Aerial Acoustics owners?

[grit]

Quick background - I own a Rotel 1068 pre/pro, 1075 amp, 1060 dvd, and 1072 cd. Speakers are B&W 703's, 705's, and htm7.

I'm considering new speakers, and would like to know if there are any Aerial owners out there that can comment on why they chose Aerials and what model they picked.

Thanks!

- Garrett

[Aussie Geoff]

Garret,

You may want to post this in "Audio Hideout" or "Home Theater" - they get more traffic

Geoff

[Lex]

Moderator David Meek owns model 8B's. I own an SW-12 subwoofer. That's all the Aerial ownership I know of here on staff. There could be some other members. There was a time, if I'd had the finances, I'd have bought new 10Ts, Aerial center, and surrounds. I was in love with the image that much, sight unheard. But that didn't exactly work out for me with no dealer locally, and later falling in love with Sonus faber.

The 10T still represents an awesome value in a used speaker, as would a great pair of 8Bs. As far as new, I am not familiar with the line so much, except to know now the top speaker is a 20T I think, and much more cash than the old 10T.

[David Meek]

Close Lex.

I own the 7Bs. I chose them primarily for the sound which is detailed, clean, accurate, un-colored, no shrill highs, no bloated bass. With proper positioning they image very well and produce a good soundstage. I also fell in love with their build quality and their looks, especially in the Santos Rosewood. Adding Sound Anchor isolation stands only made them better.

[Lex]

oops, sorry for the upgrade there David, I forgot the number apparently.

[Shane Martin]

I heard the 7b's. They are magnificent. The others including their sub didn't do much for me though. This was hooked up in a dedicated listening room with a monster Parasound 300wpc amp feeding them. I forget the model but it was beast of an amp.

[Lex]

Changing my original response and re-opening for discussion.

1. How can you not remember what amp was playing Shane, yet in the same breath dismiss every product Aerial builds except for one saying you didn't like them. Were they all playing in the same room, or is this decision based on price perhaps? Availability maybe? (Like the 10Ts aren't even produced now.) I really don't see what possible relevence a generic statement like that has to someone looking at a line. If anything, it's counter productive.

2. Can you list them? Please, do list the entire list that this includes along with exactly why you didn't like each piece. I mean if you don't like something, and someone's buying decision may be hinging on what your saying, and your dismissing an entire product line except for 1 pair of speakers, at least you can tell them why it's so.

[grit]

David, what electronics have you used with the 7b's and what did you think? I'm currently using Rotel's 1068 processor, 1075 120 wattx5 amp, and their cd and dvd players. Any input would be appreciated.

[Shane Martin]

Lex
1. I don't think I dismissed their products. I just felt the 7b's stood out moreso than the others as a high value, great sounding product. I feel Aerial craftsmanship is 2nd only to Avalon and that's saying alot.

The Model 5's were overpriced for what they gave in terms of sonic quality. Craftsmanship was great but overpriced for being a bookshelf. The 7b's are one of their most popular speakers and for good reason IMHO. The 10t's didn't do it for me mainly because I felt the midrange wasn't as good as I would have liked. For that much cash I much preferred the Vandersteen 5a's. That's not to say the 10t's were a bad speaker.

I think you might have taken my statement a bit farther than I wanted to or meant. Sometimes typing on the net it gets tough to interpret that. I didn't mean to say that I thought they were crap. They are far from that.

Their sub was a quality piece but again I felt it was ovepriced and didn't offer the deep bass that I like meaning in the sub 20 range. The sub reminded me alot of my M&K only slightly louder in terms of SPL but still retained excellent musicality. But for that much money, I felt that it wasn't giving me that gut blasting feeling that I expect in my movies. I usually listen near reference level and that tends to stress the subs out to their max pretty quick. I can usually tell I will like it if I can put in Titan AE and feel like the room is crumbling around me. The Aerial sub in that room(fairly modest size) didn't do it for me. For others it might very well be too much or just right. If you are used to something and something that expensive doesn't live up to your expectations they tend to "dissapoint".

Their center speaker(at the time) the CC3 was and still is one of the very best on topped by their very own CC5 which they came out with a few years back. A 7b/cc3 combo for the front 3 would be killer and likely you can save a bundle going the audigon way. If you are into matching then the SR3 surrounds were pretty good but a tad expensive for an on wall speaker.

As I said, the 7b's were the "jewel" of the bunch. I thought the combo with a Bat Pre along with a 300wpc(forgot the name) Parasound amp provided some serious magic. I listened for a solid hour. If the speaker was shrill, bright or unmusical to me, I would have quit in the first 15 minutes.

I hope that clarifies things up a bit.

Sadly that dealer dropped Aerial and we no longer have an aerial dealer here. Our only Aerial dealer left in Oklahoma is in Morris which I have no idea where it is.

Warmest Regards,

[Lex]

fair nough'. Truthfully, I've never heard any Aerials except my sub, which I bought mail order as a demo, which is one reason he could sale it to me that way, plus we had no dealer here. I always loved the look of the 10Ts, and I liked the ones David bought. I can't say the other speakers did it for me.

The Aerial sub is pretty darn capable, and is more than my MK in terms of quantity of bass, which I also own one of. (MX125)

For me, the Aerial footprint fit what I needed to do, so my bass was as much a product of my at that time newly configured front projection environment as anything. Also, the fact I like my bass up front for music. But then I didn't pay 4600.00 for it either, more like 2650. So, I got a much better buy than some people did.

[David Meek]

David, what electronics have you used with the 7b's and what did you think? I'm currently using Rotel's 1068 processor, 1075 120 wattx5 amp, and their cd and dvd players. Any input would be appreciated.

I'm using the following on the audio side of the house:

Yamaha RX-V1 receiver
Nottingham Analog Horizon turntable
Rega RB 250 tonearm
Grado Reference Sonata cartridge
Musical Fidelity X-LPS phono stage
Musical Fidelity A3.24CR DAC
Yamaha CDR S-1000 CD transport
Vans Evers Model 14 power conditioner/surge protector
Aerial Acoustics 7B loudspeakers w/Sound Anchor isolation platforms
Velodyne FSR-15 subwoofer
Lovan Classic II equipment rack (shot filled)
SilverCAT interconnects
CAT silver digital coax interconnect
CoolCAT sub cables (x2)
AQ Mont Blanc DBS speaker cables
VibraPod isolation discs (CD and DAC)
Symposium Svelte Shelf isolation platform (turntable)

The weak link is the RX-V1. It isn't bad, but the Aerials want (and need at 86 dB, 4 ohms) more power than the 110 or so watts available from the Yammie. When I auditioned the 7Bs they were powered by a Musical Fidelity A308 with 250 WPC. They were stupendous sounding, and that memory is driving my amplifier upgrade "jones".

[grit]

Just to touch on this in case there are any other prospective Aerial Acoustics owners out there:

I did upgrade to Aerial Acoustics 7b's (L/R), cc3b (center), and sr3's (surrounds). I only changed the amp to a Rotel 1095 to provide them with enough power. My roommate, who is *not* an audio person listened for about 1 minute before he said, "Wow, these are so much better than your last speakers. I didn't think that was possible."

I couldn't be happier myself. Such a beautiful, natural sound.

[RebelMan]

I did upgrade to Aerial Acoustics 7b's (L/R), cc3b (center), and sr3's (surrounds). ... My roommate, who is *not* an audio person listened for about 1 minute before he said, "Wow, these are so much better than your last speakers. I didn't think that was possible."

I couldn't be happier myself. Such a beautiful, natural sound.

grit, please refresh our (my) memory. What did you upgrade from?


EDIT: Oops, nevermind I just noticed from your first post. I am a little curious why you passed over the B&W 800 series though.

[grit]

The B&W 803S and matching centers/surrounds are the direct quality/price comparrison points for the Aerials I chose. My girlfriend said that the B&W's sounded awesome, like the music was being played in a beautful concert hall. She said the Aerial's sounded like the artist was in the room. When I played Frank Sinatra "Live at the Sands", the Aerial's really did make me feel like "wow, I'll bet this is REALLY what it sounded like".

I've read that some people feel B&W's are bright. After owning 703's and testing 803's, I honestly think B&W's get less bright as you increase in quality. I've been told the 803D's fix the problem almost entirely. I didn't test 'em because it was outside my price point. At the price point I was looking at, I felt the Aerial's provided a more natural sound. I loved the 803's, but found them to feel somewhat fatiguing after an hour or so. It just seemed the B&W's were putting more sound through the tweeter than belonged (like the crossover's should have been set higher).

That was all with respect to music. In HT, the Aerials were (IMO) uncontested. However, I did not make my decission with regards to HT. Music is more important, and either system would have made me happy for HT.

I guess the best way I can put it is that the B&W's always captured me instantly. They have a wonderful, immediate presense. The Aerial's always won after I listened for more than about 10 minutes. I could listen to them for hours. I did give up efficiency... the Aerial's are far more demanding for power.

[RebelMan]

It seems you made a very methodical move for your needs. I tend to agree with much of what you said about the B&W's. They do improve as you go up the latter both interms of their brightness and fatiging nature. The 803D's do address virtually all of these weaknesses but as you said it wasn't on your radar. The Aerials appear to be fine speakers and you should be happy with them. Way to go grit! :T

[grit]

I should also add that I did *NOT* test the B&W's extensively with anything other than Rotel electronics because that is where I'll be staying for a while (for financial reasons). So, there IS a possibility I might have felt differently had I run Classe, Krell, etc. Still love B&W's (and I think they're absolutely beautiful in appearance) and will certainly revisit them when my next speaker upgrade comes around.

BTW Rebel, have you made any headway on your upcoming electronics upgrade?

[RebelMan]

The B&W 800's and Classe Delta series sound incredible together and given that the Delta Series was built around the 800's I would expect nothing less.

As good as I thought Rotel was for music, Classe's Delta Series sounds about 100% better on my 803S's, which is unusual for high-end gear as the laws of deminishing returns sets in very quickly. The price it is going to cost me to reach this doubling of performance is several factors higher but still a good buy for me because it is the end of the upgrade road as far as two-channel equipment goes.

The next upgrade would be the speakers, possibly the 800D's or the Home Theater side of the equation. This all depends on what happens in the high definition market place and the HDMI specification. I might even stay with Rotel for my movie applications which I still think performs very well and is great bang for the buck. I may even opt for the new RSP-1099 when it debuts, we shall see.

I ultimately decided to go with the CDP-202, CP-700 and CA-M400's. Everything I have been hearing about this setup has been nothing less than extraodinary. One might think that spending this kind of loot on something that one has not personally auditioned is crazy. Well maybe it is crazy but I trust my ears and while the CDP-100, CP-500 and CA-2200 sounded great my (potential) system will be better. I also trust my sources that have heard and compared the two and both put my chosen system in world class territory.

[grit]

So then you're using your Rotel gear to run your HT applications? What speakers?

[RebelMan]

My RDV-1050 and RSX-1056 will continue to drive the HTM3S, SCMS's and the ASW-825. It is too cost prohibitive for me to buy into the CDP-300, SSP-300 and a multi-channel amp like the CA-5100 to buttress my planned new system to include home theater not to mention that some technical issues are at work precluding such choices.

[grit]

Maybe I should move this to a PM?

I'm curious because I've reached a point where 2-ch music is more important to me than HT. In fact, I'd sacrifice HT for better 2-ch music. So, I have a keen interest in how your setting your system up. I'm presuming the SCMS's are acting as surrounds, and you're using the 803's as front L/R for the HT aspect? Any chance you could discuss it here, in another thread, or a PM? I'm interested in the technical part... how you're going to wire it and make it work out. I'm just scraping the idea of trying to integrate HT with a separate music system, and would love your input/experience.

[RebelMan]

I'm presuming the SCMS's are acting as surrounds, and you're using the 803's as front L/R for the HT aspect? Any chance you could discuss it here, in another thread, or a PM? I'm interested in the technical part... how you're going to wire it and make it work out.

Correct. To make this all work I have chosen to use balanced connections for uncompromised performance using two-channel sources and single-ended connections for HT.

For HT the L and R pre-outs from the RSX-1056 will be fed to the corresponding L and R (single-ended) inputs on the CP-700. The inputs will be labled (programmed) as "SSP" on the CP-700. Classe' requires this to enable the HT passthough feature (unity gain input) on the pre-amp thus allowing the RSX-1056 to control the volume of the L and R mains when watching movies.

The CA-M400 amplifiers driving the mains will have both balanced and single-ended connections coming from the CP-700 . The balanced connections will be toggled for two-channel sources and the single-ended connections will be toggled for HT. Because these amps can support both connection types simultaneously I can switch from one input to the other on the fly (either by manual selection or through software control) and as needed when listening to music or watching movies.

This arrangement seemlessly integrates a HT system using the RSX-1056 into a high-end two channel system using the CP-700 without compromising sound quality or flexibility.

[grit]

I LOVE that you figured that all out for me! The two key components being the single-ended and balanced switching capability of the CP-700, and the ability of the CP-700 to release control the volume to the 1056. That was my biggest concern: how to balance the volume. I'm VERY excited to test/pursue this possibility for myself. Oh the excitement! I'm so jazzed for you! (no pun intended)!