The British are proud of their hi-fi heritage. Brands such as Quad, B & W, KEF, Rogers and Tannoy
all command respect for producing speakers of repute. To that list we can add Acoustic Energy, whose AE 1 speakers were popular in the early 90s.
Today, speaker manufacturers can't afford to ignore the ubiquitous iPod, despite its 'lo-fi' tag. Acoustic Energy admits that the iPod is where its Aego M 2.1 sub-satellite system is aimed.
The set comes in black or white and consists of two remarkably small satellites (103mm tall and 68mm wide) and a sub-woofer with soft round edges and a smooth finish. The satellites weigh a hefty 9kg and are made from a heavy alloy, but this is good news because solid housing means less wasted resonance and more music.
In contrast with the satellites, the sub-woofer is light. The design matches the satellites well - white surrounds and curved edges with a black grille. The amplifier is built into the sub-woofer cabinet, so the speakers attach to that via clip-on plugs. The other end is a phono plug, which slots neatly into the rear of the satellites. With only two speakers this makes it easy to set up.
The speaker cable is fairly thick and has a quality feel to it, as you'd expect from a proper hi-fi set such as this, and it's colour coded to ensure you connect the speakers the correct way round.