build quality tonal balance

?

These are wonderful speakers, I think the problem is they are usually set up with OK gear and that really holds these speakers back. That and they are so neutral that they just do not jump out with highs and bass pumping. I have been looking for speakers for about a year and feel that these were the best value and performance for what I paid for them, got them as demos for 2900.00 .

Gear:
B.A.T. VK200 Amp
Wadia 830 CD player
Synergistic Cables

Similar Products Used:

B&W Martin Logan Dunlavy

accurate, handles a variety of music well, well built, reasonable value

not highly efficient

I finally bought these after listening to a pretty wide variety of speakers including some both higher and lower in price.

I tried them on a good recording of Beethoven's Sixth (Sony
Classical). The instruments were clearly defined and imaging was good. They handled the complex crescendos without sounding muddy or strained. Then I tried some rock (Stones) and blues (Etta James) and had the same impression - sounds like the band is there and the singer is right in front of you. On top of the impression of accuracy, the recordings also sounded exciting and "live", which is something other speakers I auditioned didn't quite seem to do.

The next best thing I heard were the Soliloquy 6.3, which were very nice. The Aerials seemed just a little more "integrated" - not just reproducing the parts of the music but putting them together into a seamless whole. But it was close. The Soliloquys are good.

I also tried the Thiel 2.3 but they sounded very laid back and restrained in comparison. I could see some people might like this but to me it sounded like something was just missing. B&W 803 was a bit better - it sounded very accurate, but also somewhat neutral and unengaging (however, the 803s sounded noticeably better than the 804s to me).

Dynaudios also didn't appeal to me, not even the Contour 3.3, which is about $7000. They seemed to put up a wider soundstage than the Aerials, which was kind of neat but actually seemed a bit artificial. Your mileage may vary.

I also tried a Paradigm tower speaker (Reference Studio 100), which is a less expensive product, but it wasn't even close - sounded muddy and boxy to me.

The Aerials seem very solidly build and didn't exhibit any
rattles or buzzes even at high volume. Looks are good and size is pretty modest for a tower speaker. I think they are a reasonable value given that some higher-priced speakers didn't sound as good to me. For electronics, I have an older but good quality Harmon Kardon CD player, Adcom 555II preamp and Marantz 200W monoblocks. Not high end but works well for me.

Similar Products Used:

Soliloquy 6.3, B&W 803 and 804, Thiel 2.3, Dynaudio Contour 1.8 and 3.3, Paradigm Reference Studio 100