Construction: 9/10: Nice and solid.
Efficiency: 2/10: Most unquestionably a power hog.
Portability: 9/10: as comact and light as a 210 could reasonably be.
Tone: 10/10: Unbelievable lows, clear natural mids and solid high-end. Did I mention unbelievable lows?

First and foremost, I have to say that this speaker cab has an extremely happening low end. My pant legs were flapping, the drummer could feel it in his chest, and his wife (resident sound critic) could hear the difference from the other room. One very small 210 cabinet was holding it's own in a very loud medium sized bar. I had my old cab handy (Eden 210 XLT) in case the new one wasn't cutting it. For the sake of A/Bing, I patched it in, and switched back to the Acme in a big hurry. What can I say? Low mids good, lows better.

I had to wrestle a bit with the highs. They can be coaxed (or should I say coerced) from the Acme, but they can be a bit brittle, and there's a fine line between not nearly enough and way too much. The Eden's horn seems to be sweeter and juicier, and I still prefer it slightly for slap work. For finger playing, however, there's no comparrison. The Acme covers that bottom end like nothing else I've tried.

It's all the more remarkeable for it's small size and weight. It seems a crime to use two hands to move it. I've got half a mind to put a big ugly "D" handle on the side (with much caution, so as not to mess with the critical internal structure). That way, my whole rig can be one trip. Narrower than my rack case and barely taller then the Eden, it almost isn't there, onstage. The vehicular stowage possiblilities are endless. If I wasn't an upright player, I could sell my station wagon and get a Geo.

Like the manufacturer states and every user confirms, the price for all this performance and portability is power consumption. The Acme can make almost any power amp's clip light start blinking, with no apparent sounds of speaker damage. This lulled me into a false sense of invincibility, and I wound up eventually "melting" one of the drivers with my 1200 watt Stewart. Oops...

Fortunately, the customer service is excellent, Company founder Andy Lewis was generous with his time and gave me a lot of quality information on the telephone. He helped me troubleshoot the cabinet, reccomended an effective remedy, and sent me a new woofer for $50 after I sent back the dead one. (Compare to an Eden 10" woofer at $150!) Incidentally, Andy reccomends about 400 watts for the 210, and after my little mishap, I'll be taking this reccomendation seriously.

Speaking as one who craves low end but despises all things bulky and cumbersome, I'm blown away. At $300 for a used unit, this is by far the most bang I've ever gotten for my speaker buying buck. The 210 is good for a 4 string in a meduim room. For lower notes and/or larger venues, a second 210 or a 410 would be a very good idea. To sum up, Acme speakers are designed and built to work in the real world, with exceptional customer service to back them up, and they sound fantastic!