Links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Hifi Pig and Big Pig Media with appropriate and specific direction (link) to the original content. Now, while any one frequency response curve doesn't really say all that much about the likely subjective performance of a speaker, a genuinely flat response such as demonstrated by the A300 doesn't happen by accident and is impressive. As the voice coil moves outwards, fewer of the coil windings surround the pole, so its inductance drops; and when it moves inwards, the reverse happens.

Dive into a world of limitless possibilities with Airpulse, a company built upon the legendary legacy of Phil Jones. The quantity being measured is how much of the subwoofer’s output is distortion and is shown here as a percentage. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

Clearly the transformer- and horn-loading on the tweeter does much to increase its sensitivity, so it requires far less amplifier power.

I then grabbed a Leema Elements phono amplifier and plugged that into the RCA inputs to play vinyl via my Pro-Ject Primary E turntable and Jethro Tull’s Living in the Past album. The proprietary aluminium alloy cone was designed through a meticulous process analysing different types of cone geometry and materials using a Klippel Laser Doppler Interferometer.Dipping into some jazz the quality of the midrange really became apparent as did the surprisingly wide soundstage.

If you’re targeting a product at a general audience, the last you want to do is to annoy them because of pernickety design issues. Interstellar came across with a wonderfully full soundtrack and Inception was also a pleasure to watch with a real cinematic feel to it. The classy, smooth and detailed character of the ribbon tweeter also helps, although its narrow vertical dispersion is noticeable. The A300 organ-pipe resonance is a potentially audible one, however, because its peak is only around 5dB below the fundamental port output.

Following the successful launch of the A200 and A300, the all-new A80 diminutive bookshelf speakers with a 4'5” aluminum cone ferrite magnet woofer now join the Airpulse active speaker family. The tweeters have already been discussed but looking at the rest of the build and connectivity the 115mm (5in) mid/bass unit offers a hard anodised aluminium alloy cone suspended in a heavy, ultra-rigid cast magnesium alloy frame.