very nice

Bass, Clarity

need room!

Excellent speakers, really no complaints but i was not too happy with them initially - had them hooked up to a marantz pm66 se-ki sig. amp and in other reviews i've noticed that care with matching to an amp is needed - in my case certainly true. luckily i bought a second hand pioneer a400x for 40 quid and bang, what a difference! dont waste your money on small/mid size speakers with a sub. just partner these babies with the right kit and see how low you can go. also like to note its a tight fast bass (cut a wad of straws in half and jam them in the rear ports to tighten up further!)

acoustic energykef
bw nautilus 802
tannoy

Got my AE120 after a long wait, but they turned out to be a major disappointment. We tried cables, positioning, bi-wiring, etc, but the sound still came out very dull and with little definition. The very helpful owner the shop came to my home to listen. He agreed to take them back. Maybe the wrong speakers for my system, but I felt these are overrated. The replacement, the ALR Jordan number 3, are more expensive, but have the clearity and definition that I was lacking. My other components are the Marantz PM-78 and 67 MkII OSE amp/CD, with Monstercable cables/interconnects.

There are not enough superlatives to vividly enough describe how utterly outstanding these speakers are. WOW!!! I just sold my 3 months old KEF Reference Model One, and bought these wonder of sound. The AE120 exceed the KEF by far in every category: Soundstage, microdynamics, detail and a bottomless pit called bass - and that is at less than half the KEF's prize! I have listened to everything up to $2000, including ALR/Jordan, Dynaudio, B&W, Dali, Snell, QLN ... And nothing beats the AE120, which just showes that outstanding sound doesn't necesseraly have to cost a fortune. If I could have given these speakers more than 5 stars, I would have done so, especially considering the price.
If you do not own these speaker ... go get them!

My system looks like this:
Marantz PM-17 amplifier
Marantz CD-62 cd-player
Audioquest emeralt interlink
Straight Wire Waveguide 4 speakercable
AcousticEnergy AE120

Clarity

Withheld sound

Dissapointing with my setup, a bit to withheld (not letting the sound flow), no excitment and no sound stage.

On the plus side clarity is a big yes, although crispiness is another matter, it should have given more care to the crisp sound with its clarity.

Prefer the B&WCDM1SE/NT

CD Marantz CD63Mk2KISig
Amp Audiolab 8000S
Int VDH D112 III Hy
SC QED 4x4 Profile

A speaker to grows with/on you. Enjoys being driven hard. Very tight and clear sound.

Can make some music sound too hard. Beware of bad recordings. Needs plenty of room. Picky with some amps. Works well with a woofer to target deeper bass.

Don’t remember writing a review for the AE120 but in any case I have had my pair for just about a year. The first time I installed the 120s I was quite disappointed. My room was 4.5 x 4 meters. The sound was closed in and it lacked bass. This was a far cry from what I heard at the dealer. Although there was an improvement after burn in it still was not spectacular. This was partly due to my Yamaha receiver. The big revelation came when I checked the wiring. The 120s are unusual in the sense that you can tri wire/amp them. I biwired them, one connected to the tweeter and the other to the mid which was branched to the lows. Changing the wiring from the mid to the lows made a world of difference. The 120s sounded spacious and dynamic.

Currently my room is about 7x7.5 meters and the sound has revealed a whole new dimension. The 120s work best in large rooms with plenty of power behind them working at high volumes. These pillars need to be pushed. My soon to be replaced Yamaha quotes 105 watts for the mains but I highly doubt that seeing how much I have to crank it. A conservatively rated 100 watt amp should be a starting point. Anything less and you are not getting your speakers worth.

I am more into HT rather than Hi-Fi yet not to the point where I think I should sacrifice one over the other. The 120s are shielded so no worries placing them near a screen. I am quite pleased by how they perform. Each upgrade has proven to bring more detail out of the 120s that belie its low price.

Try to get your hands on the older model. The newer version has had some cosmetic changes that have not improved the sound much but has resulted in a higher price.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Mission 7 series

Soundstage, imaging, bass, getting into the emotion of the music

destroy poor recordings

I puchased the AE120 about 12 months ago. My system then consisted of Audiolab8000s, Marantz CD63KIS,Sonic Link Violet and Qed Profile 4X4. They sounded excellent in this set up. Presenting all of my musical tastes in glorious 3D sounstaging. I recently upgraded my cd player to a Meridian 506.20 and with the addition of this player into my set up, the AE120s sing louder, clearer and the imaging has become even more precise. Looking for a new speaker? Buy Acoustic Energy AE120. You will not be dissappointed.

Similar Products Used:

Mission 704

I purchesed these speakers for only 350 pounds 250quid off retail to replace a pair of mission 704's that had melted away(they can not take 250watts). the sound was so much more precise and controlled with these when compared to the missions, especially the bass. there is not perhaps as muvh volume but there is more presence and control no rumbling. the sound is faster as well. for the price i can't think of mush that is better, certainly not the new 773e's to tinnie and not enough balance.

Clear sound, depth, full sweet bass, huge soundstage. Good veneerjob, and they look nice too.

None, however it destroy's poor recorded cd's with a hammerimpact.

This is a speaker that does almost everything right. Partner them well with powerfull amplification, get them Triwired with the optional AE High Res.speakercable, and there isn't anything to complain about. Wether you play jazz, pop, classic or a thumping Underworld track, they don't get shut in en they remain crisp and clear never losing control of anything.

Similar Products Used:

MB Quart.