Still as loverly as ever…Were I to buy a pair I would be likely to choose Piano Black and match that with the Pro-Ject in flat (or if available, Piano) black.

And for the second source? A Marantz CD 50n. In silver/gold. Because back goes well with most any other colour but it does best with silver and gold.

According to me.

At the moment I am listening to “Ultimate Manilow” via HEOS and an XDA-2 through a Douk T-8 (in Hi…YO Silver!) into a THX Headphone Amp and out the balanced inputs to my HS+D6XX Sennheiser ‘phones.

I have always enjoyed Manilow. He is in a way, a Sinatra man and that is the highest praise I can give him as Sinatra is Numero Uno.

If ever I do another ‘table setup here in this…this “Fortress of Manditude” I shall give serious consideration to these Acoustic Energy AE1 is the walnut finish. They do look very nice and I don’t have to buy another turntable as my Pro-Ject X2 is already-ready-Teddy in “Satin Walnut”.

But that is the future. I just have to make it there. If I could go back in time I would so right now and save Joni Mitchell from “Crosby, Stills, Nash and Dung”. Yuck. And more. Alas that the only way I have found to go back is to put on a record. Regardless of what we do, we are all constantly going forward.

Look at your past to recall and remind yourself of what you did right and what you got wrong. Then face your future with that in mind and do your bestest to give said future a life worthy of looking back on.

“Mandy” is playing.

ORT

Taiki,

Thank you for reading that review.

The AE1 is definitely forward in the upper midrange but it rolls off somewhat in the treble. It is not a polite sounding loudspeaker.

The way to tame it is with the preamp or sources. It really changes a lot if the preamp is warmer or darker sounding. It has very strong sense of drive.

I have yet to hear that model from AE so I can’t comment.

Best,
Ian White

I love Oberon’s transparency but it tends to be really forward especially upper-mid and higher frequency ranges in my system, then that makes my ears fatigued within 30mins!!! Don’t you find that sort of hint out of AE1? Since I already own some decent piece, I also consider passive AE500. Can you tell me your opinion if you have listened to it? Thanks, Taiki

ORT,

Humor is a must. Especially when writing about audio.

The AE1 are one of the most underrated speakers available. I was listening to some electronic music through them one evening and I decided to raise the volume considerably. They didn’t even flinch and the soundstage didn’t collapse and the visceral impact was quite surprising considering their size and the set-up position.

Acoustic Energy makes really good speakers. They need better distribution here.

Ian White

Thank you so very much for the writing. Again, it was wonderfully worded and I very much appreciate the humor that was in there!

ORT

Jeffrey,

It’s becoming a permanent part of my system. I was floored by how good it was.

One of the most underrated products I’ve tried in years.

I do wish it had more than one input (the single ended and balanced are the same input), hence the reason for the preamplifier.

Ian White

Passive crossovers can no longer be improved up. Analog active crossovers offer better performance as well as greater stability over their lifetime.

When you forgo the passive crossover, it pays several dividends:
• higher output
• the amp matches better to the speaker since it’s simpler load
• THD & IM distortion in the amps is reduced since they have less of an audio range to cover
• You can EQ the speakers to be flat in their operating range by default
• EQ controls can be added to the speakers
• If the speaker is DSP’d, the speaker’s temporal response can be made as perfect as its frequency response

This seems like a very high value product.

Thanks,
Bob Rapoport, CEO
Essence For Hi Res Audio