Everything

For the price nothing.

LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING.THERE IS NO SPEAKER IN THE WORLD WICH CAN BRING TOGETHER A MIDRANGE LIKE THE AEGIS ONE FOR SO LITTLE MONEY.I HAVENT AND NEVER WILL HEAR A SPEAKER WITH SUCH SILKY SMOOTH FINESSE IN THE MIDRANGE AND SUCH CLEAN UNGLOSSED UPPER BASS.DRUMBS SOUND CLEAN AND REAL WITH NO MUDDINESS OR BOOM.PARTNER THIS SPEAKER WELL AWAY FROM SIDE WALLS WITH MARANTZ AMP AND CD PLAYER AND YOULL HAVE A SYSTEM THAT BEATS MANY MORE ESOTERIC.

BELIEVE ME!!
I HAVE HEARD THE MISSION 700 SERIES AND THE M71S ASWELL AS TANNOY,JPW,B AND W,NOTHING BUT NOTHING CAN COMPARE TO THE EASY FLOWING MUSICALITY AND LUSHES SILKY SOUND OF THIS SPEAKER.
THE BUILD IS BRILLIANT TO!HARDLY ANY RING AT ALL,INFACT MORE RIGID THEN THE HIGHLY ACLAIMED BUILD OF THE MISSIONS.
IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY GO AND BUY THIS SPEAKER,ENOUGH SAID.

Nice overall frequency response. Quick Response

I was looking for a good all-round set of speakers to use for HT as well as music listening.
Since it was my first set of "quality" speakers I was going to purchase I took the trouble to do research on all the available brands and models fitting into the Bookshelf speaker category. I demo'd many different speakers and in the end came down to two speakers I liked the AE Aegis 1 and the Mission 701. Needless to say the AE's won. The Missions were too "Bright" for my liking...
I found the Aegis one's to be extremely balanced across all required frequencies and the vocal reproduction supurb! The bass is not too bad and can be altered a little by the placement distance from the wall. Having a Metal Alloy composit cone of some sorts, results in an extremly quick main driver. The cabinet is well made and solid. I would suggest a good pair of sturdy stands though. I ended up buying 2 pairs with the Aegis Centre. All I can say though, is trust your ears - be your own judge when it comes to buying any speaker - don't pay too much attention to the sales pitch from the salesman - let the speaker prove itself to YOU.

Similar Products Used:

Mission 701's

Accuracy, Tonal Balance, Value for money

None

Actually I have owned all of the above speakers (only to sell it off a few months later). I've always been looking for a all-round spk for HT and music use.I kept the Aegis One after all this while.

These Aegis sounded close to the LS3/5a (it is that good!), only that the LS3/5a sounded more refined (it able to convey the emotion of the singer). But the Rogers has its weakness too- can't be played loud- thus not suitable for HT. When listening to these Aegis the sound doesn't seem to come from them due to the life-like tonal quality. What this does is that it focuses you to the music/performance, but the drawback is that it exposes any deficiency in the reproduction/chain of components. Make sure you have a decent source and amp to drive it.

Other speakers- Tannoy M2 have a bloated bass (good if you like bass or scale in your music). The mX2 have a lacklustre treble (read- natural). Both Tannoys have strength in vocal- they sounded seductive- good for female voice.

The Cresta 2 have a mellow bass (as opposed to punchy in the Tannoy/Aegis/Epos/MS) and a tad laidback midrange. Not ideal for vocal lovers and for HT as the voice of the actors seems to come deep behind the screen, but the Cresta have a sweet treble- good if your amp sounded lacklustre. The MS90 is good for pop music/rock as it can sound very dynamic but lacked the tonal accuracy. Lastly the Epos is a dynamic spk with good midrange but the treble is lacklustre and the tendency to have a one note bass plus it is difficult to drive.

System used:
Audiolab 8000s and Marantz CD63KI

Similar Products Used:

Tannoy M2, Tannoy mX2, KEF Cresta 2, Mordaunt Short MS90, Rogers LS3/5a (as reference), Epos 11

Accurate tonality, good bass extension for the size and price, very smooth, good midrange

For the price, none really, but on an absolute standard, rolled off on top, imaging and soundstaging suffer in comparison to more expensive speakers

I just bought these for a 3rd system after listening to the Monitor Audio Bronze series and the Tannoy MXs. If you want the last word in detail and soundstaging you're in the wrong price category, but if you want a speaker to enjoy music, buy these from one of the discounters mentioned in some of the other reviews and dont give the matter another thought. All speakers are compromised in some way or another. These are an honest value and better than anything I've heard for under $1,000.

How do they sound? Very refined and smooth with a nice natural midrange. More open and detailed in the midrange than the Tannoy or the MA. More forward than the Tannoy but not as much as the MA, which is sort of in-your-face. The bass is not bloated if you position the speakers properly. Mine are actually very close to the wall, but toed-in and on 28 inch stands. The bass is nicely extended and tuneful and can be improved with a sub or equalization.

These speakers sound very nice at low volume levels and are ideal if you have a receiver or integrated amp with bass eq or a loudness countour.

Within their range and understanding their limitations, these speakers impart a true high-end perspective on the music. They dont add undesirable sizzle, bloat, grain or distance. They just sound nice.

Similar Products Used:

None

open, detialed without ever being fatuiging, wonderful midrange

bass depth

my associated equipment consists of:
California Audio Labs CL-5 cd player
Classe CAP-100 integrated amp
Transparent Audio Cables throughout
Studio Tech High Mass stands
and now the overacheiving Aegis Ones. they astounded me with their open, easy to listen treble and wonderfully smooth midrange. their bass gets a little loose down very low but hey theyre $300 speakers what do you want! compared with the B&W DM302 i found them smoother as well as more detailed. they are completely at home with much more expensive equipment, highly recommended.

PS. its gonna be tough finding a budget sub that performes as well as these!

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM302, DM601

Well-rounded speaker. Not bad in any aspect, at least for a bookshelf where much bass is not expected. What bass there is, is very good.

Not the best in any one aspect. It's not a weakness as it doesn't bother me at all, but perhaps it's a trade-off for being so well-rounded.

Everything to be said about this speaker has pretty much been said, but I just thought I'd push the average up a little bit towards where it should be. I listen to classical exclusively and I've found this speaker to compete with all the other bookshelfs I've listed, and I chose the Aegis Ones over them based on price/performance. The Dynaudios seem to outperform the Ones in many aspects, but somehow they didn't make a coherent sound for me. The Haydns clearly sound better, but they cost $1000, and they don't even go as deep in bass, thus requiring a sub, so that doesn't sit well in the value department.

My thoughts in short: They are very easy to listen to and are unfatiguing, they have a rolled-off top that seems to give them a rich dark tone, and the soft dome tweeters make them very smooth in the treble. In one word: SWEET. For more details, just see the other reviews below.

Similar Products Used:

auditioned: Paradigm Mini-Monitors, B&W DM601-S2/DM602-S2, Dynaudio Audience 40/50, Vienna Acoustics Haydns, some Tannoy bookshelfs in the same price range

I don't have much to add to the above review other than that their sensitivity is high enough to allow you use a modestly powered amp. My 35 watt amp never goes past 1/3 volume during normal listening. I found the Aegis One's suitable for many genres of music including rock, pop, classical, opera and AV duties. A good all-rounder.

This is definitely a pair of speakers that far exceed the price. Midrange is excellent, while treble is high and crisp. Even before run-in, the speakers already show its potential, just that after a full break-in, it really shines. The only drawback, it seems, lies in the bass, which lacks a bit of kick for rock listeners to marvel at. But don't get it wrong, the low-end is taut enought, especially with the right partnering equipment, sound decent. By the way, transients is also excellent.

Amazing clarity
Bass worthy of MUCH larger speakers
Equal footing in any musical genre
Great value

None that I've found

I was first convinced to buy these speakers when I put on a recording I knew quite well, and I immediately had to restart the track, because I heard a strange sound. As it turns out, the strange sound is a harp that I'd never heard before in my years of listening. I was immediately hooked. These speakers are a lot better than ANY others in the price range--I hadn't heard this kind of accuracy and full-bodied, yet still lively sound in anything else in all of my auditions. I've listened to Pearl Jam, Holst, Dave Brubek, the whole spectrum of music, and they excel in each. In addition, I used them last weekend as studio monitors, and couldn't have been more pleased with them. I'm quite glad that I picked these up for the steal of a price that I did, though I would happily pay $100 more at least for this sort of quality. A great buy for all but the most dedicated audiophile (I say this only because they wouldn't be able to brag about what they had to pay to get them :P)

Clean Clear treble, Big & tide bass and superb vocals. Can handle high volume, Absolutely superb all rounder.

None for this price

For a bookshlf at this price, very few if any speaker can even come near this Aegis One. In my test, I switch from one make to the other and the differance is significant, thus making the decision process very easy. In my test given the eqpt and environment, though very well reviewed in some mags, the similar range KEF and Mission, in what I can hear, the Aegis One is the clear winner by a long shot.
Absolutely BIG BIG value for the money and something for all audiophiles to cheer about.
This will exceed your expectation for the price.

Similar Products Used:

Mordant short 10si, tested Kef & Mission similar or budget speakers.