Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
On the subject of Ae Lite 1 speakers. Never used or heard 'em before but sampled them today in a shop. Trying to find bookshelf speakers so that I can claim back a few cubic metres of living space. Listening to 'Dark Side of the Moon' and found sound reproduction of was pretty realistic. The clock chiming sequence especially had real presence. The vocal and mid to high range was also very alive. Only the lower freq's were a little distant. Normally I do my listening on big cabinets so it's not entirely fair to make comparisons but I did feel the Ae lites for their size were still enjoyable. I was able to also compare some EPOS bookshelf speakers and to be honest felt they didn't quite cut the mustard when one takes into consideration the price differential. I'm definitely going to return with a few of my own cd's to give the Aelites a second pass..

Price Paid:  $499.00 from Audiophile Systems

Summary:
The Aelite 1 is a fabulous compact bookshelf speaker. I used to be a "Linnie" and was hooked on the Katans, which I used with Linn stands and drove with Linn electronics. Now I have a simple theater with the 1s up front with an Arcam DV79 and AVR200 and I am thrilled with them. Tunefulness, accuracy, vocal intelligibility when listening in stereo are all better than with the Katan. And the 1s are half the price! Hard to beat for the money.

Strengths:
Tunefulness, accuracy, vocal intelligibility.

Weaknesses:
Somewhat limited low end because it is tiny, but good match for the Aelite sub.

Similar Products Used:
Linn Katan, Linn Kaber