Напольная акустика — Acoustic Energy AE520

The AE520 is the largest model of Acoustic Energy's 500 Series, a slim three-way floorstander from the British company that builds on the smaller AE500 and AE509 models. Its six drivers, from tweeter to woofers, all use carbon fibre, which Acoustic Energy developed to match the pistonic behaviour of the ceramic-aluminium cones its earlier speakers were known for while adding more internal damping.

Key specs that matter

Acoustic Energy fits one 25 mm carbon fibre dome tweeter, two 125 mm carbon fibre midrange drivers and three 125 mm carbon fibre woofers. Crossover points are 373 Hz and 2.8 kHz. The frequency range is 30 Hz to 28 kHz (+/-6 dB), sensitivity is 90 dB, nominal impedance is 6 ohms, power handling is 300 W and peak output reaches 113 dB SPL. The cabinet measures 1130 x 185 x 320 mm (H x W x D) without spikes and weighs 30 kg.

Engineering and use context

The tweeter sits in a cast aluminium WDT waveguide placed close to the midrange drivers. The waveguide is stiff enough to stop vibration reaching the dome and shapes dispersion to match the cones through the crossover region. The two midrange drivers flank the tweeter and run in their own sealed internal enclosure, which keeps them isolated from the pressure produced by the three woofers below. Their 35 mm voice coils are oversized for a driver of this size, lowering thermal compression and raising motor force. The three woofers are reflex loaded by a large rear-facing rectangular port, and Acoustic Energy states that together they match the output of a single 250 mm driver while keeping the baffle narrow. Vertical directivity is controlled to reduce energy directed at floor and ceiling. The fourteen-element crossover is built from polypropylene film capacitors with air-cored coils, and its low-frequency section sits on a separate circuit board to cut crosstalk. Wiring is oxygen-free multi-strand copper. The 18 mm Resonance Suppression Composite cabinet uses constrained-layer construction from the Reference Series, and solid aluminium outrigger bars carry the spikes. The cabinet comes in gloss black, gloss white or a real American walnut veneer.

Pairing

The AE520 can be run from integrated amplifiers of moderate power, and its power handling also accepts large solid-state amplifiers in rooms of 25 to 45 m2.

Alternatives

Acoustic Energy's AE509 is the smaller two-way tower of the 500 Series in an MTM driver layout.