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Review 2 of 13
Price Paid:
$1800.00
from Park Avenue Audio Summary:
I've been a lover of both music and audio for a long time, and recently bought the Aerial Acoustics Model 5 speakers as part of a complete replacement for my elderly system. I am driving the Aerials with a Linn Classik integrated CD player/receiver, which I plan to review separately, and I couldn't be happier.
I listen almost exclusively to baroque and classical music ranging from small-scale chamber works to the great symphonies. My wife and kids prefer soft rock and easy-listening FM. The Models 5s handle it all superbly. The sound has a quality of ease and naturalness which I did not find in any other speakers in this price range. They combine a sweet tone with exceptional clarity and detail, which is a rare accomplishment.
I auditioned a very wide selection of speakers before buying the Aerials, and generally found that the speakers with the clearest and most detailed sound often lacked warmth and had an overly analytical quality (e.g., the Dynaudio Contour 1.1s). The warmer speakers too often lacked detail. The Aerials were an exception, offering the best of both worlds.
After much agonizing, I narrowed my choice down to the Aerial Model 5s and the Sonus Faber Concerto Home. Both speakers offered the rare combination of warmth and detail I sought. I found myself returning to those two speakers again and again; they were the only ones I auditioned that consistently made me want to listed more.
I finally chose the Aerials because of their bass. This may sound surprising in view of the comments from other reviewers, who identified the bass as a weak point. It's true that the bass is not outstandingly deep or powerful. However, because of the sealed-box design, the bass is exceptionally tight, pure and controlled. It may not shake the room with organ music or movie soundtracks, but it brings out all the nuances of percussion, cellos and other low strings. Quality trumps quantity, and relatively little music consistently goes that low. In any case, my listening room isn't very large, and I plan to add a good subwoofer eventually.
Final comments:
These are not the world's most efficient speakers and their low-level dynamics are not spectacular. It takes a bit of power to get them to open up, and they are happier at moderate-to-high volumes. They sound excellent at realistic levels, where chamber music sounds like chamber music and an orchestra sounds like an orchestra. The Aerials are rated at 4 ohms and the Linn Classik is rated at 75 watts per channel into 4 ohms - enough for adequate volume but not enough to outrage the neighbors.
These speakers may be hard to find; Aerial Acoustics is a small company and their products are note widely distributed. Try to negotiate the price; you may be able to get a break on the rose walnut finish as I did. Even with the break, they were pricey, but they are worth every cent I paid and I'd buy them again happily. If my experience is any guide, you won't regret buying them. Strengths:
Superb musicality manifested in sweet, extended highs, a smooth, beautifully detailed midrange, and tight, controlled (if not terribly low) bass. Compact size, exceptional workmanship and beautiful finish. Weaknesses:
Bass is limited in depth and power, which is not a surpirse in this class of speaker. Price is quite high (at least by my standards!) and the pricing scheme is obnoxious - any finish other than ugly basic black adds at least $400 to the price. Similar Products Used:
Owned: KLH 17, EPI 100, 3D Acoustics satellite/subwoofer combination, KEF C45 AR 17, AR 15
Auditioned: Sonus Faber Concerto Home; Linn Katan; Linn Ninka; Dynaudio Contour 1.1 and Audience 52; B&W CDM1 NT; B&W CM2 and CM4; ProAc Tablette 2000; others too numerous to remember.
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