Come on, seriously. How could it possibly want 800W? What SPL are you folks listening at? :)

I do actually have a second Sunfire.... ;)

I'm feeding mine more than that! :eek:

Aerial speakers love power.

In preparation for the arrival of my Aerial 20Ts, I have had the opportunity to listen to my Model 8s through an Aragon 8008X3 (200 watts X 8 ohms), Simaudio Moon W-5 stereo amp (190 watts X 8 ohms) and Simaudio Moon W-10 monoblocks (750 watts X 8 ohms). I have owned the Model 8s and Aragon for 7-8 years and had been perfectly happy with them all these years. However, compared to the Aragon, the Simaudios are indeed a huge step forward. It is almost like a veil has been lifted. The mid range is much cleaner and the highs are pure and sweet. The W-10s are more neutral and the brightness and harshness present with the Aragon is gone. The base is much tighter and I have been running the 8s full range and did not feel much of a need to fire up the SW12s. With the Aragons, the base is anemic and you definitely feel the need to add the subs. Surprisingly, I did not notice a big difference between the W-10s and the W-5. The W-10s are slightly better in all aspects, able to run more effortlessly with a better sound stage, and there is a greater urge to play the speakers louder.

So, the quality of the amps is very important in impacting how the Aerials will sound. More power will also help.

The Aerial 20Ts arrive tomorrow. The W-10 monos will feed the 20Ts, while the W-5 in bridged mode will feed the CC5.

In preparation for the arrival of my Aerial 20Ts, I have had the opportunity to listen to my Model 8s through an Aragon 8008X3 (200 watts X 8 ohms), Simaudio Moon W-5 stereo amp (190 watts X 8 ohms) and Simaudio Moon W-10 monoblocks (750 watts X 8 ohms). I have owned the Model 8s and Aragon for 7-8 years and had been perfectly happy with them all these years. However, compared to the Aragon, the Simaudios are indeed a huge step forward. It is almost like a veil has been lifted. The mid range is much cleaner and the highs are pure and sweet. The W-10s are more neutral and the brightness and harshness present with the Aragon is gone. The base is much tighter and I have been running the 8s full range and did not feel much of a need to fire up the SW12s. With the Aragons, the base is anemic and you definitely feel the need to add the subs. Surprisingly, I did not notice a big difference between the W-10s and the W-5. The W-10s are slightly better in all aspects, able to run more effortlessly with a better sound stage, and there is a greater urge to play the speakers louder.

So, the quality of the amps is very important in impacting how the Aerials will sound. More power will also help.

The Aerial 20Ts arrive tomorrow. The W-10 monos will feed the 20Ts, while the W-5 in bridged mode will feed the CC5.

Arvi:
I have a pair of 9's and a CC5 being bi-amped by Aragon 8008 series amps. I think I am hearing very neutral and clean midrange and ample bass. Is it possible that the 9's could react differently to the Aragonsthan the 8's? Do I need to listen to the Sim or another (i.e Bryston, Theta, Halcro, BAT) amp?
BP

Arvi:
I have a pair of 9's and a CC5 being bi-amped by Aragon 8008 series amps. I think I am hearing very neutral and clean midrange and ample bass. Is it possible that the 9's could react differently to the Aragonsthan the 8's? Do I need to listen to the Sim or another (i.e Bryston, Theta, Halcro, BAT) amp?
BP
The short answer is ……… you most likely will hear an improvement. However the other parts of your system will also play a role in how big the difference ends up being. In my case, the improvement was significant enough that even my fifteen year old son could hear the differences. Frankly, going into the amp upgrade, I had not expected to find just an improvement.

In my conversations with the folks at Aerial Acoustics, Bryston, Musical Fidelity and Parasound were mentioned as good upgrades options relative to the Aragon. Theta, Sim Audio, Krell, Ayre and Levinson were suggested as a step above the Bryston group.

The folks I bought the W-10s from upgraded to the Bryston 28BSSTs. They have mentioned to me a couple of times now that they regret selling the Sims and still find the Brystons on the harsh side after almost 300 hours of burn in. I do not recall what speakers they are using.

I also forgot to mention that the Sims were connected to the Lexicon MC12 via the balanced outputs, while the Aragons were connected via unbalanced outs…….. so not sure if that is making a big difference.

I would recommend the Chord Electronics range of poweramps for the Aerial Acoustic Speakers.

I good friend of mine has a pair of Aerial 20T + 2 SW12s powered by the SPM 6000 Mono amps 750w into 8ohms and they sound amazing. I swear they deliver so much current you could ARC weld with them!

Their Websites a bit behind the times but you should find a dealer and give them a listen.

Arvi;
Thanks so much for that summary. Very helpful and gives me some direction. I wonder if anybody has heard BAT with Aerials? Otherwise there are some find choices here. And I will look closer into the Sim.
Are you going with W-10's all around?
Bob

Arvi;
Thanks so much for that summary. Very helpful and gives me some direction. I wonder if anybody has heard BAT with Aerials? Otherwise there are some find choices here. And I will look closer into the Sim.
Are you going with W-10's all around?
Bob
Bob,
I suggest calling the folks at Aerial Acoustics and discussing the options you have in mind. They have played their speakers through a lot of amps and can help you narrow down the choices.
I am staying with the W-10s for fronts for the time being mostly due to budgetary constraints. The W-5 in bridged mode bumps it up to 750 watts as well for the CC5. I will most likely add a pair of W-5s for my sides and rears latter on. Sonically, they are very similar to the W-10s

When I was shopping amps for my 10T's - I spoke with the guys at Aerial several times. BAT is one of the brands that was mentioned several times. They also recommended Theta, Levinson, Krell and McCormack (specifically the DNA-500).

Good luck!

Greetings,

Yesterday, I demoed the Aerial 7b and CC3 (not CC3b) for two hours at a local dealer's showroom. The room was acoustically treated, and the Aerials were fed by a Krell 5-channel amp, Krell processor and Krell CD/DVD transport.

Overall, I thought everything sounded quite poor.

Although the highs and mids were everything I expected from the many reviews I've read, the bass was boomy and pitch definition was not good. Transient response also seemed weak. The center was hard to hear over the music of the soundtracks (although its dispersion was excellent). For the sountrack listening, we engaged the SW12 sub, which was impressive.

Given the outstanding reputation of these speakers and Krell amps, I'm going to have to assume that the setup was to blame. :( The dealer had I assume their most-junior person do the equipment setup, and it took over half an hour for them to figure out how to just run the 7bs full range with the sub disengaged. I'm now going to have to try to get them for an in-home trial to do a fair evaluation.

After the Aerial demo, I drove straight to another dealer to try the B&W 803D and HTM2D center. I did another full 2-hour listening test with all the same material. The B&W were fed by Classé source and amplification. I preferred the Aerials' highs and mids. The Aerials had a bit more in the highs that revealed more fine detail in the music, but very sweetly and without harshness. The B&W's bass was thin but with good pitch definition. The big HTM2D center, which I assume is B&W's counterpart to the CC5, was truly spectacular. B&W's big sub is also extremely impressive.

Now I really want to audition the CC5! Although the B&W center sounded really good, I did feel like there was a bit of over-emphasis in the mids. Perhaps this is the speaker, or perhaps the DVD soundtrack has a mid emphasis that the CC5's adjustability would have been suited for.

Regarding the 803s' bass, I'm suspicious that when they un-hooked the sub for my 2-channel listening, they didn't adjust the Classé processor's crossover, so perhaps that's why the bass wasn't what I expected.

Sigh.

Why is it so hard to find good dealers of quality products?

Mike,

You should also listen to the new Focal 1027 based system. It is in the same price range. The vocals, bith male and female, are amazing with these. I heard them in a two channel, music only set up though.

In this range, the leading contenders seem to be the Aerials, the B an W's, the Focals' and the Triad Golds.

Yesterday, I demoed the Aerial 7b and CC3 (not CC3b) for two hours at a local dealer's showroom. The room was acoustically treated, and the Aerials were fed by a Krell 5-channel amp, Krell processor and Krell CD/DVD transport.

Overall, I thought everything sounded quite poor.
After the Aerial demo, I drove straight to another dealer to try the B&W 803D and HTM2D center. I did another full 2-hour listening test with all the same material.
1. Just because a room is "acoustically treated," one cannot assume it was done thoroughly or correctly.
2. Comparing two different systems in two different rooms means two different sets of variables.

Sigh.Exactly.

Couple of questions for the Aerial experts as I consider joining the club.

Thinking about a pair of LR5s and a CC5. Any disadvantages to going with the LR5s instead of the Model 9, for an equal mix of movies/music? (I already have a good sub to pick up where the LR5s leave off).

Also, is the CC5 a compromise compared to having another LR5 for the center. I know the CC5 and LR5 share identical drivers, and the CC5 is regarded as one of the best center channels; but, popular opinion seems to be pushing 3 identical speakers across the front.

Appreciate any opinions or advice.

I have yet to hear 20Ts but I'm sort of afraid to. I've been in audio nirvana ever since getting my 10Ts and Krell monoblocks and that's been coming up on eight years now.

As of this moment, I still have YET to hear ANY speakers that are the equal of 10Ts in a specific indicator of deep bass performance.

There's this one CD I have where there is what I can only describe as an EVENT that occurs deep in the bass register. It sounds and feels like a massive door the size of a building, slamming in the distance. It's not very loud but it's DEEP, and so far, ONLY the 10Ts have actually resolved it convincingly. Everything else I have tried to hear this part through simply muffs it. Totally misses the point.

It's in, of all things...the song "Unconscious" on Madonna's "Bedtime Stories" CD. Which a former GF of mine liked to listen to and she liked to play it through my system.

I must admit, sonically that is a very interesting recording, though it's not on my playlist of favorites.

CJ

Mike,
You should also listen to the new Focal 1027 based system. It is in the same price range. The vocals, bith male and female, are amazing with these. I heard them in a two channel, music only set up though.

Hey Twenty, thanks for the tip. As it happens, I had the chance to hear these today. I was limited in time so I couldn't listen to 2-channel music. Instead, I just listened to movie soundtracks. I thought they were nice, but I think for my taste the Aerial or B&W would be more my speed. I thought the Focals were a little too bright.

The good news for me is that I have arranged to have the Aerial 7b, CC5 and CC3 in my home for at least 4 days. So, I should really get the chance to see how I like 'em!

Well, I'm definetly not a fan of bright, so that's good to know. I'd like to hear your opinions on the Aerial demo. No Aerials within 3 hours of me.

Why the 7b and not the 5LR?

Were the movie tracks DVD sourced?

20/20, the Focals really have their tweeter pumped up to absurdity. It's one thing to be proud of your new Be tweeter, it's another thing to beat the customer over the head with it! They do sound detailed, but at least some of it is hyped detail. They do have other qualities though, but the French seem to love their tweeters over the top for some reason.

Well, I'm definetly not a fan of bright, so that's good to know. I'd like to hear your opinions on the Aerial demo. No Aerials within 3 hours of me.

Why the 7b and not the 5LR?

Were the movie tracks DVD sourced?

By the time you add a stand to a bookshelf, are you really saving any space over a floorstander? Also, in an odd twist of fate, the 7B is ~2K cheaper than the 5LR.

Cheers,

Why the 7b and not the 5LR?

Were the movie tracks DVD sourced?
Well, a few reasons for the 7b. First, the 7b is less expensive! ;) Second, they're smaller (in depth, and overall when you factor in the stands). Third, at least on paper, they have better bass response, and I prefer for music to have as much of the bass reproduction coming from the mains as possible before it crosses into the subs. I've also read that they're a bit more relaxed sounding, which is again what I prefer for music.

All that said, if there were any 5LRs in the area to audition, I'd certainly give them a listen, but sadly there are not.

Yes, movies were DVD sourced for my Aerial (and Focal) audition, and either from DVD or Kaleidescape (so, same thing) for the B&W. Dang, that Kaleidescape is neat. :cool: I should clarify that by "soundtracks" I didn't mean just the music. I meant that I was listening to the speakers by watching a movie, so I could hear the center as well as the mains.

I have a pair of older Aerial 10t's that I want to refinish. The cherry veneer needs some refreshing. Any advice?

Also the velcro attached top covers always fall off. Any solutions?

cec, if I were you, I think I'd call Aerial and ask about the wood finish. Surely they have some good ideas, and you do own their former flagship. They should be happy to help.

cec, if I were you, I think I'd call Aerial and ask about the wood finish. Surely they have some good ideas, and you do own their former flagship. They should be happy to help.

Sound advice. Thanks Mike.

Well, I was able to land the 7b and CC5 from my local dealer for an in-home audition. I will post results here when I've had a chance to do more listening, but I can say that initial results on the CC5 are extremely impressive.

Guys

I am a newbee to this forum. I have had a pair of B&W Matrix 802 Series 3 for the past couple of years and have been happily driving them with a Denon AVR 3805. I tried adding a parasound amp to the Denon receiver, but did not notice much difference in sound, so sent the amp back.

Here is the story: My first foray in audio was with a pair of Vienna Acoustics Bach speakers which I got for around $700 used about 4 years ago. That same year, I saw a nice pair of 10T's at a dealer in san diego. There was no way I was going to shell out $4000 for a pair of speakers at that point in time (just graduated from school). Since then I have been drooling over the 10T's.

Two years ago, I got a great deal on a used pair of B&W Matrix 802 Series 3 and picked them up. I have been REALLY happy with the sound (driving them with the Denon 3805 receiver). However, first love is first love. I recently got a fantastic deal on a pair of Aerial 10T's + CC3 +SR3 and am going to pick them up next week (without listening to them... can you believe it??)

My question to you guys is, should I be looking at upgrading the receiver or do you think the Denon can do a decent job of running the 10T's. Clearly, as you can see, I am trying to stay within a budget.

Thanks, and I'm sure glad I found this thread. I hope the 10T's will sound better than my Matrix 803's.

Zak

Howdy all,

Well, I've had the CC5 and the 7bs here in the house for almost a week, and last night I also had a fellow picky audio-geek friend over to the house to listen to the setup. I should mention that I'm driving the speakers with a Lexicon MC-12B and a Sunfire Cinema 7 amp (200W into 8Ω, 400W into 4Ω).

My friend had the same reaction I did: the 7bs have the best imaging either of us has ever heard. The tweeters are a bit laid back, but with no loss in detail (exactly how I like my highs to be). The CC5 produces male voices that have real chest resonance and don't sound thin, and the dispersion is quite good, so people off axis still get good sound.

Those are the plusses. The one minus is that the speakers really seem to lack bottom. The specs claim that they're +/- 2dB down to 35Hz, but I'm not really confident that we're seeing that. The low E string on an electric or acoustic bass is 41.5Hz, and if I listen to Edgar Meyer playing a bowed upright bass, I don't feel as though I'm getting the punch that I know the recording has. I could try to blame the Sunfire, but I demoed the speakers at the dealer with a Krell as well, and had the same initial impression.

I've tried pushing the speakers back to get some wall effect boost, which definitely helped the bass somewhat (but not enough), but muddies up the mids a bit.

I tried an experiment. I hooked up the CC5 in place of the right speaker. Obviously the imaging and so forth was all wrong, but interestingly the CC5 seems to have more punch than the 7b. On paper, the CC5's frequency response is listed as going to 40Hz, but that's "+/- 2dB", so I'm guessing probably -2dB at 40. I would expect it to have worse bass performance than the 7b, but perhaps what's missing from the 7b is not extension, but rather simple air movement.

Anyway, I throw all this out there in the hopes that somebody may have something to suggest. Obviously I can employ subwoofers to try to fill the gap, but I'm a bass player. In my experience I've never heard a sub that blended smoothly enough with the mains to make a bass guitar or an upright sound natural. I do, in fact, have two very large and capable subs in the system (SVS 16-46 powered by a Crown K1). They go all the way down to 16Hz, quite flat. But, they're not "crisp" subs (I bought them really for LFE rumble), so although the bass energy is there if I turn them on, the impact is not.

I appreciate your thoughts.

Having owned 10Ts now for about eight straight years, I think I have a bit of a handle on them. I can say that they work fine with an amp in the 100 WPC range but they LIKE more power and really come alive when you're up in the 250 watt and above range. Actually,
I spoke directly to their designer, Michael Kelly, once, and he said that an OPTIMAL power
match for 10Ts is something like a Krell FPB-600, which cranks out an honest 950 watts
RMS into 8 ohms before clipping. So don't be at all afraid to go in search of some beefy
power amps, as you're not going to damage 10Ts with a lot of power.

I offer no opinion on the sound quality of your Denon receiver/amp, as I've never heard it,
but if you can throw more power at the Aerials, they'll be happy to get it.


CJ

The 10T's will not sound their best with out an honest 200wpc driving them. Look at Audiogon for used Brystons, Classe, Krell, Anthem etc.

I am feeding mine with 350W each from a Levinson 336 and I would love to get another one to bi-amp them. :) You cannot over-power the 10's.

I ASSURE you that the 10's will NOT leave you yearning for more bottom end (provided you give them plenty of power).

They also have that excellent treble which you described with the 7's... not aggressive... but no loss in detail. An all-round great speaker to my ear - and a steal on the used market.

JustMike- Have you looked into the velodyne DD15s? Or even the Aerial SW12? I think you would be surprised at what they can offer you with the dilemma you are having. I have the 9s like has already (I think) been mentioned in this thread, and I still use the Aerial SW12, and for now, a Paradigm Servo15, Only the Aerial is used with music, but both are in play for movies. If you can pick an SW12 up used, or a velodyne DD series, (DD12, or DD15) your low end frequency problems will be solved. I used to think the Velodyne was "better" than the Aerial SW12, but after having the Aerial in my setup, and getting proper placement, I think its an even better sub than the DD series, but not by much. Both will give you a "kick in the chest", but without sounding forced, boxy, or boomy, and they are both VERY quick, and accurate, if you could get a chance to demo, I think that you would be surprised at their performance. Good luck. Regards, Dave

I have the 10ts in both a 2 channel system and in a separate 7.1 system. Earlier this year, as part of an upgrade cycle in which I replaced every component in the 2 channel system other than the 10ts, I began by replacing a 250 watt Bryston with a 600 watt. The improvement in the 10ts was so dramatic that it led to my replacing every other component. One of the most notable benefits of the extra power was a marvelous increase in bass.
I then upgraded the power for the surround sound system, even driving the SR3s with 250 watts. The improvement in the bass from them and the LR3s when increased from 120 to 250 watts made me feel as if the system had been asleep previously. Adding a second SW12 for the rear channels no longer seemed necessary. I’ve owned the Aerials for 7 years and continue to be thrilled by them every time I listen, but they sure love power

Anyone know if Aerial has any new models coming soon? I am about to put in an order for LR5s and was just curious...

Dave, thanks for the suggestion. I have heard the SW12 and it is an impressive sub to be sure. But it's also exceedingly expensive. What you've described, though, sounds very much like what I'd want to do -- use the speakers themselves for music, but speakers + sub for movies. That's how I always did it at the old house when I used my Mirage M1s for both music and movies. The Mirages go low enough for a low 'C' pedal on an organ, so no sub is really needed for them!

WLC, very interesting posting as well. I have started to think that what I should do is go ahead and get the CC5, then start looking for a set of 10Ts used. It's good to know that a very large amp would be required.

I have a question for folks about biamping. How do you handle the levels for the bass and the tweeter/mids? My amp (Sunfire Cinema 7) is set up to allow biamping by easily daisy-chaining one input to a second channel, but will that produce the right results for volume?

Oh, by the way, I've seen a classified posting on another site for a set of "Version 1" 10Ts. Can anybody point me to some info on what different versions there are, and how they differ?

Call Aerial with the serial numbers and they will give you all the info on them.

Good idea! Is there any info around generally on what different versions of 10Ts there were, though? I suppose I can ask Aerial that on the phone as well, but it may be more efficient if I just read up first.

I'm not aware of any new models, at least in the upper end of the line. I talked to Aerial about 3 months ago, inquiring about the 10T replacement before I bought the 9's. Micheal said it was a long ways off, years away :( .

Bill

From what I remember there were some crossover changes as well as cabinet structure changes.

I am fairly certain they do not offer upgrade services as the crossover takes up nearly all of the rear of the bass module. It would need to be completely disassembled to access it.

Thanks! So, was there just a "Version 1" and a "Version 2"?

Bill, how do you like the Model 9? Do you feel that the bass is adequate?

Has anybody heard both the 9 and the 10T who could comment on the difference between them?

I have recently audition Revel Performa line (F32+M22) and become very fond of the sound stage that they present. But then other people suggest that I should look into the Aerial as well, ie 7B. Could not find any dealer around here for auditioning the Aerial.

Can anyone share the room/space requirement for either the Revel or Aerial? I've read somewhere, particularly the Aerial 7B, in addition to power hungry, they also require a lot of space/room, ie. 2-3 feet away from any enclosure. Is this correct? I understand that most speakers likes to have open space to perform, but I can't have everything...WAF. I was told by the Revel sale guy that the Revel can be calibrated to perform in tight enclosure.

I have a tight media niche that would require the speaker to stand next to the wall and the TV cabinet--no they cannot come outside of the enclosure...WAF. Is it worth to consider plunging the $ into these kind of speakers even with this space constraints? What other speakers would you recommend to tight enclosure--besides those in-wall or in-cabinet style of speakers that I already listen to and sounds horrible.

Perhaps you should look at the LR3? They don't have the bass extension of the 7b, but they're specifically designed to be in an enclosure like you've described. The LR5 probably would equal or exceed the 7b, but at much higher price.

I have the 7b -- on loan from my local dealer -- in my theater right now, and am about to borrow his set of LR5's to compare. I pushed the 7b's back against the front wall to try to pick up some bass boost. I was able to get good imaging, but the mids muddied up in that position. About 18-20" from the back wall and 2-3' from the sides, they sound lovely. My only complaint with them is that, as a bass player, I want a speaker with more bass extension and crispness, which is why I'm trying out the LR5.

I'd try out the Model 9, but my dealer doesn't currently have a demo pair. :(

What other speakers would you recommend to tight enclosure--besides those in-wall or in-cabinet style of speakers that I already listen to and sounds horrible.

maybe this has been mentioned before. Triad is a name that comes up very often here for high-end in-wall/custom solutions. Run a search.

Can't believe my original thread is still alive! :)

I have been experimenting with many different speakers including the buying and then selling of Aerial 10T's, M&K (Complete S150 system), Strata Mini's, Totem Hawks, Infinity Prelude MTS, Revel Gems, M22's and Von Schweikerts since I last posted. What a full circle it has been.

I finally narrowed my final (If that is possible) speaker search to either the new Legacy Focus HD's, Revel Performas and of course, Aerial 9's. I decided to hold off on the Focus HD's because nobody has heard them yet and they are still too new for any reviews.

I then was contemplating an Aerial 7B set-up but after further research, I couldn't get the prices to where I wanted to be, so I ordered a complete Revel Performa set-up consisting of F52's, F32's, C52 and M22's. Wouldn't you guess that as soon as my check cleared a pair of Aerial 9's went up for sale for $4,850 on Agon! I wanted to pull the trigger but couldn't do it, I even had the freight priced out. I just couldn't get past the color of curly maple. Everything in my house is cherry. Don't bother looking as they are already gone. :(

I still want to get them someday, but I am waiting for that pair of Aerial 9's in Santos Rosewood to pop-up or even a pair of 10's. I just wanted to pop in and share my experiences.

Cheers

I looked at those 9's too. ;) I also just couldn't go with the maple...

How do you think the Revels compare to the 7b or 9? I've only heard a very quick demo.

I won't get the Revels till the end of this week. To be honest, the only Aerials I have ever heard were the 10T's, which when I had them, were very underpowered. Hopefully someone else can fill in.

Perhaps you should look at the LR3? They don't have the bass extension of the 7b, but they're specifically designed to be in an enclosure like you've described. The LR5 probably would equal or exceed the 7b, but at much higher price.

I have the 7b -- on loan from my local dealer -- in my theater right now, and am about to borrow his set of LR5's to compare. I pushed the 7b's back against the front wall to try to pick up some bass boost. I was able to get good imaging, but the mids muddied up in that position. About 18-20" from the back wall and 2-3' from the sides, they sound lovely. My only complaint with them is that, as a bass player, I want a speaker with more bass extension and crispness, which is why I'm trying out the LR5.

I'd try out the Model 9, but my dealer doesn't currently have a demo pair. :(

How did the demo go? Did you like the LR5's better than the 7B's?

Sorry! I should have updated this thread.

I did get the LR5s and tried them for several weeks. On the positive side, the match with the CC5 was really perfect. For movies, this is a great system -- sounds pan seamlessly across the front soundstage.

However, I didn't like them very much for music. I found them to be a bit too "forward", and their bass response was not adequate to be used without a sub. I prefer not to use subs for 2-channel music listening.

So, I have a pair of Model 9s sitting in the theater now. :) I was able to arrange for an extended trial of these speakers, and I think they will be staying right where they are. I literally spent the first day after they arrived bouncing up and down in my seat and laughing with glee.

I don't think the soundstage blend is as seamless as the LR5/CC5 combo, but it's quite good. The bass is fantastic. The imaging is fantastic. The mids are much more pronounced. I think they're also more "forward" than the Model 7, but not quite so much perhaps as the LR5.

The speakers haven't yet broken in (they're brand new), but even in this early state, they're remarkable.

I think my recommendation would be the following: For a dedicated theater, get the LR5/CC5 combo. They are fantastic, but you will need a sub. For 2-channel music, Model 9. For a combo system like mine, Model 9 + CC5 + a movies-only sub for LFE rumble.

Should we just have one Aerial thread, just like those B&W, Dynaudio, JM lab guys? There's four active right now, and we're all talking the same thing. Maybe let's start posting in "Aerial Acoustics Owners Thread" started by ttowntony. Maybe the mods could put a redirect in the other threads.

Should we just have one Aerial thread, just like those B&W, Dynaudio, JM lab guys? There's four active right now, and we're all talking the same thing. Maybe let's start posting in "Aerial Acoustics Owners Thread" started by ttowntony. Maybe the mods could put a redirect in the other threads.

Good idea!

I couldn't agree more! Being the original OP, all of my questions are answered. I can't believe this thread is over a year old!


*THE 9'S WILL BE HERE ON FRIDAY, ALONG WITH THE CC5 AND THE SW-12*

Thanks for all of the advice from everyone.