This year marks the 30th anniversary of The Bristol Show, and also the 30th year that Acoustic Energy has been making hi-fi gear. To celebrate this milestone, the company has launched the AE1 Active, the latest in its long-running AE1 range.
With two 50W Class A/B amplifiers per speaker, they promise "class-leading dynamics" with all the musical insight and detail you would expect from the range.
They feature the pure piston ceramic aluminium cone technology, now in its fifth generation. This offers exceptional stiffness without weighing the speakers down too much.
The new unit is designed to work in harmony with AE's Wide Dispersion Technology waveguide, for seamless integration with the mid/bass driver. The result is a wide, spacious image.
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Electronically, the AE1 Active is an all-analogue design. The firm says it experimented with components like wireless inputs and Class D amplification, but found they didn't offer the performance required.
The cabinet has been redesigned, and now features an extensively-braced heavyweight fibreboard construction with internal damping panels and a slot port. This makes for reduced baffle space and less wind noise at high volumes.
The AE1 Actives are on sale now, priced £1,000 for the piano black or piano white finish, and £1,200 for the piano cherry veneer.
