The British loudspeaker manufacturer Acoustic Energy was set up initially in West London 1987, but relocated in 1995 to a large facility in the Cotswolds (now a popular area for loudspeaker manufacturers, with both ATC and AVI not that far away). The compact AE1 model was the design that built the company's reputation when it was launched in 1988 — and although it was originally designed for the professional market, it quickly became a hi-fi favourite too, winning many awards.

In recent years Acoustic Energy have concentrated mainly on the volume-orientated entry-level and mid-range hi-fi and multi-channel home-theatre markets, but have recently made a significant move back into the serious professional market with their latest model, the AE22.

Apparently, it has been 15 years since the last professional AE speaker (the AE2) —and the world has moved on somewhat since then. So this new design (from the drawing table of designer Phil Ward, who has contributed often to the pages of this magazine over the years, and to the SOS forum more recently) has been created to provide a highly accurate recording monitor to take over from classic designs like the Yamaha NS10. Available in both passive and active versions, the AE22 is designed to be used on a mixing desk's meter bridge (or similar surface), placed at ear level, for nearfield monitoring.

The distinctive-looking AE22 is an attractive monitor, with the tweeter offset from the woofer and protruding slightly from the top of the cabinet. There's no protective grille over the drive units, and their physical arrangement means that the speakers are supplied in left and right handed pairs. The cabinet is a sealed-box design (like the NS10), and measures 35cm wide, 25cm high and 30cm deep. The passive version weighs 10kg, while the active design — which I looked at for this review — is 5kg heavier and 30mm deeper (to house the amplifier chassis).

Both versions of the AE22 feature the same drivers and performance specifications, including the...