Aerial 10 T Owners Need Advice

Jazzdude,

I was looking at the mezzo utopias but the used price was $6K and they are a little big for my room I feel. The 10Ts have a slightly smaller footprint. I have a Pass X-250 which Bound for Sound loves especially with speaker loads at 4 ohms. I have heard so many speakers over the past three months but have not found anything that really floats my boat except the Sonus and they are $7,500. The 10Ts may be just what the doctor ordered. I also was looking at the matrix B&W 801s but since they are long discontinued, B&W does not support the product any more, so I ruled them out. I did hear the Piega 3 LTDs but my matrix B&W 803s walked all over them.

Happy Listening and thanks to all for the help!

I/ve owned a pair for 6 yrs and wouldn/t trade the sound for anything else in this price range. I have recently had a problem with the finish on the head unit and it/s not been resolved. I/m driving them with 200 watts of ARC s/s amp and they sound great. Don/t buy them if you don/t have very good s/s amp or very powerful tube gear. They are a nominal 4ohm load.

Ditto what Piezo said about the 10T's. A very nice smooth midrange and non-fatigueing treble. A warm speaker overall, but the bass is a little loose and will require a beefy amp for discipline. I would recommend a SS amp, tube preamp, and cardas cable/IC's.

Bigkidz, I thought you were looking at the mezzo utopias awhile back?

I really liked the 10Ts but found the bass a bit loose for my taste. Highs and mids were wonderful. As a former vandy owner i say there is no contest between the 3a's and the 10 t's the aerials win easily. More open sound, more range, i just liked them better. The winner for me, and now occassionaly seen at give away prices, was the Dunlavy Athena. Just because the firm went under doesn't mean the speakers don't still sound great and i've seen folks dumping Dunlavys cheap.

Any thoughts on the 10T compared to VAndersteen 3Asigs?

Weiserb is spot on. I don't think they are rolled off, and if they seemed that way it was probably in the setup. One great feature is the way the mid/tweeter enclosure is separate and can be adjusted to dial in soundstage width, center fill and treble energy. And long term, the 20th row is where you want to be. Forward speakers become often become fatiguing, and the 10T has such an open and immediate midrange there is no chance that they become boring, which is a danger with some "laid back" presentations. A good tweak is to get 8 brass cap nuts and use them between the mid/tweeter enclosure and the bass unit. They are also somewhat sensitive to listening height, with a suckout if you sit too low. Your amp should be a good match. They were always a good value and used they are a steal. A classic.

I own the 10t's with a VTL ST-150 Tube amplifier and I love them. Bass is robust but tight, Midrange is magical, and the high end is super smooth. The high end is very clean and non-fatiquing which may account for it sounding slightly rolled off. You need to get used to it as this is a fine musical instrument which is not trying to "show off" . It also like to play loud to "bloom". They like power too. I use 175 tube watts but would like more! They are a steal used !