Price Paid:  $700.00

Summary:
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

Strengths:
Great "monitor" sound, lucid clear and punchy.

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

Similar Products Used:
Mission 731i,Tannoy Mercury-MX-1, Auditioned to many many speakers.....

Price Paid:  $650.00 from audioreview.com

Summary:
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!

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

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

Similar Products Used:
aegis one, near speakers (model name???)

Summary:
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.

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

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

Summary:
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

Strengths:
Superb clarity, smooth and detailed treble.

Weaknesses:
Bass need more *Meat* on the low bottom.

Summary:
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.

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

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

Similar Products Used:
Monitor Audio MA-700 Gold, Proac Studio One, B+W DM17,