JCsix

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.75 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $2500.00 from new at a dealer

Summary:
I have heard many speakers and monitors in the 1000-3000 US$ range. I ended up buying these... The AE1 series from acoustic energy is a legend in the audiophile world and the AE2 product is really built on top of this and one notch up in performance. I use it with a Bryston 4b driving it and the sound is great - very neutral, revealing, somewhat warm compared to other speakers I tried and incredibly rich for a monitor. I did a blind test at the store with other speakers - i.e - the B&W 804s and I could not believe I chose this monitor for richness across the board from bass to highs vs a full sized speaker!! it can sure fill a room no doubt, the bass is rich and strong and most importantly fast!! I recommend these hands down to anyone who is seaking a speaker in the 2000 dollar price range - new. the odd thing is that noone will sit down in your living room and go WOW the minute they hear them - but after a while of listening - everyone who heard these thought the sound was just incredible after spending some time listening to high quality material on them. but I have to say this! i have the reference series of the AE 2 - I went to audition the signature series (exact same looking speaker aside from finish and of course electrical components used to build it) they sell for twice the price, but man..... incredible!!!! seriously the best sounding speaker I ever heard. if you can be patient - save and buy the signatures if you can ever find them.... far superior to an already great speaker.... hope this helps :)

Strengths:
detail. neutral. size of sound ( place them correctly in the room though for this...). value.

Weaknesses:
a bit too revealing with bad recordings but I think my bryston amp being so reavealing has to do with that

Similar Products Used:
b&w, sililoquy, kef, klipsh

Price Paid:  $850.00 from ...........

Summary:
Phil Jones monitors are legendary,from his incredible details to acoustic designs to the manufacturing aspects his monitors are amazing.From his classic AE1..AE2 to his Solo's his designs are second to none.Having recently purchases the AE2 I can fully support other audiophiles claims this is a terrific monitor.It takes the AE1 imaging and details and widens its soundstaging with more depth and spread,Ae1 may have a little advantage in its transparency but the AE2 goes deeper and tighter.Instrument have a sence of bloom and vocals are fleshed out perfectly.The weakness is that there is a tendency to roll off a little too quickly on some material(pianos) but it does not distract the listener.AE2 luvs tubes or neutral solidstate amps.These speakers are very reveiling so equipment matching is a must.If your listening is not too large these speakers are a must have classic, good stands are critical for theses monitors.

Strengths:
details,incredible soundstage,bloom,imaging,craftmanship. PHIL JONES>>>>>>

Weaknesses:
soft base......

Price Paid:  $730.00 from used

Summary:
I've lived with these speakers for about 3 monts now, and I can truely say that they keep getting better and better for each day that passes.

The bass response is equal to no other speaker - it's fast, tight, articulated and dry, BUT with body.

These speakers love playing loud live music, since they are so fast, you'll soon be playing air guitar and singing along for hours.

As I mentioned above they need quality equipment, or they will sound worse than the cheapest BOSE sattelite/sub system (currently the worst sounding speakers on the market, and proberbly the worst speakers ever!). These are studio monitors and will reveal the slightest fault in your system, thus making it unlistenable.

But if you hook the up with tubes (preferably high power push-pull amps) and Nordost cables combined with a musical and high resolution cd player, these speakers will blow you away.

If you are planning to buy this speaker, please take some time ajusting your system, or you will not hear the full potential of these speakers.

I highly recommend the AE2 mk2!

Regards

Strengths:
speed - this is the fastest speaker around! dynamics, bass response - very clear and articulated, midrange is clear, open and full. Great design/finish, super stands (check 'em out!). Build quality is awesome

Weaknesses:
treble does not reach the same level as both bass and midrange do (treble rolls of at 17.000 hz). revealing - demands high-end components, or they will sound awful, thin and forwarded. Very different presentation/soundstage/response on different stands - sounds like a total different speaker.

Similar Products Used:
Dynaudio Contour 1.1 and Geminis, Chario Reference 100, System Audios, B&W Nautilus 805.....and many more.

Price Paid:  $2000.00 from Earphoria

Summary:
A very refined mini-monitor that exhibits large speaker characteristics with regards to dynamics and bass. As a mini-monitor, it has world class imaging, soundstage and has the ability to portray the musical presentation as "full-size" opposed to some monitors that shrink the presentation and make it seem as if the performers are all 3 feet tall! They really benefit from a solidly built stand which is filled with sand or shot! Also, make sure the stand puts the tweeter at ear-level. The tweeter is located half-way up the baffle - not at the top like most monitors and is mirror-imaged (tweeter is inset for awesome imaging) so the speaker needs to be up a little higher so the tweeter is at ear-level - thus I have them on 27" stands, however, this height will vary depending on how high/low your listening chair is.

Strengths:
Great build, excellent rosewood finish, superb soundstage, imaging and great bass for its size. It is also a very dynamic speaker that is great with jazz, classical and rock.

Weaknesses:
Does not enjoy "bass-heavy" dance music or electronic/ techno music with a lot of low synthesized bass.

Similar Products Used:
Proac 1SC, Dynaudio 1.3, KEF Ref.2, Voce Divina Soprano

Price Paid:  $1500.00

Summary:
I am the person who got Carl Shaw's pair of AE2. At first I was quite disappointed. But after getting the complementary pieces together. I am in a rare state of being able to just enjoy the music without wondering which strength my stereo has. Now, the most important: THE SYSTEM

AE2 sign. ser.2
Target R5 stands
Harmonic Tech Pro-11 speaker cable 10ft, Cardas jumper
Monarchy SE100 delux monos
Harmonic Tech Truthlink XRL 3m
Monarchy 33 with piggyback upgrade, HT power cord
Monarchy DIP2
Harmonic T. digital cables 2x
Marantz DV18

The next upgrade: AC cords for the monos, maybe the ones from Monarchy.

Over the time, I have heard quite some systems where things like VSR VR8, Audio Physics Calderra etc were featured at various dealers. But none has come close to my system when playing big orchestra music or piano. The whole sound picture is rock solid yet with all the fine layers revealed without any strains. With Rock and Jazz and all kind of vocals and chamber music, it's equally great. Well it can't reproduce the lowest octave under 40hz so well due to physical limits. But it's definitely among the most "complete" small speakers. Yet, you may get a little better and different result if the AE2 be replaced by Sonus Faber E. Amator 2, for more ease and beauty in the mid to high with also quite solid bass but a little bit less authority and definition. I heard them hooked on my Monarchy's with Maridian 508.24 w/o the HT cables. It's an alternative I'd love too if I could get SF Amator2 used.

Some caution when using AE2: Have a solid stand! I couldn't stand the sound when I first tried them on a pair of $100 stands. Also, the HT Pro11+ are quite essential to my above listening experience. I used Audiodyne and the HF was sometimes quite annoying and bass was a bit too tight. With HT Pro11+, everything got much better to a level I never thought of possible form speaker cable changes. Everything seems at ease now with gentler highs and more extended bass. And fine details come through NATURALLY without attention being caught to any part of the tone. At first, it felt as if they were less dynamic, but in truth after getting used you will find their reproduction sounds 'righter' and the perceived lack of dynamic is actually due to the removal of 'wrong' noise associated with other cables. Sorry, it's getting too long. It's just to say that AE2 might be picky as to the complementary pieces in your system. To be safe, I'd recommend tune amps to embelish the sound a bit, if you don't have my system.