Напольная акустика — Acoustic Energy AE309²

The AE309² is the slim floorstanding model of the second-generation 300 Series from Acoustic Energy, the British company founded in London in 1987 and now based at Trull Farm near Tetbury in Gloucestershire. The maker describes the series as a complete redesign in which no single component was carried over from the previous 300 Series, and states that pricing stayed at the level of the earlier AE309. Research from the Corinium project fed into both the drivers and the crossover, and the range sits below the 500 Series in the catalogue.

Key specs that matter

This is a 2.5-way design with two 120 mm paper-cone bass-mid drivers and a 29 mm fabric-dome tweeter. Acoustic Energy lists a frequency range of 33 Hz to 29 kHz at plus or minus 6 dB, 89 dB sensitivity, a peak output of 112 dB SPL and power handling of 120 W. Crossover points sit at 285 Hz and 3.8 kHz, and nominal impedance is 6 ohms. The cabinet measures 900 x 170 x 270 mm (height, width, depth), or 920 mm tall with spikes fitted, the spike thread is M8, and each speaker weighs 18.5 kg.

Engineering and use context

Coconut husk fibre reinforces the paper bass-mid cone, and the maker credits it with higher stiffness and fewer breakup modes. In the motor, a lengthened copper shield on the pole piece cuts distortion in the midband, and the voice coil sits on a former that does not conduct. Behind the new soft dome, a neodymium ring magnet leaves room for a large vent in the copper-shielded pole, leading into graded absorption material inside a contoured rear chamber, and a WDT waveguide keeps baffle diffraction low around the crossover region. Cabinet walls are 18 mm constrained-layer RSC, an MDF and bitumen composite that Acoustic Energy introduced with its Reference Series about 15 years before, and a slot-shaped port on the back is shaped to limit air turbulence. The crossover was drawn up with the woofer, tweeter and cabinet treated as one system to reduce phase distortion. Aluminium feet and spike covers are supplied, and the slim magnetic cloth grilles and trims are colour-coordinated with the chosen surface.

Pairing

The 6 ohm load and fairly high sensitivity put the AE309² within reach of mainstream integrated amplifiers, kept within the handling limit. Acoustic Energy rates it for medium to large rooms, and buyers choose between walnut veneer and the new silk-touch matte black or matte white surfaces with screen-printed logos.

Alternatives

The AE320² from the same series is a larger 3-way floorstander with two 140 mm bass drivers, 92 dB sensitivity and 200 W handling.