If the bass performance was as you say that's impressive. Appreciate a video after a day's work. All the best.
Woot! A new speaker review from Randy 😮😮
AE speakers are very, very good across the range including their ae1 active. I have the ae500 and they are fantastic quality speakers.
Same...which colour choice did you make?
I have them in black.
Have an unopened pair and have been asking AE500 owners what they like about them
These sound like they'd be a lot of fun!!! Thanks Randy!👍👍👍
Any time!
Randy, great video. Andrew Jones' brother, Phil, was the founder of Acoustic Energy, hence the possible sound relationship. I have their original AE2's (1992) and they are my reference speakers. I agree the price should be a bit lower. If you ever get a chance to listen to the original AE2's I think you will be impressed. Again, thank you for always having great, humorous and insightful content. JM
thank you!
Thanks for the info, I never knew that Phil was related to Andrew..
FINALLY we get to see some Acoustic Energy out here on this side of the pond. !! We need to see more =)
About a hundred years ago in the late 80's I worked for a Co called Audio Excellence in the UK - not affiliated with Audio Excellence Canada - and I recall the guys coming in with the AE-1 - the cone spun from a single strand of aluminium - they were fast, detailed, exciting and bright. I now live almost next door to their operation in Tetbury Gloucestershire - I might pop in there and say hi - glad to see they are still going strong
Used a pair of AE500s with an Audiolab 6000a and 6000cdt. Superbly built but the treble roll off was too much. Replaced them with a pair of Q Acoustics Concept 30s. These are providing a much more balanced sound.
I demoed the AE500’s against Monitor Audio Gold 100’s, Dynadio Emit 20’s & Sonus Faber Lumina 2’s. The Dyns, MA & SF all became slightly fatiguing to my ears after less than an hour. Went with the AE500’s which not only cost less but I can listen and enjoy for hours on end with zero fatigue. Comes down to what you value most - for me the musicality and pure enjoyment I get from hours spent in front of the AE’s is perfect and I’m more than happy to sacrifice some analytics and top end sparkle for the sustained listening pleasure they provide
@@mattgatfield5359 I don't know how much difference that could be but, with the Audiolab 8300A and Chord Mojo 2 as DAC, I ensure everyone that the treble is NOT rolled off.
When you describe these they sound quite a bit like the Overnight Sensations I have. I love them, my brother is getting some for his birthday now. Nearly finished. Such a fun cheap speaker, fun to build too.
Agree on all points Dan ^^^. I have a couple pairs of OS as well. They sound better nearfield and can only handle about 35 wpc. Also, 4" woof, 83 db efficient, 8 Ohm.
It's hard to imagine the $150 pair would hold up to the $1000 AE300's but maybe they would. I'd have to hear the AE300's to know for sure.
BTW, the woofer is 4 inches on the OS I'm pretty sure. Not that it really matters. And I agree, their magic is in the near field. At least for me, that's where the tweeter is at ear level for me. Boy do I enjoy that. Its my first HiFi, so idk how to compare. But music is fun and great with them.
@@danielh12345 You're right on the 4" size. From Parts-Express, "HiVi M4N-B 4" Damped Aluminum/Magnesium Cone Full-Range Driver "
To avoid confusion I edited my original comment to reflect the proper 4" size.
"He who correcteth my error giveth me a golden coin." :)
love that key case.
Great video Randy I wonder how these compare with B&W 606s2 , regards mark
A manager of a respectable UK hi Fi store reccommended the AE300 to me about a year back.
He likes Jazz & purchased them for extended non fatiguing listening (ie sound not over analytical)
Herec In UK they retail for £629-£649 although open box can be found cheaper
They sit in the middle of the new range.
The 100 mk2 entry level is well regarded budget speaker at rrp just £259 pair
The top of the range AE500 rrp £1049 with more premium drivers has stiff competition as not much less than the Kef LS50 Meta & other highly rated speakers.
(All prices include UK sales tax of 20%)
So AE300 seems to be the sweet spot value for money wise as a speaker upgrade 👍🇬🇧
Randy,
Grateful subscriber here. You are a rocker but I haven't heard you talk about Queens of the Stone Age. If you haven't heard anything out of their catalogue beyond their radio hits, take the magical plunge! I recommend Songs for the Deaf, Lullabies to Paralyze, and Like Clockwork as some starters. All of their albums have something special!
Hi Randy.
An interesting review. Without trying to geek out too much, I have a couple of thoughts regarding the vertical response:
1) maybe you said it but I may have missed it. What order crossovers are in these (and is the tweeter wired out of phase compared to the woofer)? Ask AE or the importer.
2) what height stands did you use?
Combined, depending on the answers to 1 and 2 above, the vertical response can be affected greatly. For example, 3rd order crossovers tend to tilt the tweeter output downwards. If intentionally wired out of phase, the tweeter response will be tilted upward. In large rooms with long distances to the listener this effect can be minimized. And regarding stand height, try stacking some suitably large books on the stands to see if you can get the response better (instead of trying to slouch) .
Lotsa fun, Randy!
This will be a great buy once it goes on sale.
I'm considering a pair of Revel M25 speakers to match with my SVS 3000 micro sub, for TV and Music. How do these AE300s compare - which would be a better choice in a small to medium room? Speakers would need to be quite close to wall and I have an AVR with HP filter.
**Revel M16 speakers 😂
My take on my trial with them was to not use a warm sounding integrated.
How would you compare them to the SVS Prime speakers?
Maybe a AE300 vs SVS Prime comparison movie?
I may have missed you saying so, but how far out from the rear wall of your room were they placed during most of your listening sessions? Thanks!
Very nice looking speaker 🔊
Randy, can you in future review the AE1 (active speakers with in-built class AB amps). Maybe run them with inexpensive Schitt Saga preamp (with volume remote) & Geshelli DAC (or Emotiva PT1 preamp/dac). Compare with this system with Emotiva TA1 with B2+ (or AE300) speakers & hear your opinion on which is more value for money. Thanks.
Wish I was looking for a new set of speakers, but right now it's not in the budget. By the way, you commented back about when I bought the SMSL SU-1 DAC. Well just comparing it to the old SMSL M100 it is a improvement. It wasns't night and day improvement, but it was noticable. Better top end which improved imagining and sound stage. Mids were just a bit fuller and bass was a bit cleaner and detailed. Like I said, it wasn't a drastic change, but there was a nice improvment, well worth it.
I wonder if the AE100 speakers are great too. Found a good deal for them.
1000 bucks plus shipping (?) gets you in striking distance of Wharfedale 4.3’s with two 5.25” crossed woofers and dedicated mid and tweeter, especially dealer refurb/open box. If one is going to use bookshelves on stands, the space savings is nominal, but makes sense on a wide entertainment center, perhaps?
Dang. And I just ordered the Polk R100's yesterday. How would these compare?
I would love to see a shootout of this pair vs Polk R100. Thanks
Good looking speaker.
Thanks for sharing.
I like the word you used: "indulgent". That's how I feel about them too, but it took some fiddling with positioning and a better amp choice to finally realize the potential. They need a lot of good, clean power I found - I am running a 150w p/c power amp now - previously 50w p/c which was ok, but not the best for these bad boys! Just sitting here listening to some Oleg Byonic electronic soundscapes and just bathing in the "indulgent" beauty!
The fit-and-finish look nice. Although I wonder about the woofer. Is that a foam surround? A grand should buy you the rubber style.
Foam is an acoustic choice, better at dampening the break-up of the aluminium cone. With modern coatings should easily last 20 years. The cheaper paper
-coned 100's have rubber as do the more expensive carbon fibre-coned 500's. 👍🏻
Dynamically, this review indicates a very conservative relaxed sound, perfect for smooth background music.
Nothing like the Klipsch RP600 Mk. II then?
Can you check out the ascend acoustics Sierra 2ex V2?
what bookshelf can give me something "Like" Magnepan? I want the LRS+ but I have cats and those are just giant scratching posts to them.... so I need a bookshelf. Want that Fast, tight response of a maggie. under $2000
Is the bass boosted? Those specs on that size make me go hmm.
Here in Norway the AE300 is $727 a pair incl. 25% VAT.
If I had to guess, the vertical dispersion is related to the 2.8kHz crossover frequency? The wavelength of 2.8kHz is 4.85" - which is about the (actual) size of the midwoofer. Any driver gets quite narrow dispersion when the wavelength is the same (or less) than the driver.
On the subject of dispersion, I guess the horn loading waveguide restricts the spread in favour of forward focussing.
@@georgebliss964 That is possibly related? It "focuses" the tweeter's output at the lower end of the tweeter's range. So at the same range as where the midwoofer is getting narrower.
AE speakers make small amps sound amazing. I paired my 89dB AE109 with my 25watts Cambridge Audio AM5 and it sounds full with heft and scintillating highs. As you said it begs disbelief 🫢
Bass wise how do these compare to the original Elac B6 debut? and overall?
lol I posted the question before you mentioned them, I guess I got my answer
How did these compare to svs ultras
Im gonna predict that your comparison speaker will be the CSS Criton in kit form due to price proximity. The way you are describing the bass it seems to be a logical comparison.
Do these have the metal drivers like my AE 1's from '91?
Almost the same, just a slightly flatter profile, aluminium tweeter too. It's a very similar speaker to the original AE1 physically, sound alignment on the more relaxed side!
That's a good looking speaker.
Thanks Please review AE500
Was the midrange thick and fudgy?
Good speaker I still have the 301s ..
Interesting speaker...this 5 1/4 driver goes as low as my Polk R700 towers apparently. Pretty large waveguide on that AE tweeter as well. For sibilance issues I use to drop some dB's around the 6k mark, 4k and you lose some presence. I bet if you EQ'd down a few dB's around the 200-300hz you would get a little better bass clarity and midrange maybe. This seems like a decent speaker, even better on sale/open box/used...although I doubt it is better than the R200 which is 3 to $400 less on sale. Just my opinion
No way can this speaker reproduce bass deeper than the Polk R700. Physically impossible.
@@Audiomainia2310 yeah I would think so too.
@@NosEL34 Like I said, cabinet size as well as driver size makes a HUGE difference in depth and scale. It's physics 101.
Don't need towers in a large room? If you want loud and thick you do.
If you ever did a frequency sweep I might give your opinion creedence. But using a pre amp costing 4 times more than the class D amp, not buying it.
And with a 6 ohm impeadece, what does it dip to? 3 ohms? Any information? A class A/B amplifier owner needs this information.
one time I did a leg sweep. Is that similar to what you're referring to? I didn't want to do it but Sensei Kreese was insistent.
Topping LA90D is a class A/B amp. And the pre amp is actually a home theater processor. And there is a whole bunch of information available on their website and product downloads. You have to take specs with a grain of salt though. not everyone does them the same.
@@cheapaudioman 🤣🤣🤣
Not quite!
@@Audiomainia2310 not quite what?
@@cheapaudioman Klippel
Imagine if it had a 2"-3" soft dome mid? Just a thought 🤔
Actually in Europe it's around $750 ;-) Another good review :-)
The four horsemen from binge and purge set went to that tour right after James got burned with Mike church on guitar
Why are the so much spendier than other similar offerings would you say?
Please do a review of The Fives.
That's one magic loogie
Ayyye a fellow Navy Federal customer 🤙🤙🤙
I’m excited for the speaker shoot out. My stereo is in my bedroom and for insurance, I have a smoke detector in here. 👍
oh no... not another foam surround on the wee woofer ...giveth me passive radiators please😁
Ah . . Compared with the B1+ \ B2+ . . Thoughts ? 🙄😎
Was “back and to the left” a Seinfeld reference?
gold star!
Well that was an interesting video. I'd like to know what you use for your gold standard to test other speakers against. I've had a lot of different speakers and have blowup a lot of speakers to the point that not only did they release a lot of smoke, but the unpleasant smell as well. I would recommend listening to Judas Priest's love you to death and see what you think of those speakers. If you're able I would recommend listening to a pair of Cerwin Vega XLS-215's. You may not call them audiophile but that's a subjective term anyway, and those speakers will give you the big wow. Smaller speakers work better in an array configuration in my opinion. While most people judge speakers while they are sitting, at some point you're going to be standing. It's disappointing when the whole dynamics of your sound environment changes because you are standing and now you're off axis with the speaker. Embrace the mighty woofer.
What is the into song?
never mind the song falls apart after 22 seconds for me.
Jeepers, Creepers, Where’d you get those speakers?! 🎺
Really bugs me that most of speaker manufacturers do not sell single bookshelf speakers. After going to exactly the same large bookshelf speakers for LCR in my home theater, I'll never go back to a dedicated center speaker. If I wanted to upgrade to the AE300 for LCR I would have to buy two pairs and have a spare leftover.
If you have a friend that you can convince to do the same you can split the cost haha. Good idea, probably hard to execute haha...
@@danielh12345 Yeah, it's crossed my mind sharing the expense with a friend of mine. But, he's never ready to upgrade when I do. I purchased two sets of the Polk ES20s and now have a spare. I was kind of shocked how good they sound, especially when crossing them over at 60Hz and running with two subwoofers. I'm pretty sure Randy reviewed the ES15s and gave them high marks.
❤ coffee mug
It’s ALL DEVO!
First, the radiation suits, then with the reference to the album Nirvana’s “Turnaround” DEVO cover on it. THEN, the JFK reference Jerry always makes, in interviews... Nice!
The 500 series are REALLY great also.. AE520 ..are incredible.
Love your channel but $1000 for bookcase speakers is not cheep audio.
The Cheap audio man isn't really cheap after all...
Ridge Wallets - "Nobody will be able to slap the smile off of your face😁"©™
About 760 $ in Poland.
Love your presentation and the information in your reviews, but you may need to change the name of the channel. 😂
Himalayan swine have bark?
only when you skin them
This is in the elac dbr range.
Wilson releases a $10,000 two-way that critics like. Zzzz. Acoustic energy kills it for a few hundred bucks. Now, that’s cool.
£500 in the UK 😁😁
Fish slapping? You can tune a piano but, can you Tuna fish?
@Ed Holmwood; Oh Ed. Too soon in the week, mate! 😂😂
Love it Ed!
Hard to drive?
topping la90d drove them like a champ
Does the carbon fiber wallet have RFID blocking? It's also so small it's a pocket picker's dream come true. Don't carry it in your back pocket!
1,473.02$ CAD + shipping. Hard Pass Pfft!
Of course the e300 better some freaking great at $900 a pair?)(anyone who would consider spending nine hundred bucks on a pair of small speakers such as these are any speakers small enough to be considered bookshelves shouldn't never be costing $900 a pair.. just think of what you could buy in the way your speakers for hundred bucks a
Cheap... Cheap? CHEAP!
Navy Federal 👍
Hey - El Cheapo - El Cheapo Guzman - do the world and yourself a big favor an review the new Eminent Technology LFT-8B. Yep, it's a bit outside of your garbage-bin price range, but you'll be performing a valuable service to everyone in the world who doesn't live in a ramshackle , roach-infested trailer park. Do it. Review it. Oh, and try - at least try to pay attention to things that buyers look for in products in this price class, such as treble refinement and delicacy, midrange naturalness and lack of shoutiness, and the presence or absence of pinpoint, layered imaging. DO IT. Review it. Rock on.
Where’s the cash w ridge? These wallets are bad solution if one uses cash
A thousand bucks ain't so cheap
it's 75% cheaper than a $4k speaker. That's a lot cheaper...
rear ported on the back,
It would be weird if it was rear ported on the front
rare ported
@@cheapaudioman you don't want to go there
Font ported on the front
like a dumbass i went an heard that uninvited unplugged on you tube and yep cant get that s n st out of my head. at leastnow i know how bad it can be.thanksss CAM as alwayssss!
I didn’t click the notification because I can’t justify the $ now, but the kid in the screenshot got me to click. Just looked so funny.
The looks is certainly not bad, but the concept of hiding the bolts with a plastic ring, that WILL pill off, after a while - not to my liking. These are WELL incased. 6.5 kg for a speaker of this size = 👍👍 So it should be a long lasting device. From the video - the woofer surround is FOAM, and it means - not a long lasting.... To fix = remove that plastic ring.....
I have a BAD experience from System Audio - they too love to glue those decor-rings.... Not good - after 10 yrs 🤷🏻♂🤷🏻♂
Do not put your smoke detector on a 25' high ceiling. Better if you place it on a wall at a height you can reach easily with a step stool. Accessibility is the likely reason previous owners took it down too. Place one on each side of the room if desired.
I find that judging fish size is very subjective perception.
Diagnosis: 80DB lol
I have one thing to say about these speakers 900 u.s. dollars a pair Perry, you got to be kidding me I would prefer to get more for my money from really nice pair of Klipsch Towers that same amount of money going to handle a hundred times the power of these things so-called bookshelf speakers for $900 a pair you got to be kidding me
Was that Biden in the yellow suit that fell in the opening? 😮
The budget ae100 mk 2 is better than the a300 because of its clarity and midrange
Great value speaker in UK too at £259 - £279 pair Inc our sales tax 🇬🇧
So you say it has very rolled off treble, somewhat veiled mids, and overly boosted bass, and it's tiny, for a $1,000 "hifi" speaker? And it's supposedly hype-worthy? Nah. Maybe at 🌳 fiddy.
The AE300 more refined - I have listened to them both.
For a budget system the AE100 Mk 2 is really good though
Brand does run seasonal promotions similar to Kef
to be fair they're 500 in Europe.
@@cheapaudioman A high % of the products that you review are either a considerable chunk of change more expensive or not available at all in UK..
However this does not affect the features & sound quality discussion. After all Hi Fi preferences are very subjective.
Just because 1 model is say 3 times the price of another it doesn't mean every subscriber would prefer it given the choice without knowing the price tag. Keep up the good work 👍