Acoustic Energy "AE1 Classic" speakers (Designed by Phil Jones)
$985Shipping cost $78 within the Contiguous United States.
This pair of AE1 Classics is in good condition overall. Sonically they are SUPERB! ( cosmetically there are minimal blemishes including 1 pinhead sized hole in one grill cloth that I couldn't capture well in the photos.). These speakers have outclassed several of the small monitors I've had the pleasure of owning/using
Description and specs - from the Web (Essence Electrostatic - which was the US distributor of Acoustic Energy while the Classic was available - The AE1 Classic was on a LIMITED production run)
Designed by Phil Jones (Platinum Audio, AAD, Phil Jones Bass)
The Acoustic Energy AE-1 Classic is (possibly) the Best Stand-Mounted Compact Monitor of All Time
Despite its diminutive size the AE-1 Classic offers the soundstage, depth and breadth of much larger loudspeakers thanks to its innovative metal drivers and reflex ported cabinet. The extremely rigid design and high-power handling creates a sophisticated blend of clarity, speed and dynamics that once again sets the standard for small box loudspeakers in both the studio and the home
Product Description
Return of the Ultimate Compact Monitor
It has been 26 years since the AE-1 first wowed reviewers and became the audio-industry benchmark for compact loudspeaker design. To celebrate, the AE-1 was relaunched in 2006 in its completely original form. Designed from the outset as a semi-professional monitor, painstaking attention to detail in the design and construction of cabinets, crossovers and baffles ensure the new AE-1 Classic reproduces complex, dynamic material as faithful as the award winning original.
Classic Principles
Time may move on but the principles of accuracy, transparency, reliability, and listening ease that made the AE-1 such a success first time around don’t change. The AE-1 Classic embodies those principles once again. The AE-1 Classic is modeled on the original Phil Jones designed AE-1 from around 1990. Our aim was, within the limitations of component supply and manufacturing, to make the AE-1 Classic as close to identical as possible. Thanks to improved components and manufacturing consistency, the AE-1 Classic is better.
Seriously Small – Seriously Good
The original AE-1 introduced new techniques in almost every element of its design and construction, each one aimed at making a better nearfield monitor. It was, for example, the first professional monitor with a ceramic sandwich aluminium cone, the first to increase power handling by using the cone as a heat-sink , the first to incorporate a metal dome tweeter, the first to feature a latex fibre/powder composite lined cabinet, and the first to demonstrate beyond doubt that a seriously small speaker could be a seriously capable monitor.
The AE-1 technical highlights feature in the Classic just as they did in the original. The bass/midrange driver is UK manufactured in-house at Acoustic Energy using a spun aluminium cone only 0.2mm thick. The cone is hard anodized on both sides to create an immensely rigid sandwich component and then bonded to an aluminium voice-coil former. The intimate bond between metal former and cone means that the entire cone area is used for heat dissipation. As a result, and despite its small dimensions, the AE-1 driver offers generous power handling and suffers minimal compression.
Welcome though it is, power handling is not the primary reason for the choice of an aluminium cone. Aluminium’s combination of light weight and rigidity means that cone break-up is delayed till well above the crossover frequency. And thanks to the aluminium cone, bass/mid driver and magnesium dome tweeter, the AE-1 Classic is one of very few speakers of any type that can genuinely claim pistonic operation over the full audio bandwidth. The result is extraordinary tonal accuracy that reveals the shortcomings of most other monitors.
Near ideal drive unit performance however would mean little if the AE-1 ‘s cabinet panels sang along in sympathy. That they don’t is thanks both to the inherent rigidity of the AE-1 construction and to the unique latex composite lining of the internal walls.
The AE-1 was the first truly accurate, high power compact near-field monitor. We believe 20 years later the AE-1 Classic is perhaps the only speaker to reach its predecessor’s standards.
Specs:
Bass/Mid Unit 4.4″ dual aluminum
Tweeter 1″ Magnesium Alloy
Crossover 3rd Order @ 3KHZ 3KHz
Power Max 200 Watts
Freq Response ± 3dB 70 Hz – 22 KHz
Sensitivity 86 dB
Impedance 8 ohms
THD* < 0.3%
Compression* < 1 dB
Dimensions 11.6″ x 7″ x 10″
Weight 16.5 lbs
