Sale!
 
(8 customer reviews)

Acoustic Energy AE520 Floor-Standing Tower / pr.

$ 4,999.00

Best New Product of 2020 Award from Stereonet

The AE520 is a powerful, slim-line, floor-standing loudspeaker which builds on the AE500 and AE509 models to firmly establish itself as the brand’s new flagship, featuring multi-driver design, imposing size and performance.

The AE520 features two dedicated 5″ mid-range drivers, three low frequency drivers and a 1″ tweeter – all fashioned from carbon fiber to provide perfect tonal matching across the frequency range.

The two dedicated 5″ carbon fiber mid-drivers include new oversized 1.4″ voice coils for low thermal compression and optimum motor force factor. Both are mounted within their own dedicated sealed enclosure whilst the three dedicated low frequency drivers are reflex loaded by a large rear facing rectangular port. Designed to match the pistonic power and accuracy of our legendary ceramic aluminum drivers, these new units offer much improved self-damping for a smoother, more transparent sound.

Vertical directivity has been optimized to provide excellent vertical coverage whilst reducing the energy otherwise wasted on ceiling and floor reflections when compared to traditional designs. 

The slim-line cabinets are finished in Piano Gloss Black, White, or American Walnut wood veneer finishes. Solid Aluminum bars are supplied to ensure rigid floor-coupling and maximum stability, whilst the stiffness of the metal structure reduces the room to speaker interaction.

This brand is special order, custom built.*

Free Shipping in the USA

Finish Options

 

Description

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

TWEETER

Our 500 Series tweeter features a brand new 1″ carbon fiber dome. Carbon fiber is much lighter and better damped than other typical hard dome materials and provides a lightning fast, natural sound which will surprise the listener with its neutrality. The new cast aluminum WDT waveguide on the high frequency driver is positioned close to the mid/bass driver for optimum dispersion and is extremely stiff to reduce vibration being passed to the tweeter, ensuring sweet, clear and natural highs.

DRIVERS

The 125mm mid/bass driver includes a new oversized 1.4″ voice coils for low thermal compression and very high motor force factor, to provide a highly dynamic yet controlled bass response. The woofer has an optimized motor and suspension system for maximum linearity and lowest distortion ensuring mid-range definition, whilst the lightweight nature of the carbon fiber cone material increases transient speed and clarity.

CROSSOVER

The crossovers use high voltage polypropylene film wound capacitors and air core inductors at critical locations for optimum dispersion through a smaller acoustic source size within the crossover region.

The AE509 is a Mid Tweeter Mid/Bass (MTM) driver layout and both models use a 2 way crossover, while the AE520 utilizes a 3 way design.

CABINET

These unique drivers are housed in the nearly 3/4″ thick Resonance Suppression Composite (RSC) cabinets, evolved from the prestigious Reference Series and featuring the same constrained layer composite to greatly reduce cabinet acoustic radiation, which would otherwise color the sound. The gap is filled with bitumen for superior damping of cabinet resonance and vibration, revealing an cabinet with no coloration. 

*FAQs

 

Additional information

Weight 66 lbs
Dimensions 12.6 × 7.3 × 44.5 in

Specs

AE520
5″ carbon fiber cones
1″ carbon fiber dome
30Hz – 28kHz (+/- 6dB)
90dB Efficient
113dB Dynamic Range
300w Power Handling
373Hz/2.8kHz Crossover Points
6ohms Impedance
3 way Type
Slim Grilles, knitted, with magnetic fit
44.5″ x 7.3″x 12.6″ (HxWxD, exc. spikes)
66 Lbs. (each)
Piano Gloss White, Piano Gloss Black and American Walnut wood veneer

8 reviews for Acoustic Energy AE520 Floor-Standing Tower / pr.

  1. Jay Lundberg, Audiophile Consumer Nov 2022

    “Hi Bob, I got them yesterday and everything arrived just fine. I hooked them up very excited, Great build quality and good looking, the sound is fantastic. Full review to follow.” Jay Lundberg, Audiophile Consumer Nov 2022

  2. Hi-Fi Muzyka Poland, Jan 2022

    “The flagship Acoustic Energy AE520 loudspeakers offer a dynamic and musical sound with true English panache. They will prove themselves in every repertoire and will easily provide sound to many lounges. With a suitably strong amplifier they can create a sound worthy of the name of hi-end. At this price, it is a really great proposition.” Hi-Fi Muzyka Poland, Jan 2022

  3. J. Mitchell, Leeds UK, Audiophile Consumer Dec 2021

    “Just thought I’d drop you a line with my thoughts of my recently acquired AE520’s. In a word, Magnificent!! For years I’ve been searching for a sound that is huge but at the same time same time focused, detailed, musical and most importantly smooth at the top end. On the end of my Exposure amp these speakers absolutely nail it. In my search I demoed six other pairs of speakers between £4k and £5.5k and none came close to the AE520’s – kudos to you guys as well for keeping them within the reach of mere mortals such as myself!” J. Mitchell, Leeds UK, Audiophile Consumer Dec 2021

  4. MEER VAN DIT MERK, HIFI.NL Dec 2020

    “Again, the neutral sound of the AE520 stands out. After about six minutes, the music swells ominously. We turn up the volume. During the climax, the bass guitar and bass drum blast into the room, but without pushing away the rest.”

    “The AE520s are everyone’s friends. They have no trouble with heavy metal or a large symphony orchestra, even when the volume is turned up. “ MEER VAN DIT MERK, HIFI.NL Dec 2020

  5. StereoNet Magazine, Dec 2020

    “Selling for $4999 a pair, the Acoustic Energy AE520 is a large floor stander that sits in no man’s land between budget and mid-price – and gives the best of both worlds. It sports the company’s beloved carbon fiber drivers – including the dome tweeter – and these give a smooth, tidy but wonderfully insightful sound. The AE520 brings a big cabinet to the party, allowing it to deliver thunderous, subterranean bass. We declare it the Best Floor Standing Speaker in 2020”. StereoNet Magazine, Dec 2020

  6. Noel Keywood, Hi Fi World, Dec 2020

    “…I stumbled away from them a bit shaken… I was quite literally shaken by tracks like Safri Duo’s Samb Alegro where the pounding synth ‘kick drum’ was moving my body and the setee upon which I sat. But they sounded supremely relaxed, totally unfazed. The Acoustic Energy AE520 has peculiarly wide bandwidth, one of the widest and flattest of ANY loudspeaker.

    Verdict? A coolly accurate sound with very deep bass and great sound staging. Impressive.” Noel Keywood, Hi Fi World, Dec 2020

  7. Simon Lucas, Hi Fi + Magazine, March 2021

    “With a 180g reissue of Four Tet’s There is Love In You [Domino] spinning, what’s initially most impressive about the AE520 is not their out-and-out low-frequency presence (although that’s undoubtedly one of their stronger suits). It’s how deft and light on their feet they are. There’s a tremendous sense of purpose to the way the AE520 go about creating music. If you want information about the variation in a drummer’s strike of a snare, or the variation in a pianist’s key releases, these speakers are unambiguous. When a pair of loudspeakers has a comfort zone as expansive as the AE520s do, it proves extremely tricky to goad them out of it.
    They don’t get shouty or coarse when you turn the wick up – they simply get louder.” Simon Lucas, Hi Fi + Magazine, March 2021

  8. David Price, Hi Fi Choice, Oct 2020

    “Overall this is the most impressive new flagship floorstander. It’s an excellent all-rounder with no obvious vices and a lot to be proud of. Tonally it’s lovely; it has richness that you don’t often hear from modern speakers. The AE520 is not one of those weedy, anemic-sounding floor standers that have you wondering why you didn’t buy the stand mount version at half the price. Instead, you get a large, muscular and full-range sound that has weight, grunt and go.” David Price, Hi Fi Choice, Oct 2020

Add a review

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.