Always interesting to see a thread come to life again after a 10 year snooze!
Aerial Speakers
I've owned several speakers over the past seven years: Wilson Sophia 2s, 3s, Sashas, Revel F52s, and most recently Revel F208s. My Aerial 7Ts arrived two days ago and I can't say enough about them. They are the most complete speaker that I've ever owned. No, they are not perfect! Wilson speakers can play louder and are a smidgen more dynamic. The Revel F208s have a larger sweet spot...you can sit anywhere and the soundstage doesn't change! If I only required speakers for movies I would prefer F208s. I'm blessed to have a dedicated sound room that enables me to place the 7Ts five feet out from the front wall(rear of speaker) and several feet from the side walls. My system is rather modest: 7Ts, Nova 220 se, NAD bee, Silver Audio cable. The 7Ts have a midrange and tweeter that sounds so real its sick. The music extends beyond the speakers and it's the first speaker that I've owned that images appear slightly in front, as well as to the far outside of the speakers. They are beautiful to look at and I hope I have enough sense to just enjoy the music!
14 responses Add your response
| Post removed |
I cannot answer you specific question but I can add that Aerial Acoustics is alive and well, although they did recently move their offices. Michael Kelly still runs things and I didn’t ask about their transition plans. I just had them rebuild two SW12 subwoofer amplifier sections (all the electronics is in one plug-n-play piece for easy maintenance/repair). Apparently the original amplifiers had something that would wear out (after many years of use) and the new or rebuilt units are supposed to be bomb proof. All of their speakers are just so well designed and particularly from the standpoint of power handling and providing impact. These LR5s are my last speakers and powering them with good-sounding, high current, amps then adding a couple of SW12s has given me an amplifier/speaker combination that I never think about changing (except maybe another SW12 or two!). This review nails it. |
I’ve had my 7Ts for several years and still enjoy them. They are now set up in a smaller room (15.13.12 that’s a whole other story) and I’m still tweaking their position. Latest position now lets me “hear” bass notes for a lot of music. Yes, I agree treble and midrange are very smooth. To my ears more enjoyable than previous Avalon Ascendants, but I don’t think they were a good match for my SS gear. As an aside, wonder why I don’t see more Aerial presence at shows and more advertising. Enjoy the music |
| Post removed |
| Post removed |
James633, My thought process was I could never get Wilsons to sound natural. I got tired of owning something that was fatiguing and I admit it was more about their name than the music. I will just say "ditto" to what Mitch2 said about Aerial's sound and design. This is the first speaker that I've owned that I don't feel like I paid too much for. |
Years after owning and enjoying a pair of Michael Kelly designed ADS L810's, I circled back around to one of his current offerings the Aerial 9's. Like the L810's, they have a great combination of clarity, dynamics, even response across frequencies and, most importantly, they sound very musical and enjoyable with all types of music. They are also well made, well designed, and extremely well supported by the manufacturer. |
French_fries, The bass is tight, articulate and just as good as the other frequencies. As far as cable go I never liked Transparent. I had a home trial of Transparent Ultra speaker and interconnect cable. In the context of my system at the time, The Transparent cable was by far the worst. To my ears Transparent represents a bad value...but of course that's just my opinion. I've learned my lessons over the years and I know that I will keep the 7Ts for a very long time. |
It "sounds" like the only thing missing here from your description is (perhaps) the last bit of bass extension since you like the mids and the highs. I would have to conclude therefore that you don't need to worry about that issue. Really deep bass is an elusive entity and often does not mesh well with various rooms. I can also tell you that better cables- i experimented with Transparent's- will provide more bass if you choose to upgrade. either way, Aerial Acoustics is as reputable as Wilson or anyone else IMO. as long as they are properly grounded you are "done" buying speakers for some time. I made the "mistake" of upgrading from Eggleston Andra-II's to a much larger/more resolving speaker and i wonder to this day if the trade-offs were even worth it- sure, what i have now is better, even amazingly so. But- the Egg's were so well suited to my listening room that i often miss them as well. |
