Question for Aerial 20T Owners


I am considering the purchase of Aerial 20-T's. One feature of this speaker that may be a real issue for me, however, is its use of a ribbon tweeter that has virtually no vertical dispersion above the top of the tweeter, the result being that persons who are standing evidently receive no high frequencies. While I would buy the speaker principally for my own critical listening in the "sweetspot", my wife and I do quite a bit of entertaining, and I would not want a speaker that sounds totally unnatural or otherwise odd due to a lack of treble to persons standing in the listening room (or even to persons sitting in the dining room, which is immediately adjacent to the listening room).

Both my listening room and all adjacent rooms have mostly hard surfaces and wooden floors, so sound does travel from room to room.

My question is thus to 20-T owners: how natural (or bad or weird) does the speaker sound to those who are standing or who are off axis? Very importantly, how does it sound in adjacent rooms? Is the effect similar to being off-axis for an electrostatic (sounds horrible) or a time-coherent design (still sounds good, but not nearly as good as it does in the sweetspot)? If for any reason you are not comfortable responding publicly via this thread, please e-mail me.

I would simply demo the 20-T's to find out for myself, but there is no display pair anywhere near me (São Paulo).

Thank you.
dearing
Hello RWD:

LOL the pic of your system brings back memories.....good ones. I owned 4 pairs of RS1x over the years....on and off I'd go back and buy another pair, and sell 'em then buy another. :-)

Problem with me an Wilson is I like bang for the buck. Yeah, I know....the 20t's list higher than the Watt/Pup7.....however.......when you buy Aerials you are buying Mike Kelly the guy who makes 'em. If theres ever a person that's friendly, helpful and a true craftsman it's Kelly of Aerial.

Comparing the bass to the 4 box RS1x or Beta system is fruitless........there's this electronic control box ya know. Depending on your taste and amp with the Infinity just give the knowb a tweak and voila! Plenty of bass.
A handy knob for sure, but what is real?

One of my bass favorite CD's is the soundtrack to Patriot Games. Try track 7 for a woofer test. Aerials pass with flying colors. Also a great CD for imaging.

Best,

Paul :-)
Hi Paul....as an Infinity RS 1-B owner how does the bass on the Aerial 20 compare to your Beta's? In addition, had you given the Wilson Watt Puppy 7 a look and listen? I'd appreciate you commenst and others on this subject.

Hey, why not add on to those above the Von Schweikert..7's or the Joseph Pearls??

RWD
I have 20t's here now on audition. I'm going to buy them.

Running Levinson 390S direct into a pair of Levinson 33H.
Transparent reference balanced interconnects, Acoustic Zen
Hologram II Biwire Speaker cable.

If you are looking for "boom and sizzle" these aren't for you. A natural and relaxed presentation with speed and great dynamics. The tweeters are the best I've heard.

Not a speaker that wows you at first, however after extended listening with familiar music.......then come the wows.

I've been through planars from big Maggies thrue Infinity IRS Beta to large arrays such as the B&W Matrix 800. The 20t's so far are the most well balanced speaker I've had here yet. I'm also finding them music friendly, CD's I haven't played in awhile are back in rotation.

I'm satisfied!

Best,

Paul :-)
Okay , I might be biased a bit but I deserve it.. We are a aerial dealer in NJ who have personally installed 5 pairs of these in the last few months.. They are by far the smoothest most incredible imaging speakers on earth. We get to hear everything and there are alot of good. The 20T stands all by itself. The imaging is superb with Bass control that makes you realize that a speaker can have it all.

I invite you to listen andtime your want..

They are a lifetime investment with everyone saying the same thing. THEY LOVE THEM !

Bets of luck
Craig
Raquel
Delicate equipment and crowds in a confined space are'nt a good match. Every precaution should be taken to avoid disaster...unless you don't care.
Sorry I got mixed up with the names here.My answer goes out to Dearing who started the thread and is interested in buying the 20T's.
Cheers.
Raquel
I have to "agree" with Tabl10's responce no matter how silly you might think it is.Most if not all non-audiophile people don't care (read ...give a damn)about high-end audio gear, speakers e.t.c. You should buy them for your own listening pleasure and have fun with them.I certainly can't afford this kind of speaker at the moment.Most people never ever heard of AERIAL ACOUSTICS, but almost everybody knows BOSE CORP. Chances are they will comment on some 'fancy" Bose system than a high-end Aerial 20t.This one guy owns the ML 33H Monoblocks and his mother-in-law thought they were the "nicest electric room heaters she ever saw" LOL.Therefore if I owned them I would make sure nobody went whithin 2 feet radius .
Enjoy them if you decide to buy them,THEY ARE STUNNING.I got the 10T's and absolutely cherish them.
Regards.
George
The one thing I hate about starting threads is that, no matter how pointed I try to make my questions, there will always be someone to come along and pollute the thread with an unsolicited, inane response (Tabl10s).

Thanks in advance to 20-T owners who respond to my questions.
The only thing you should worry about is: Who will be the first to scratch, bump or spill something on them.
Call Michael Kelly @ Aerial I am sure he will answer your questions honestly. He has always been helpful with advise for my 10t's and LR5's
No , in the sweetspot the stage is excellent. Maybe not in the league as the Kharma Id what is and it is considerably less expensive. Given your dedication to being a critical listener the benifits far outweigh the sacrifices in that with your live room the sound will develop and be fine for parties. It will not sound muffled . Also Mikey s infamously bass crippling review room did not stop Stereophile from awarding the 20 its top slot as many assumed it would and therefore garner a restricted LF rating. The speaker is incredible and you need to audition it . There is , as Freemer noted , a loss of high frequency at elevated listening positions due to the ribbons directionality but its not something you will be alarmed about; especially in a party envirnoment.