Aerial 10T Beware? Another Look & Buyer's Guide


In August of this year another Audiogon member posted an article in this forum titled ‘Aerial 10T Beware’ that cautioned other members about purchasing used 10Ts that he felt were being misrepresented by the sellers. In a nutshell he described the differences between older and newer pairs of 10Ts and criticized those who were listing their older 10Ts with MSRPs that reflected late production 10Ts. At the end of the post he states “I can’t believe how many older version 10Ts I see up for sale that are being advertised and sold as a $8300 list price new version model 10T when in fact they are a $5000 list price old version.” Obviously this member is concerned that this type of advertising will undercut his late model 10Ts value, and in fact, he has just listed his pair for sale. Well, there is no doubt that the MSRPs listed by members on this site are often incorrect and may be construed by some as misleading. However, I personally found this member’s post to be somewhat misinformed regarding the evolution of the 10T and it struck me as a bit self-serving, especially considering his are currently for sale. While this may not be the case (and I apologize if I have offended) I felt that further discussion of the evolution of the 10T would be of interest to those who either currently own 10Ts or are considering a purchase.

The first generation 10Ts began shipping in the fall of 1991. I became aware of them a couple of years later after they received a rave review by Anthony Chiarella and Michael Fremer in The Absolute Sound in the fall of 1993(Vol.18 Issue 90). The serial number of the pair under review was 010111 / 010112. A friend of mine was the first dealer for these in Colorado so I was able to hear the first generation and was mightily impressed. At this time the retail price was $4500; stands added another $500. This was an exceptional product for the price and I suspect the pricing reflected the fact that Aerial was a new company trying to get its foot in the door of a very competitive industry.

A year later in the late summer of 1994 the second generation (MKII if you like) of the 10T came out with a price increase of $500. You had a choice of black or rosewood stained walnut. For another $500 blond tiger maple was an option. I purchased one of the first pairs of this second generation with the serial numbers 010351 / 010352 in black without stands. A couple of years later I added the stands, which I felt, was a worthwhile improvement. For ten years now these have remained in my dedicated 2channel system, which says a whole lot about my opinion of the 10T given all the speakers I’ve gone through in the last 30 years.

The differences between the first and second generation are in the drivers. Noticeable improvements to the original design were realized with a new woofer and tweeter. The tweeter is made in Germany, and according to Michael Kelly, this new tweeter’s frequency response plot was the same as the original, but with superior transient response. This allows for better resolution and an improvement in soundstaging. The new woofer is made by Vifa and is mechanically more rigid and has an enlarged magnet structure. As good as the original woofer was, this one is even better allowing deep clean bass at even higher volumes. The midrange driver is a twin cone Kevlar design made for Aerial by Focal. It comes in half manufactured and is completed in house by Aerial. The midrange driver is the heart of any speaker and this one was retained in the second generation. However, it benefits from the improvements in the other drivers in that there is an even smoother transition between the drivers than in the earlier version.

There are a couple of ways to tell the difference between the first and second generations. The obvious is to give Aerial a call and have them check the serial numbers. Another way is to look at the tweeter. Both versions look a lot alike, both with a set of four outer hex mounting screws. There is also a set of four screws that are around the dome itself and it is here that you will find a difference. On the first generation these are Philips head screws and they are in the same location relative to the outer screws (11, 1, 5, and 7 o’clock) dividing the tweeter face into four equal parts. The original review in The Absolute Sound clearly shows this pattern. Aerial began advertising in the October 1993 (Vol. 16 #10) issue of Stereophile and periodically throughout 1994. In all of these issues it is easy to see these are first generation 10Ts. On the second generation the outer hex screws are the same, but the inner screws are Torx head screws (similar to a hex head) and they are located at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions. The inner and outer screws create four small triangle patterns. Beginning with the January 1996 (Vol. 19 #1) issue of Stereophile Aerial began new full-page ads that clearly show second generation tweeters. The second generation 10T got its first rave review from Wayne Donnelly in the premier issue of Fi Magazine (serial # 100735 / 100736, which Wayne purchased). The 10T made the cover of Stereophile in the April 1996 (Vol. 19 #4) issue with an outstanding review by Wes Philips and John Atkinson, both of whom were very impressed with the 10T (serial # 100739 / 100740). That same year Stereophile awarded the 10T Joint Loudspeaker of the year, along with the Dunlavy Signature SC-VI, reflecting the opinion of the entire Stereophile staff.

So what has changed since then? Not much really. Although there have been some subtle changes, the sort you would expect to see in any product that was in production for over a decade, nothing truly significant has occurred. Michael Fremer, in the original TAS review, had some criticism of the binding posts and the fact that they were difficult to tighten by hand. These are the binding posts I have on my 10Ts as well as my model 7s and model 5 that I use in a surround system. They have never bothered me and their quality is decent. But I do use pliers to tighten them. By the time Wayne Donnelly and Wes Philips reviewed them these had been upgraded. At this point in 1996 we also see another $500 price increase to $5500 ($6000 w/stands). In 1997 the price goes up to $6000; in 1998 another $500 to $6500; and again $500 to $7000 in 1999. At some time during this period Aerial had to address another regular complaint and that was the problem of hairline cracks developing in the Novalith heads. It should be very clear to anyone who owns or is considering the purchase of the 10Ts that this is a purely cosmetic issue and in no way effects the performance of the 10T. For the most part it really is not noticeable except on very close inspection and I wouldn’t be concerned with it. One of my 10T heads has a single hairline crack about an inch or so long that is hard to see, impossible to feel, and would be difficult to photograph. Keep in mind that the Novalith heads are a couple of inches thick and these are surface imperfections. It is my understanding that this was corrected by adjusting the Novalith formula, which was invented and trade marked by Aerial. The only other obvious change in the 10Ts is new stands ($700) that appeared in later production. I don’t know what Aerial’s thinking was here as the original Sound Anchor stands are excellent. To my eye the new stands are more visually appealing as they are a lower profile and my guess is this was more of a cosmetic change than anything else. One other change we see is Aerial started charging more for the rosewood stained models at some point, but I don’t recall exactly when. In the final production the black models with stands were $7700 and the rosewood stained models $8200, a $500 difference. Regarding the wiring mentioned in the original ‘Beware’ post, I am not familiar with this change, but you could certainly call Aerial if it concerns you. This will be at best a very subtle change if it’s noticeable at all. The original wiring was a special 99.997% pure copper wire and silver solder was used throughout.

The Aerial 10T (MKII) is a remarkable product not only in its design, but also it that it was in production virtually unchanged for a decade before being discontinued with the advent of the far more expensive model 20T. I know of no other product in the high end that lasted anywhere near this long, and that goes a long way in explaining just how good the 10T is. So far I have not yet had an opportunity to hear the 20T, but I have little doubt that as good as it may be it is probably not 3 times as good, just 3 times as expensive. It has, however, just been awarded, once again, Joint Loudspeaker of the Year by Stereophile and is getting rave reviews. Clearly Aerial has not lost its edge and its other models up through the model 9 are also excellent if not the level of the 10T (yes, the 10T will still outperform the model 9, but I’ll admit the 9 looks much nicer).

What should you have to pay for a used pair? The price increases listed above are very reasonable and reflect the success of Aerial, normal inflation, and manufacturing cost changes. In terms of the buying power of the dollar, there is not much difference between $5500 in 1996 and $7000 in 2003. Audiogon’s current Blue Book pricing shows a retail figure of $7000 and average used price of $3400. I’ve been watching the price of these used as long as they have been around and this sounds about right. Keep in mind this is an average price, which includes first generation models that generally fetch in the low-to-mid $2000 range (but there really are not too many of these). If they’re in good shape the first generation 10Ts have got to be one of the great used speaker bargains. I know of nothing that will come close in this price range. Most people will probably be looking for MKII models though and around $3500 plus or minus is what you might expect to spend excluding shipping cost. Naturally condition will effect the price and a nice pair from an original owner will always command the highest price, regardless of vintage as long as they are MKIIs. Regarding late production models, I have seen asking prices as low as $2900 and as high as $4500. Once again, condition, with or without stands, and the person selling them will account for the differences in price. You should be able to find a very nice pair for around $3500 plus shipping, perhaps less if your patient or can live with some cosmetic defects. Regarding shipping, do not buy these if they do not have the original packing. The quality of the boxes and packing of Aerial products has always been exceptional. Only Jeff Rowland’s flight cases are better! The 10Ts come in 3 boxes (5 with stands), two for the bass cabinets and one for the pair of heads. All 3 come banded to a wood pallet that should be reused to reduce the chances of damage. My model 7s also came on a wood pallet so this is not unique to the 10T.

Hopefully this history of the outstanding 10T will be of use to those seeking some of the finest loudspeakers ever made regardless of price. Properly set up in a well designed room (I’ve built two dedicated sound rooms, and believe me, a good room is the most important and most overlooked component in a high end system) the 10T continues to compete with the best out there, even a decade after the MKII came out. It does so much so well and compromises so little that you simply cannot go wrong at the price these are going for used. Even after 10 years I have not been able to part with mine and I’ve listened to a lot of the newer designs that have come out over the years. To improve on the 10T you have to spend huge sums and the law of diminishing returns becomes very real.

One final comment. Michael Kelly is one of the true gentlemen of the Audio industry and has always been fanatical about quality and detail. The build quality of Aerial products is exceptional, especially in their price range. If and when you should ever need service (I never have) you could not pick a better high-end company to deal with and I’ve no doubt Aerial is here to stay.

Enjoy The Music!
tswhitsel
Slacker…You know, the nice thing about forums such as this is one can say as little or as much as one wants. Another nice thing is you have the choice to read that which interests you and ignore that, which doesn’t. That’s just great that you found Mike’s original post very informative, but it is not your place to tell me or any other Audiogon member what they should or should not do in these forums. My post is intended for those who have an interest in the evolution and performance of the Aerial 10T. Your comments, however, clearly intend to provoke rather than offer anything new with regard to the 10T, a subject you appear to have no interest in. Perhaps you could find a topic that actually interests you, and with a bit of luck all the posts will be 50 words or less!
Mike C…this thread was not intended to get your attention, but the attention of those interested in the 10T. In fact, your name was not mentioned at all, but only reference to your thread, a thread that I personally found misleading. I even agreed with your main premise that MSRPs are often incorrect in Audiogon listings. My intentions were only to provide more information, including correct 10T MSRPs, for those interested in owning 10Ts. With the exception of my first paragraph that explains the purpose and inspiration for my thread, the entire piece concerns only the evolution of the 10T. Although your thread struck me as being self-serving, I even apologized in advance if I offended you if that was not your intention. You even opened your first response to my thread with the words “great post” before sharing your opinion on the differences you heard. Perhaps you should have stopped there rather than coming back at me with your second post demanding to know what my point was. Don’t your words “great post” imply that you got the point? Anyway, I have answered your questions (sorry if you found it too long and boring), but you have failed to answer mine. I’m sure there are others here besides myself who would still like to know what your purpose was in trying to keep our Canadian member from purchasing 10Ts from a reputable and respected audio manufacturer and why you felt the need to make him feel bad about his gear.

At the risk of boring you further Mike, let me copy and paste yet another email that was forwarded to me by someone whom you were trying to sell your 10Ts to:

Hello…,

I'll give you a little education when buying a used pair of speakers or even an amp etc.. Below I will paste a copy of another 10T ad that is currently up for sale and show you a RED FLAG as to why anyone with some knowledge would be very concerned and most likely not want to purchase these particular 10Ts... If you look at the amplifier this particular seller was using to drive AN ENTIRE FRONT 3CH Aerial HT setup.. He was using a 5ch Bryston 9tx which is a multi ch amp (all 5ch sharing the same power supply) with a output power rating of 125 x 5 AT 8 OHMS.. Now its bad enough that this seller is using a multi ch amp that is drawing all its current sharing the same one power supply driving 3 INEFFICIANT SPEAKERS, he doesn't mention what the rear speakers were,,, (which would be OK IF the amp was powerful enough with a large power supply) BUT 125 watts is NOT ENOUGH CURRENT to properly drive a 10T and better suited to drive the Aerial CC3 which is a 6 ohm speaker with a sens of 86 (another inefficiant speaker but an easier load to drive than the 4 OHM 85 sens 10T).... The knowledgable audio hobbyest will easily see that this pair of 10T were being under driven and thus probably constantly clipping at a HT's higher dynamic range (DD/DTS is more dynamic by designed nature) and also when playing Rock&ROLL and definitley playing any CLASSICAL music (which Classical music is a more of a power demand for any stereo system).. Bottom line here is this is a speaker that has been way under driven and most likely the speakers performance has been compromised and very possibly has damaged voice coils and strained crossover parts.... I betcha 100 bucks this guys system did not sound all that good with sloppy bass and with unwanted distortion not being up to the 10T's true dynamic capabilities... I betcha this seller purchased these speakers used and did not realize the cost of using the proper amplifier... Plus the seller must not be very knowladgable by showing the amplifier he was using to drive 3 inefficiant Aerial speakers... A COMMON MISTAKE MADE BY MANY by trying to put a high quality top end system together without taking the time to LEARN how to properly match up the amp & speaker.... When buying a speaker or an amp it should be concidered as a ONE COMPONENT PURCHASE as the speaker and amp MUST BE PROPERLY MATCHED UP TO EACH OTHER TO OBTAIN OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE.... I'm not saying that his Bryston amp is not a good amp as that amp is a good amp BUT the proper Bryston amp for the 10T is the big 500 watt mono block Bryston amp... Many 10T owners have mated 2 Bryston 500 watt mono blocks amps... Using 2 - 500 watt Bryston mono blocks are the proper match for the 10T,,,,, DEFININITLY NOT A SMALL 125watt per ch Bryston amp and ESPECIALLY A 5CH MULTI CH MODEL THAT SHARES THE SAME ONE POWER SUPPLY (that big round copper wound core inside an amp)... LOOK at the copy of the ad below,,,, if you need help in chossing a speaker and amp please don't feel shy to not ask me for some advice if you need the advice... I'm here to help anyone if they need the help... Look for a more efficiant speaker with the same good sound as the 10T unless you have the amp and can afford it...

Smile Mike
---------------------------------

Selling my entire home theater system as I am moving to New York City into a small apartment and no longer have the space for all my custom stuff. Look for my other listings on Audiogon. I have a complete Aerial front end including CC3, 10Ts, and SW12 Subwoofer, as well as Bryston 9BST THX Amp, Sony DVD 9000ES DVD Player, an Anthem AVM20 Pre/Pro, and a Focus Enhancements CS-1 Video Scaler. My loss=your gain. Email me at jonvludwig@gmail.com with any questions - I know this gear really well.

This auction is for a pair of Aerial 10Ts with Sound Anchors Stands. Minor nicks here and there, but sonically perfect. 7/10 rating is very fair. Priced accordingly. See photos. I have priced them fairly, so don't bother with lowball offers. Shipping will be a bear, but can be done. I have the original boxes, which is the only way you could ship these.

End of Email

Mike….Once again I do not agree with your assessment above and truly wonder where you come up with this stuff. Obviously you don’t have much, if any, experience with Bryston amps and once again you’re trying to make the 10Ts sound like an impossibly inefficient speaker. The Bryston 9B is a great home theater amp and this guy’s system sounds excellent. He’s even using Aerial’s SW12 subwoofer to handle the .1 channel and you have no idea how he has this system configured. With a subwoofer as excellent as this he may even have all his other speakers configured as “small.” The AVM-20 offers a great deal of flexibility for set-up and crossover frequencies. And you are incorrect about the 9Bs power supply. It uses totally independent and separate torodial power supplies for each channel of amplification and will deliver in excess of 200 watts per channel into a 4-ohm load. In addition any two channels can be bridged. You also have no idea how large his room is or at what volumes he likes to listen at. As to the Bryston 7B monoblocks being the “proper match” for the 10Ts, once again I disagree. As I have mentioned earlier I am using the 4B-SST and have found it to be very powerful and it never clips even at very high volumes, and that is in a fairly large room with no subwoofer to help take the load off my woofers. Michael Kelly has recommended the 4B to be used with the 10T.

To keep this as short as possible I will comment no further on this other than to say that this email misinforms in several ways. It serves not to “educate” as you imply, but to try and sell your speakers by implying that you have a great deal of knowledge on the subject, and by criticizing and finding fault with another Audiogon member. Sorry to say this Mike, but I find your methods deceitful and self-serving. Nuf said!
Hi twshistel; your write up is well informative, i just bought an old version of the Aerial 10T it is driven by a KRELL FPB 300 its an audio bliss. May i inquire if you know the manufacturer of the woofer of the older version as you mentioned in your post the new version uses a driver made by VIFA. Thank you for sharing your experience and history of this one of a kind speaker more power to you!
donlovejoy....thank you for your comments. I'm glad to hear you are enjoying your 10Ts. Sorry, but I do not know the manufacturer of the original woofer. But, you could always give Michael Kelly a call if you really want to know.
I used to be an AERIAL distributor for Greece few years ago.10T is one of the best speakers I ever had regardless the price.All AERIAL speakers share the same character,and you need to "feed" them well in order to get their best. Placement is also a very important factor,as well as cable sellection.All in all,from my years of experiance in HIGH END,I can say that in order to outperform an AERIAL speaker,at any price range,in quality of construction or sound, you need to spend considerably more.Even then,the fact that a true gentleman stands behind this brand,with all that this means,is something money can't buy! I wish I had sold more of AERIALS,but when it comes to high price speakers,my market understands only B&W,WILLSON,and MARTIN LOGAN...To my knowledge,this is the case in many other Europian markets. It is unjust and a shame!