Has Anyone Heard Aerial Acoustics Model 7T with Luxman LX-380?

Pretty unlikely pairing unless you listen under 75 db all the time then might be ok. My understanding is the Aerial speakers are not tube friendly either but I haven’t experienced for myself. 

Thanks mofojo! Appreciate the reply.

Have the Luxman CL38U se tube preamp but I'm using a Bryston 3B Cube to power my 5T's. Aerials like solid state amps. Besides Bryston Michael Kelly's favorite amps for his speakers are class D Gato power amps.

This sounds like a good application of the Atma-Sphere class D amp.

All interesting points! That’s why I respect all of the knowledge/experience that’s shared on this forum. 👊🏻

So to make things more intriguing, my new AA 7T’s arrived this past Tuesday. I placed them approximately where my previous Paradigm Prestige 95F’s resided for the past several years. Given that these speakers were bought second hand and, assumingly, broken in, then the results should speak for themselves.

I did a hot swap speaker and wire exchange and positioned the 7T’s approx where the Paradigms had been…toed in just at shoulders. On initial fire up, I felt like there was a lot of midrange and bass missing. I may have omitted that there was a Power Sound Audio S3611 subwoofer in the mix. I also have Isoacoustics GAIA II in place which I also used for my Paradigms. 🤦🏻‍♂️

I set all EQ on my Luxman LX-380, my subwoofer and started from scratch. By the time I got everything crossed over properly, to a state of personal acceptance, I left well alone and sat to listen. I have tone controls on my Luxman which are a very nice perk when you want to tune a particular song/album to add a little air or give a little bass bump. Originally was of the belief that tone controls were audio smears. Au contraire my people. When implemented appropriately, as Luxman has, the “tone” can be customized to your particular flavor. If we all hear “differently,” why wouldn’t we appreciate frequency changes accordingly? Just my $0.02 for what it’s worth. In my room, with my particular equipment and in my current setup, these tone controls are it’s own equipment tweak to help me connect to my music as I enjoy it.

With my current temporary setup, there is no room treatment. This will be added following some renovation. My source is a Bluesound Node 2i which streams to a Lampizator Amber 3 DAC. This is the best DAC I have ever used/heard. I previously listened via a Benchmark DAC3 HGC. Although good, not in the same league as the Lampizator. All connections are single ended. All cabling is Audio Envy. First cable I ever used where I noticed an audible difference before and after. Great speaker cables and interconnects for the prices.

My biggest concern would be if the Luxman tube integrated would be able to power the Model 7T’s appropriately. With everything setup, the 7T’s surprised me at how much better a pair of speakers could be. Everything is more balanced, larger, more dynamic…you name it, better than the Paradigms in all aspects. I thoroughly evaluated, and listened to, the Paradigm Prestige before they came home. I took a blind leap at the AA 7T and I’m so glad I did.

Tonight, I started messing with toe-in. I didn’t think that the sound would improve that much more. I toed the speakers out away from my shoulders. There was some improvement in bass tightness, smoother midrange and a little less sparkle on top. From what I have read, it was recommended to toe the 7T’s outward from neutral. So I tried that as well. Lost a bunch of bass and midrange in my room. The sound was so much more flat.So my happy place was toed in just a few degrees from neutral. With minor additional adjustments to tone control and subwoofer crossover/gain, I’m so impressed. This is the best musical experience I have personally ever had. My room is filled with smooth, 3D-like, detailed music. As part of my audiophile affliction, I feel like I look for weaknesses in equipment. This was the only instance I’ve ever had where I thought, dang…all the positive I had read about is true. As readers read these words, I’m sure there will be some eye rolls. I almost did as I typed it and read it back. It’s ok though, the sound quality, alone, is worth walking out on that limb.

I’m very early in my honeymoon phase with these speakers, however, the thoughts of end game speakers has been there. I feel they are that good. Sometimes we gamble and win. I feel like I’m that guy over these past few days. I thought that my amp wouldn’t be up to snuff. It has exceeded my expectations. But due to the experienced voices indicating solid state is the way to go, I ordered a Bryston 4B from USAM. It’s an experiment to see how external SS amplification gels with the tube preamp side of things. If it’s an improvement beyond the tube amplification, I’ll have, at least, did my diligence to my new speakers.

Thank you all again for your valuable contributions! This has always been such a fun hobby/addiction. Cheers and happy listening!

4B(what?) - ST, SST, cubed?

With the big SS amp on the Aerials, you will probably appreciate the improved dynamics and maybe miss a bit of bloom and tonal density.  You can mostly have both with the right SS amp.  Aerials are very dynamic speakers when powered correctly.

Here is an interesting review of Bryson.

It’s an original 4B. The ST, SST, cubed all came after the original.

You’ll be very surprised how much better the 7Ts sound with your new amp! You mentioned “end game”, could be.