Clarity/ Midrange/ Vocal

Small lack of deep bass, Vinyl cover not real wood

For about one month I was chhosing between Chario and AE. Chario are bookshelf speakers but with the standings cast like AE3. Chario were really nice (paper dynamics) and extremely good looking. But they are bookshelf and have some lack of bass.

I like acid jazz & dum'n'bass so for me the good bass is quite important. After byuing AE3 i wusnt disappointed

AE3 have tight bass and perfect midrange sound. After listening to the vocal sessions in the music I realized that AE are better than any other similars.
Maybe Tannoy have deeper bass (anyway they're 1/3 bigger) but the do not have such a clarity in the sound. I discovered a lot of derails in the music listened before!

Similar Products Used:

Chario Syntar
Tannoy M5

detail, clarity, and accurate bass.

none at this price point

PART 1 - I received the Aegis 3's a few weeks ago and have been impressed with them so far. The build quality and performance are a cut above at this price. I have read other reviews here with some of them accurate and others not. If these loudspeakers don't meet some expectations, it is either inferior component choices and/or the recording itself. Don't compromise your system at any point including the cables. Remember, your system is only as good as it's weakest link and the Aegis's deserve better. Presently, I am not able to setup the loudspeakers to their full advantage and they still need break-in. In a few months I will write my final impressions with detail on setup.

Similar Products Used:

Monitor Audio, Dunlavy, and Apogee

Clarity, Detail, Lack of any characteristic that might cause listening fatigue

Not as transparent as some speakers I've auditioned (all were at more than twice the price, though)

I've recently moved to a new home with a listening room that's just too small for my beloved Maggie 1.6's. So, I hooked up an old pair of MMG's as a "baseline" and started the demo-dance: borrow a speaker Saturday afternoon and return it on Sunday morning.

To make a long story short, while some of the speakers auditioned came close, none of them kept up with the bottom-of-the-line Maggie. I demo'd the Linn Katan and Ninka, Vienna Acoustic's Bach and Haydn, Legend Audio's Studio and a few other small speakers in the $1,500 or less range.

Well, last night I brought home a a pair of the AE Three's. Wow! For $650, these puppies were detailed, quick and neutral with an excellent soundstage and above-average transparency. They actually seem to do rock and blues better than my 1.6's and they almost keep up with the maggie's on acoustic music (I don't think there's a box speaker on the planet - regardless of price - that can touch the maggie's on acoustic music).

Perhaps even more importantly, they are incredibly non-fatiguing. I can't remember the last time I spent almost 6 hours straight listening to music (even with the Magnepan's).

So, there you have it, I love the Aeqis Three's, especially at the price point. For my tastes, I've yet to hear a better speaker in the sub - $1,500 price range.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan, Linn, Sonus Faber, Legend Audio, Vienna Acoustics, B&W

Superb midrange, excellent for smooth jazz & easy listening.

Lack of depth in bass.

This is probably one of the best floorstanding speakers in its price range. Although some people have mentioned tight bass as one of its strengths, I think it lacks the depth in bass that is expected of its size. B&W 603 S2 has superb bass and more natural sound with a pricetag almost twice. Monitor Audio Silver 5 sounded also very open but bass was even more lacking. So, I finally decided to go for the Aegis Three considering the value for money as I was also planning to buy a powered sub. I bought the Aegis Centre, Aegis Sub and a pair of Aegis Compact to complete my home theatre setup. I am using the following compnents to drive these speakers :

A/V Receiver : NAD T760 (DD/DTS, 5X60W)
Power Amplifier : NAD 216 THX (2X125W)

The above setup matches very well for both audio and home theatre use.

I highly recommend the Acoustic Energy speakers for their clarity and openness. The bass can be compensated by using a powered sub, like I did.

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned: B&W 603 S2, Monitor Audio Silver 5, Infiniti Kappa etc.

excellent dynamics
Smooth, yet detailed personality.
Rock stable image
Tight bass
Detailed, full midrange
Detailed extended highs
top-notch construction, and materials considering price
modest, unassuming appearance
VALUE, VALUE, VALUE

Modest unassuming appearance.
Price point will undoubtedly pair them up will inferior electronics.

Ok, I said I'd be back once I lived with the 3s for a while, and give a more accurate assessment of their abilities, so here I am.
Frankly, these speakers are too good for the price point they're at. While they're not perfect, for $700 they are as close to perfection as any $700 speaker has a right to be.
They image wonderfully, they are smooth, yet detailed, and they are solid enough to cause bruises on one's knuckles upon confirming their extrememly soid enclousure.
I took these baby's apart and found high quality workmanship throughout- the crossover alone shows nice attention to assembly and parts quality, while the drivers, apart from the unlabeled woofer are units by Vifa (tweeter)and AE (custom midrange driver. All the drivers have nice magnetically shielded magnet structures with higher-than normal gauge copper wire, wiring the voice coils.

When I first bought the AE's, I had Parasound, PS audio and Marantz gear wired with audioquest and straightwire cable. It sounded very nice at first, but the AE's revealed my Marantz CD67se's shortcomings: lack of low bass, lack of high frequency detail, and high frequency aliasing that slowly drove me mad. In addition I found that the 205 watt Parasound, while sonically excellent, was much too powerful for my 12 x 14 room. So like any obsessed audiofanatic I sold EVERYTHING... except the Aegis.
SO the search went on, I tried a CEC CD Player (very nice, but too expensive for my wallet, but sonically very analog sounding), a Parasound PLD 1100 preamp/HCA 1000A combo (not as smooth as the PS audio/1500A combo, not to mention that I had gone the Parasound route before, and while it was excellent gear, I wanted to experience other audio confections.

So I searched and found a used Goldmund SRI Mimesis Integrated- a manufacturer I had heard many good things about, but never could afford new (the SRI was $3000.00 new, but 1200 used).
I also found a prestine 9 year old Sony X555es CD player that I quickly bought for the high 200's- why did I buy a 9 year old player you ask, when newer 24/96 technology is just around the corner? Well, first of all I once owned the 555, and in a moment of weakness sold it for financial reasons. It was the worst mistake I made, given the player's extremely well-balanced sonic character, and bullet-proof construction- it was after all the little brother of Sony's flagship X777es in the early 90's.
Secondly, I know that 24/96 media is still a couple years off, and when the time comes the addition of an external D/A to the killer transport of the Sony will allieviate that problem. I also listened to the newer X20es side-by side with my 555, and found little difference between them.

So I hooked the Goldmund and Sony up to the Aegis and tried out some interconnects and speaker cables from Better Cables - See my updated review- and what did I hear, but high frequency detail that was both extended and free of the Marantz aliasing, midrange that continued to pull out detail from my CD's, and a bottom end that was tight and remarkably free from boom. However, I found the sound a bit too laid-back, and absent of the snap I had with the Parasound/PS audio combo. The sound was smooth, and in some cases "syrupy smooth", but not as exciting as I would have like, considering the reputation of Goldmund, and what I remembered of the 555's sonics.
I started to think that the Aegis had met it's match, and posted the Aegis for sale. I got one inquiry, and was unable to find any other speaker in my price range that amy better the Aegis.
After a week or two I decided to try out some different cables, and directed my attention to a catalog I received from Mapleshade Studios-you know, the folks who record audiophile CD's sans slick production and processing- and eyed their untrathin clearview interconnects ($65/1 meter pair) and a pair of their golden helix speaker cable ($85 dollars for the pair) along with two pairs of their basic brass alloy isolation cones ($38/3 piece set). I got the cones after reading a review on the Goldmund and how it supposedly benefited from mechanical grounding.
So I took delivery of the new cables (see my review on them), and over the last couple of days I have been in heaven. The Aegis now present an image that is larger than before, high frequency and midrange detail that is amazing, and bass than is as pure as I've ever heard- not an ounce of boom, or mid-bass bump.
Listening to CD's I've had for years has been a renewed experience. Popular discs like Peter Gabriel's "So", Duncan Sheik, Depeche Mode, as well as Glen Miller, David Weckel, and Symphonic scores, have opened up with more defined imaging, extended high frequencies, and bass shadings that I never knew existed. The 3's also exhibited the snap and dynamics that up until now escaped me.
In short, the Aegis three's are exceptional performers that will show off changes in electronics that quadruple its price.
My only fear is that people connecting mid-fi electronics to these speakers will think that they are too laid back or too unexciting.

Great speakers.

Similar Products Used:

See my earlier posting (1st post for this product).

Great clarity, awesome detail to bass even for it's smaller size, sweet sounding

soundstage not top notch but still good

Awesome sound very accurate. so easy to just sit down and listen to these speakers and just enjoy the music (thats what it's all about right?) The thing I find to be the greatest for speakers at this price range is that they never ever have caused my ears to fatigue even at high levels!!! (Unlike almost every other speaker around $1000). To me that shows how accutely acurate they are at reproducing all frequencies without a bias towards one frequency. Just a short story you may find interesting, I used to work for the Evil Circuit City and could have bought polk, inifinity or many other brands for the fraction of the price direct from the manufacturer. For instance infinitys IL 40s which retail for $1000 could have been mine for $380!!! However I heard these for $700 and knew right then that they were vastly superior to anything circuit or best buy or any other large retailer had to offer!!! At that point I knew I had to buy these, I usually am not frivolous and always do research before buying but these speakers spoke for themselves and I fell deeply in love with them. Before I knew it my credit card was being swiped through the register and I was walking out the door with them. Please Please do yourself a favor and listen to these any way you can!!! I give these speakers the highest rating in both catigories I realize they are not perfect but at this price range they are as close as you're gonna get

Similar Products Used:

I auditioned infiniti Il 40s, polk, klipsch, etc

Crisp, clean, detailed sound. Ultra-transparent.

Lacking ultra-deep bass extension - but that's what a subwoofer is for.

I wrote a beautiful, detailed review and somehow it got deleted before it posted. =( !@#$ #$%^ @#$%^

Anyway, since I am too tired to write it again, I will just sum it up by saying...THIS SPEAKER SOUNDS INCREDIBLE. Clean, crisp, detailed, transparent, and can keep the sonic clarity at high volume levels. A thrilling speaker, amazing build quality, and HIGHLY recommended.

An EXCELLENT purchase. Pair these speakers with a sub and you will be floored.

Similar Products Used:

AE 209, Mission m73

The depth and range of these loudspeakers are amazing! I am 22 years old and listen to everything from Mozart to Dave Mathews, and Nelly to Pearl Jam. I would suggest to everyone that has ever liked rock music to listen to Boston's More Than A Feeling and Pearl Jams Alive with the entire Aegis system and Crank It Up!

The only weaknesses I could possibly associate with these speakers are the fact that people might not audition them because of how inexpensive they are. They also need to be paired with high quality components. I was first using an Onkyo 575 Reciever, but the distortion was audible from higher power levels. I now am using an Arcam AVR 100 reciever (made for the Aegis), and everything is crystal clear. The system Jams. I would not pair these speakers with any components that cost less than the speakers.

My uncle uses NHT's, paid more, and now admits that his speakers sound worse!! These are value based speakers. The earlier review was right on, the folks at Audible Elegance in Cincy are the best. They build your system around you.

Similar Products Used:

B&W's, Polks (ack!!), NHT's, and old but good klipsch.

outstanding price/performance, wider range, very solid construction

lacking definition in highs, imaging isn't so good (for me, they were too short)

after having read a number of enthusiastic reviews here in the site, i started looking for Aegis 3 speakers and got them for second hand. before listening to them, i expected a lot: well, i expected to hear a lot of details, as precise as finger prints (i had this with Mission 773e); i expected to hear a sound stage, as much deep as a concert hall (i had this with Rega Model 2); i expected not to feel there are speakers, as much absent as while listening to instruments themselves (i had this with Cabasse Galiote Monitors). to be honest, i was far from satisfied, if not disappointed.

i know i expected too much. actually, Aegis 3 are far better in all the relevant respects than many other reputable speakers out there, e.g., B&W 602S2, Sonus Faber Concertino, which i had chances to audtion.

i agree with reviewers below that Aegis 3 is ashamably underrated, or differently put, other speakers from B&W, Sonus Faber (and maybe Paradigm, which i had no chance to audition speakers of) are overrated.

my analysis of Aegis 3 is the following:

1) they are very well designed and constructed (what seem to be sad bags are added inside them);
2) they have a pretty wide range of responses;
3) the better amp you give, the better they sound (note, though, that i don't mean expensive amps by good amps. in my opinion, Aegis 3 tend to go together with bright amps. the best result i got with them was the combination with Audio Innovations Alto, a pretty brigth amp. they didn't sound quite well with Classe CAP-80, a pretty warm amp, which is two or three times expensive than Alto.

despite those features,

4) their acoustic characteristics are oriented to smoothness and warmth. well, this is a matter of taste, and i can imagine there are a lot of people who love Aegis for this paricular reason ...
5) in my impression, they needs more clarity in highs and mids. i suspect this results in their lack of good sound stage.
6) on the other hand, i didn't feel like having more bass. actually, their bass response is pretty tight, at least not as boomy as speakers from B&W and Sonus Faber.

all in all, i think Aegis 3 are outstanding performers at their price range (around $500 as used).

Similar Products Used:

B&W 603S2, Cabasse Galiote, Mission 773e, Rega Model 2, Sonus Faber Concertino

Incredible imaging. Highly detailed through the entire range of frequencies. VALUE

Veneer instead of wood, but you have to keep the cost down somehow

Had these speakers for a little over a year now and I am still amazed at the performance. Extremely musical. Superb performance in 2 channel analog/digital and excellent in home theater use. I have moved 8 times in the last 5 years and everywhere I go the first theing I look for is a good audio dealer. I have listened to many, many speakers before, and after, purchasing the Aegis III and I have yet to hear anything that compares to them at 2x the price. I got to the point where I was listening to speakers costing $2,500 and up to hear a negligable difference. It's the law of diminishing returns: at some point the incremental increase in price is far greater than the increase in performance. I do have one negative thing to say and that is that these speakers have forced me to upgrade all my other components, interconnects too. That's OK because the end result was worth it. By the way if you're ever in the Cincinnati area look up Lou and the boys at Audible elegance. They are extremely knowledgable and will bend over backwards to make sure your system is just right.

Equipment:
Arcam alpha 10 int. Amp with DAVE home theatre module
Pioneer progressive scan DVD
Carver 490 tube output CD player
M&K MX 250 sub
Nordust interconnects: black night/sub and other components, solar wind/ CD, straight wire/ speaker cables and a cutom power cord Co. power cord for the Alpha 10.

Similar Products Used:

PSB, Paradigm, B&W, Klipsch (the old/good stuff)Sonace Faber etc....