After 15 years still superb sounding speakers. No colouring with beautifull soundstage. Very depending on high quality app. I use them with a REL Q200 sub and Onkyo A9555 amp and solid core (self build) speaker cable. Sound is heavenly! Each CD is different. You hear everything...also bad things ofcourse!

I paid about 500 euro with heavy stands for the pair. A real bargain! At this moment I'm trying to buy a second pair on the internet. It's going to be difficult I think!

Great "monitor" sound, lucid clear and punchy.

Mid tends to be "icy" and pinched sometimes...especially with the wrong amp and sources. Treble can be a bit too laidback....

Well actually I'm updating my AE100i review from quite a long ago. Warning! Very long one here! Discovering the AE100i Bass ===================== I've finally got the chance to upgrade my good old Yamaha RX-V595 receiver. As the prices in Israel are fairly high (most audio cost X2-X3 than Europe & USA) , I managed to upgrade my receiver to an entry level Denon - AVR-1802. Besides than this, my speakers got some age by now and I've moved to several places with mostly very bad acoustics. But now, I think that I've reached heaven with those speakers. My current flat has a super bass reverb that will blow your head if you will use a subwoofer. I can't explain how the speakers perform now – Simply superb! Mainly, Thanks to the new receiver and the excellent even sometimes-excessive acoustics in my living room. Guys (and girls) those speakers can rock your walls!!!! TRUELY!!! I'm using a budget but well built stands. Speakers are quite far from the walls as far as I can. I just couldn't believe!!! I fired up the new Denon and played some CD’s, The Denon sound matches the AE’s much more than the Yamaha – True might not be the best of the best but the sound is very smooth, detailed and no more pinched mids and squashed highs, Bass is simple superb and very tight. I was wondering how it might sound without the sub that I always needed with the Yamaha. So, I turned off sub output...still I could *FEEL* those low rumbling waves...so I went to turn the sub off from the mains and went back to the sweet point to discover that those unbelievable low frequencies are coming from the AE100i!! You know that stupid smile that you see on a 5 years old boy that got a new present? That was the look on my face! Well, the AE100i are simply great speakers!! If you ever doubt it!! If you feel that you need some bass, try to find the best acoustic point in your room, those speakers needs quite a lot of room to express themselves! True, you can’t throw your sub, especially for the Home-Theater rumbling thunders experience. But for a decent stereo, you just don’t need a more than this! I’m actually trying to find out how to absorb some of the bass to avoid flooding the room when playing in high levels. The AE100i Sound Well, if you like monitor sound like me, I think that this is the closest that you can get in the price range. The AE have that lucid sound, accu

Similar Products Used:

Mission 731i,Tannoy Mercury-MX-1, Auditioned to many many speakers.....

Superb clarity, smooth and detailed treble.

Bass need more *Meat* on the low bottom.

Currently I'm using the AE100i on my home cinema setup.
My setup includes also the AE107C center speaker which matches the AE100i perfectly.
For the rear channel i'm using the Mission 731i.
The low end is kicked by a subwoofer made by 'alpha technology' (I also saw it with other names...).
Altough the sub is not popular, it features a 10" woofer with 80W built-in amp, and preforms very well at all levels.
All of the setup is powered by Yamaha RX-V595. I've also have the Rotel RCD-950.
Interconnects are Monster interlink 400mkII.
Speaker cable is Vivanco 6mm OFC.

I know that my system can sound better with a better reciver ,cd and by replacing the speaker cable. But I ran out of budget and I needed a full setup.

So, for the AE100i stuff. Even using no so amazing sources , I can tell that the AE100i sound excellent.
I heard many setups with varity of speakers before. The AE100i reminds me studio monitors sound (I like the Alesis one monitors). The sound is very balanced, without any harness. The mid is simply pure and clean. Drums kick with excellent punch. The overall balance is calmed but open.
I'm using Bi-Wire for the speakers. Even with my setup there is a noticable improvement. Since i'm using a subwoofer, the reciver can handle the more delicate parts of the mid and the high, So the sound is quite detailed.
I'm using horizontal placement with my speakers.
Since I have a large table with my computer, my speakers are mounted on compact wall brackets on their side.
The tweeters are placed on the outer side.
I founded that this placement yields one of the most widest soundstages I've ever heard!.
When seated far enough from the speakers the sound simply fills the whole room. Sometimes it makes me look to the sides to check if I got speakers over there!. Stereo sounds like you turned on a DSP mode with the rears on!.

Matching the source and amp is vital to acheive the right sound from these speakers. I suspect my reciver to be bit softy and warm with the speakers. This tends sometimes to bit pinched mid and mellow tone. Seated far enough makes the tweeter reach first ,so the sound opens bit more.

I'm sure that using the right stereo amp and not all-in-one budget reciver will make wonders with these speakers.
They really build to last and I beleive that they are more can be partend with much more expensive gear.

Buy the AE100i with confidence. Make sure you partner them with the right sources. If you want more *Meat* on the bass , adding a subwoofer is highly recommended.
Feel free to ask me about anything! - goolgool2@yahoo.com

Maaaagical sound...treble and midrange are just superb...

can't dig deep (quite obviously...)

I auditioned them with those speakers above, with about 3 different settings.

Near speakers were clearly American speakers. Sounded straight, bald and charming but bass was too shallow and treble was too bright for me.

I actually went to the shop thinking of buying aegis ones but changed my decision after the audition that went for 2 hours. By the way, they were supernice.

I guess they pulled 100s price down a little more because they were going to be replaced but who cares? So I went on. Near speakers were early out of competition and it came down to these 2 AE speakers and I felt Aegis ones were sort of more dynamic but not as coherent or sophisticated like these 100s. Yeah, one sure thing, they can't really dig deep. you can't even imagine hearing those 20~40Hz 'heartmoving' bass. But I still liked 100s a lot better. May be because I'm used to more high-end kind of sound with more expensive system in my home country.

I heard these: Rollin' / Limp Bizkit, Tank! / Cowboy Bebop, Rollercoaster(Korean band) song, Corcovado / Astrud Gilberto (Stan Getz CD), Phenomenon / LL Cool J, History Repeating (more techno mix) / Propellerheads

100s were just magicall with female vocals. Ooh I just love that sound they make with them.... very seductive. 'Magical' is the right word which comes up to my mind all the time when I'm thinking 'bout these babies... They sound smooth and beautiful but still manage to go wild enough for me to enjoy them. No distortion in sound even when on high levels was obvious but on noticeable thing was that they sounded radically different with each 3 settings! Which could only mean that they aren't that colouring, and hence I can have a real fun upgrading other parts of the system and listening through them. After my experience of purchase this time, it just made me clear to trust your ears not the critics or other people's sayings.

100s are just FABULOUS. You weren't regret buying them only if you're not a bass freak. Trust me, they're quite good on their bass. It doesn't go down a lot but they're solid and clear on the range that they are producing. It won't matter a lot.

After all, it's all personal thing about choosing the right speakers. Go and take a listen if you have chance.

My opinion in one word? Here it is again, 'Magical'...mmm!

Similar Products Used:

aegis one, near speakers (model name???)

Smart both in sound and looking. The speakers take me only USD300.

I agree to Ian . They just superb and natural. I use them with the AE107 as center in my HT-setup.But u have to put them on rigid stands ( I put them on cones as well) and biwire with good cables and banans is a must (I use cabletalk4), in order to make this "wonder" come into real life.

This also will be a quick review of the Acoustic Energy AE1s, not the AE100s. About all I can say in response to the gentleman from North Carolina who heard midrange coloration coming out of an AE1 is that he is the FIRST person I've ever heard say that.Considering the dozens of reviews I've read on this mini-monitor plus dozens of people, from hard-core audiophiles to casual listeners I've entertained in front of them have never mentioned any significant midrange boo-boos, I can only assume the setups this listener came across were severely flawed. Most likely a poor choice of cables or stands or both.
About the worst criticism I've been able to point at the AE1s is that they can tend to be a bit too laid-back in the upper mids/lower treble with the wrong electronics in front of them. Of course, they have no low end below 80Hz, but make no claim to have.
What you do get is the deepest, widest, most precise natural soundstage you are likely to come across. The highs are gorgeous and are further proof the Elac desgned alloy dome tweeter must rank among the altime greats at its task.
In fact, the only other hf unit I've had in my living room that did not smear a tell-tale cymbal crash in the Neville Mariner/ASMF performance of Peer Gynt was a pair of Quad electrostatics.
The mids are NOT colored, but natural and with just the right amount of air. The upper bass is detailed and very fast. In fact, one of the big problems is finding a subwoofer that can keep up with the little metal cone mid/bass driver.
My cable of choice is biwiring with Tara Labs Space & Time with TFA return on the homeward legs. The AE stands are excellent, but I've had just as good performance from the Sanus Reference Stands, 27" high with a thick medite bottom plate. I also like the 3-point stance of these stands.
So, all in all, I have to agree with Stereophile's John Atkinson when he said the AE1s "redefine the mini-monitor." 5 stars no matter how you approach it.

When I first listened to the AEs, I was surprised at how well they performed considering their low cost. The sound is very special: clearly british. The detail is very good. But what surprised me the most about this speaker is their overall balance and their outstanding naturality. In the store, I listened to them with a Rotel setup: they sounded a bit laid back, especially the midrange, but when I hooked them up with my Cambridge Audio setup: magic. The highs were very smooth, the midrange perfect and the bass at a very high level of detail. These little babies won't make you forget Reference 3As, but will blow away anything in its price class. A little wonder that sings at you without any faults. Definitely a winner.

Sound staging, low colouration, solid build quality, mid range purity

No bass below 60 hz, restricted image size; like a Dodge Viper, there is no substitute for cubic inches!

I had grown weary of the dark sound produced by my Clements 800si transmission line floor standers and sought out the trade-in department of my favorite dealer Alternative Audio in Dundas, Ontario. Mike (the owner) had this pair of AE-100i's as trades. I knew them to be excellent by reputation from the Brit hi-fi press, so I made the trade for these and a pair of 24" stands.

They reside bi-wired with Audioquest Indigo as the front L+R in my home theatre system, partnered with a PSB Stratus C-6 center channel, an Acoustic Prophile 10" 100 watt subwoofer, and a pair of DCM QED-1A's for the rear channels. The fire power is provided by a new Yamaha RX-V595A Dolby Digital/DTS receiver that replaced a RX-V870 Pro Logic unit.

The 100i's are palpably liquid through the midrange and the upper mids and high frequencies are well balanced and non-fatiguing. The upper bass is quick and tuneful, and I am still experimenting with crossover settings and room placement to best mesh with the sub.

Overall, an excellent rendition of the better British mini-monitor sound that would be hard to better at under $1,000 Canadian.

Similar Products Used:

Monitor Audio MA-700 Gold, Proac Studio One, B+W DM17,

AE120 offers plenty of quick bass
The AE100 delivers music clearly.

AE120 is picky on amplifiers and needs room to reach its best. The AE100 needs solid stands

I am a sprouting home theatre enthusiast that has been constantly plagued by the upgrade bug. Hoping to stem the continuous sell and purchase cycle I decided to put some thought into upgrading my speakers. I placed a high priority in having all five speakers (mains, center, and rears) from the same company so that the sound staging would be balanced. To simplify matters I chose to audition simply the mains before the rest. Within my price range and what was available the field was narrowed to three models, the Mission 774, the B&W DM603 S2, and the Acoustic Energy 120. The B&W had loads of base but unfortunately a bit slow on the delivery. It was a close contest between the Missions and the AEs but when I heard the punch of the AEs I was quickly sold. In addition the AE100s, which would become my rears easily outperformed the flimsy Mission 77ds. Now that I have the complete set I am quite pleased with the result. The AE 120s offer loads of base with two woofers and a midrange, in addition they way a hefty 27 kilos each. The AE 100s perform well as rears. They are a bit small, thus lacking in bass, however this can be partially solved by placing them on heavy stable speaker stands. The AE 107 center speaker is a tad small but they blend in well enough with the mains. At this price range the AE100 series is hard to beat. Be warned however that if you are interested in these speakers contact your dealers ASAP since they have sopped production on this range replacing it with identical models that differ only in their finish. This causes a price hike of 30% for little or no improvement in the sound.