Напольная акустика — Acoustic Energy Corinium

The Corinium is a floorstanding loudspeaker from Acoustic Energy, the company founded in London in 1987 with the AE1 and based in the Cotswolds since 1995. It was the result of a three-year project by the in-house design team led by managing director Mat Spandl, and the brand calls it its most significant loudspeaker to date. The name comes from the Roman name for Cirencester, the company's hometown for more than 25 years. Launch pricing started at GBP 6,000 per pair.

Key specs that matter

The Corinium is a 3-way reflex design with a 120 mm carbon fibre midrange, two 140 mm carbon fibre bass drivers and a 29 mm soft dome tweeter. Frequency range is 38 Hz to 25 kHz at -3 dB, or 32 Hz to 30 kHz at -6 dB. Sensitivity is 92 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m, power handling is 200 W and nominal impedance is 4 ohms. Crossover points sit at 260 Hz and 3,400 Hz. Height including spikes is 1100 mm, depth is 385 mm, the spike thread is M10 x 1.5 and each speaker weighs 40 kg.

Engineering and use context

For the tweeter, Acoustic Energy looked for a dome material lighter than the carbon fibre used in its 500 Series and sourced a new soft dome to improve transient response. The midrange covers 5 octaves and uses a newly developed carbon fibre cone and surround, while the wider cabinet made room for a slightly larger bass driver working with a new bass alignment. A second generation of carbon fibre drivers was created with a low-hysteresis motor system. The crossover uses air-core inductors, metallised polypropylene film capacitors and metal oxide resistors, and the internal wiring has a patented conductor arrangement. The curved hybrid RSC cabinet walls run from 22 mm up to 50 mm thick, a 4 degree tilt improves time alignment at the listening seat, and a 6 mm aluminium front baffle holds the drivers and isolates cabinet resonances. The concept places the mid and high frequency drivers at ear height with a lower bass section designed as one system, combining traits of stand-mount and floorstanding designs.

Pairing

With a 4 ohm nominal rating the Corinium is best matched to amplifiers specified for 4 ohm operation, although the high sensitivity means high output is not needed. Connection is by single-wired terminals taking 4 mm banana plugs or 9 mm spades, and finishes include British Racing Green, Matte Black and Tectona real wood veneer.

Alternatives

The AE520 from the 500 Series is a 3-way floorstander with five carbon fibre cones, a 25 mm carbon fibre dome, 6 ohm impedance and 300 W handling.