Acoustic energy 309: Please respond

Hi,
Irecently advised a few of you guys tobuy the 309s.
I also advised you guys to wait a few weeks before making jugment...which of course everyone ignored!

I got a stream of abuse reccomending gear that sounded shit (straight out of the box)......

I never got any feedback on whether anyone liked the gear after it was worn in?

If anyone has heard the speakers please do tell I want to know if others like them as much as me!!!

 

I'm listening to the OST for Requiem for a Dream through them as I type, and am enjoying it a lot. I purchased the full 5.1 set up for my A/V system (I have a seperate stereo only set up downstairs) and can't think of anything else anywhere near the money that would touch them - absolutely stonking speakers that sound great, and I had no reservations recommending the 300s to a friend.

 

YAY!!!!!
Does the 309 benifit from being combined with a sub?
on the last track on Leftfields Leftism the bass made my sofa vibrate heavily....better bass performance that a few subs i have had.
(admitably it was only a wharfedale sub but hey.)

 

I've only used the sub for movie watching, not music listening, and have tried watching both with and without it in use - it definitely adds a lot for films with, shall we say, busy soundtracks (Matrix and Return of the King spring immediately to mind). I'd only previously used a Gale Sub 10 with a hotch-potch of other speakers and now, having a matched set of quite obviously (to my ears) better speakers, watching films that I've seen loads of times before is again a very exciting and enjoyable experience. Opening sequence of Apocalypse Now is particularly impressive, as was the brilliant DTS mix on the US version of Gladiator I have.

I'll give it a go with some 5.1 music (I've got Orbital's 'The Altogether' and Beck's latest, I think) and let you know what I think a bit later.

 

Thanks

 

Acoustic Energy Aesprit 300

Peter

I ordered a pair of maple Aesprit 300 on Tuesday. The lady told me that mine is their last pair and they don't have any Aesprit speakers left at all. I don't have the room for a pair of floor standing 309, otherwise, I would have bought them instead when I first read your post a few weeks ago.

I got them today which is a very fast turn round. The speakers look brand new, I cannot see any fault at all. I don't quite understand why Acoustic Energy called them B grade stock.

The Aesprit 300 is slightly taller than my ATC SCM12. They are made in Malaysia where labour is relatively cheaper. The maple veneer is really nice and the build quality is superb. I read in another zerogain post that the cabinets of my ATC SCM12 are also made in the far east, the ATC bass/midrange drivers are still made in UK.

I hooked them up to my recently acquired Exposure X integrated amp from Joe H. There is a grin in my face. They sound different to the ATC. The Aesprit is brighter and even with the foam bung in the rear port, the bass is deeper, indeed sometimes a bit too boomy for my small listening room. The midrange is not as forward or dominant as the ATC. The Aesprit overall balance is quite uniform, there is no nasty surprise at all. I will wait and find out the improvement after a few weeks.

I bought the speakers because I want to find out what these speakers sound like. For 70 pounds, they are a real bargain, imagine that their original selling price was 400 pounds. I will be able to use them with my old valve amps and transistor amps.

Thank you for letting us about this bargain. I hope you will make good profit in selling yours!

Regards
Hon

 

Hon, Glad to hear you're pleased with your AE300s too. Did you see my thread about mine? The only reason that they're B stock is that their Maple finish will not match up with Maple finished Aesprit lined speakers of a few years back. So if you bought an Aesprit centre a few years back it woudn't match up. Big deal They sound great.

 

Rory

I did see your post about your Aesprit 300. They are good speakers. I was thinking that they were smaller than my ATC speakers, but it turned out they are even bigger!

They will be very useful for me for messing with my vintage valve amps and possible future amp projects, I don't want to blow up my ATC! I am listening to Dido through them right now, they are very musical indeed. The maple veneer is really superb. Compared to a pair of black vinyl Dynaudio Audience 52 which cost me over 300 pounds to buy second hand last year, these Aesprit 300 are excellent value for money. I am not saying the sound of the Dynaudio is worse, indeed I like them, but I wasn't keen on the cheap looking vinyl wrap at all.

Regards
Hon

 

YAY!
I am glad people liked my reccomendation.
I have 2 spare pairs of the 300's which i bought when they were £200....slighty miffed when i saw them at £70

 

Aesprit 300 two days running in

I have had the Aesprit 300 for 2 days, they are growing on me. I got my Sugden A21a integrated amp out to hear what this combination sounds like. The midrange is really excellent and the bass is deep. I don't know if it is my imagination, the treble is getting sweeter. Bass is fairly tight, although the Sudgen's bass control is not that great.

I remember during my student years in 1990, I paid £70-80 for a pair of Goodmans Maxim 2 which aren't half as good as these Aesprit 300. 15 years on, I bought this pair of superb speakers for the same price but they surpass the Maxim in every aspect. Thanks again, Peter.

I saw a few pairs being sold in ebay for about £130, ebay auction fee is about £5 to £10, so the seller is left with £50 in his pocket. The profit from the 309 floor stander seems to be much better, if you were lucky to get hold of them for £150, they are being sold for £300 in ebay, that's about £140 profit per pair after paying the auction fee.

Regards
Hon