They handle anything thrown at them. I have an old Musical Fidelity Elektra amp, only 60w, but due to the amazing sensitivity (105db, I believe, mine are 20 years old) they are so loud, with no distortion at any volume. When I lived on the farm, I would crank them while I did vegetable gardening outside. The volume was such that I had to stick my fingers in my ears when going back inside, but again, never the slightest sign of distortion. I have played Dark Side Of The Moon to fans, who say they hear things they never heard before. When I sound checked them at Len Wallis Audio, they sounded way better than European speakers 2 or 3 times the price. I consider them remarkable value for money, and fully understand why Orpheus products are commonly used as monitors in recording studios.

Not especially suited to heavy bass, but then that could be due to the amp, which has no bass/treble controls, so is dependent on the media being played for bass levels.

Dynamics, dynamics, bass, midrange sound stage, smooth and clean treble with no harshness. Oh and did I mention dynamics?

Only if you require those 20Hz signals from movies.

This is an amazing speaker considering the size of the drivers and the price.
The dynamics are unbelievable! Bass extension for 2 x 6" bass/mid drivers in a Differential Bass Loading 2-chamber twin port cabinet is simply astounding.
The Aurora 3's are a 4ohm speaker and as I am driving these speakers with a Plinius 9200 amplifier it can deliver 340W/channel into 4 ohms and therefore it can deliver spl's at very realistic sound levels and dynamics.
The cabinet is now a curved side cabinet rather than the old straight sided version and thus it is much more rigid and has less resonnances to colour the sound. At its highest power input, there is basically not a hint of cabinet vibration which in itself is quite amazing. I often show people how inert the cabinets are when being driven to their maximum.
Bass is well extended and tight and kicks you in the guts and keeps going, but never muddy and no hint of doubling or distortion, really impressive! There is no need for a sub unless you want the 20Hz signal from movies. I have never felt the requirement for any bass augmentation via a sub and I listen to a very wide variety of music from classical, pop/rock to jazz. The frequency response is quoted as being from 37Hz to 20kHz +/-2dB and will extend to at least 27Hz in a listening room.
Treble is clear, with no harshness, hardness or gritiness, but with delicacy and smoothness.
Midrange and sound stage is clear and wide with plenty of depth and pinpoint accuracy for instruments and vocals.
There are no unwanted peaks or troughs in the frequency response and therefore there is absolutley nothing to detract from the musicality of these speakers. They do not offend in any way, but rather make you want to listen and listen.
The speakers are quoted as being able to handle 120W, but with the Plinius and 340W/channel I am driving them much harder than that and they do not show any signs of distortion. When I listen to them driven with this amount of input power they do not appear to sound loud, until I try to talk to the person sitting next to me and then I have to shout to be able to be heard. This is a very good indication of lack of distortion.
All in all a wonderful speaker and highly recommended, but will also benefit from top quality amplification and signal source. I would say a slightly warm sound.

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Vifa 3 way 10" system.