Speakers will be used almost %100 for movies. Any and all input or personal experiences would be appreciated.

You can see my threads at this 20K forum re my new this year Aerial 9 speakers and my new this year Theta Enterprise monoblocks (which the 9s work so well with). Phenomenal for home theater and very musical. However, I'm not saying anything negative about Revel or B&W, just that I am very, very happy with this system.

I on the other hand am not a fan of B@W, I think you can get much more for your money buying NHT. Very similar sounding.

I like the Revels sound, couldnt get past the look.

I liked the Aerials the best, and the look.

I bought Aerials. Paired with Bryston for power. Couldn't be happier.

Of the three, I'd probably do Aerials, though there are clearly others as well. The Revels are more to my tastes, but are a little less forgiving than the typically warmer sounding Aerials. For music, I tend to like the Revel's sound.

mankite did you not like the THX ultra 2's?

mankite did you not like the THX ultra 2's?

They were ok, but a little bright for my tastes. They had that wow factor that would impress friends but not that quality I'm looking for that just sucks you into the movie and makes you forget there are even speakers in the room.

You could try the paradigm signature series, what kind of room do you have for a sub?

http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference/fronts-signature-series-2-2-17.paradigm

You could try the paradigm signature series, what kind of room do you have for a sub?

http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference/fronts-signature-series-2-2-17.paradigm

26' long by 11.5' wide and 8' high ceilings

Your joking right?? Aerials all the way really no competion here!!~:)

I have Aerial Acoustics Model 9s (plus CC5 center channel, SR3 surrounds, and two Fathom F112 subs) in my HT. Couldn't be happier for both movies, and for two channel, that is, until I went to the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, and listened to the following whilst throwing the budget out the window (I might have some of the electronics wrong):

Aerial Acoustics Model 20Ts (powered by Mac 501s)
Thiel CS3.7 (powered by Bryston 7BSST monoblocks)
MBL Radiostrahler 101E (powered by MBL electronics)
GamuT L7 (I think; initially priced at $117,000/pr)
B&W 800 series (powered by Classe amps)
B&W Signature Diamond series (also powered by Classe)
Wilson Audio WATT/Puppy 8 (powered by BAT monoblocks)
Wilson Audio MAXX 2 (powered by BAT monoblocks)
Wilson Audio Sophia 2 (powered by Mark Levinson monoblocks)
Focal Nova Utopia Be (powered by Pathos amp)
Focal Electra 1037 Be (powered by Boulder amps)
various Sonus Faber models

Of all these, the Aerial Acoustics 20Ts and Wilson Audio Maxx 2s sounded best to me, although I'm sure room treatments and setups (which varied enormously, from small hotel rooms to larger banquet rooms with lots of visual and noise interference) had something to do with that. I really did not like the B&W sound, for what its worth.

In my price range, the AA 9s are hard to beat.

i like Wilsons better than the first two. love the 20Ts, but not a huge fan of the other Aerials....a bit too warm for my taste.

i have not heard the new Revel Ultima2s however....i've heard they are fantastic.

dynaudio maybe another good brand to check out

I'm running Aerial 20T's, CC5, SW-12s, and SR3's. Couldn't be happier!! Listened to just about every major player and decided it had to be the Aerials.
Liked them so much, I required my A/V company to carry the Aerial line exclusively. (That's not a sales pitch, it's disclosure. If Aerial is the way you decide to go there should be an informed Aerial dealer in your area.)

Jim

As dealer my $0.02 is probably worth $0.005 but my opinion also comes from actual install experience.

If it's really going to be just movies I would seriously look at the Aerial Acoustics LR5's, CC5, duel SW12's, and SR3 combo, it's easily one of the best HT speaker packages available and, because of the boundary compensation switches on the LR5's and CC5, probably one of the easiest and most flexible to configure for any room size and dimension.

Recommend power products: McIntosh, Anthem, B&K.

Personally I have 20T's, CC5, (2) SW-12's , JL f112, JL f113 and SR3's all powered by McIntosh - as others have said - Couldn't be happier, it's the best.

Good luck...

I have Aerial Acoustics Model 9s (plus CC5 center channel, SR3 surrounds, and two Fathom F112 subs) in my HT. Couldn't be happier for both movies, and for two channel, that is, until I went to the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, and listened to the following whilst throwing the budget out the window (I might have some of the electronics wrong):

Aerial Acoustics Model 20Ts (powered by Mac 501s)
Thiel CS3.7 (powered by Bryston 7BSST monoblocks)
MBL Radiostrahler 101E (powered by MBL electronics)
GamuT L7 (I think; initially priced at $117,000/pr)
B&W 800 series (powered by Classe amps)
B&W Signature Diamond series (also powered by Classe)
Wilson Audio WATT/Puppy 8 (powered by BAT monoblocks)
Wilson Audio MAXX 2 (powered by BAT monoblocks)
Wilson Audio Sophia 2 (powered by Mark Levinson monoblocks)
Focal Nova Utopia Be (powered by Pathos amp)
Focal Electra 1037 Be (powered by Boulder amps)
various Sonus Faber models

Of all these, the Aerial Acoustics 20Ts and Wilson Audio Maxx 2s sounded best to me, although I'm sure room treatments and setups (which varied enormously, from small hotel rooms to larger banquet rooms with lots of visual and noise interference) had something to do with that. I really did not like the B&W sound, for what its worth.

In my price range, the AA 9s are hard to beat.


That's funny, because I was really, REALLY disapointed with the 20T/Mac setup in that room (although I got a chuckle out of the hot sauce bottles being used as cable lifters for the MIT Magnum MA's). The 2 guys that were with me also thought the setup didn't sound good (one of which used to own a pair of 20T's). I used to have a pair of 10T's paired with a Mac MC-2500. Horrible sounding (although it took me while to figure out that was the problem). Frankly, I think Aerial and Mac are just a horrendous combination. And I'm a fan of both.

Out of your list, I thought the MBL's were the top. And I would have put the Maxx 2's second. Both sounded outstanding. I didn't get to hear the Watt Puppies, but thought the Sophias were a muddy bloated mess.

26' long by 11.5' wide and 8' high ceilings

Go demo the paradigm S8,C5, rear combo to see how they sound and if you want to go all out for a sub look at the Elemental Designs A7-900 it will outperform a JL Audio Fathom 113 with ease or if that sub is to big look at the new SVS PB13-Ultra.

His room is small. Something like 11.5 ft by 22ft with 8 ft ceilings. Surround sound, not two channel. Probably a 60 inch plasma. Maxes, Aerial nines are all over kill. Something like the Aerial LR3 with a CC3 center and maybe SR3 for the sides. On the stands. a whole variety of subs will work fine .Amps maybe the Anthem 5 channel statement. A reaopnable system will sound great here,

His room is smal. Something like 11.5 ft by 22ft with 8 ft ceilings. Surround sound, not two channel. Probaly a 60 inch plasma. Maxes, Aerial nines all over kill. Something like the Aerial LR3 with a CC3 center and maybe SR3 for the sides. On the stands. a whole variety of subs will work fine.Amps maybe the Anthem 5 channel statement. A reaopnable system will sound great here,

I know a guy that has roughly the same size room, only with a 9' ceiling, and he's using a pair of Von Schweikert VR-9's as mains.:cool:

His room is smal. Something like 11.5 ft by 22ft with 8 ft ceilings. Surround sound, not two channel. Probaly a 60 inch plasma. Maxes, Aerial nines all over kill. Something like the Aerial LR3 with a CC3 center and maybe SR3 for the sides. On the stands. a whole variety of subs will work fine.Amps maybe the Anthem 5 channel statement. A reasonable system will sound great here,

Agreed. My situation is I have a room about this size and have Dali Helicon 400's, 300's, C200, sub and a 50" plasma. The floorstanding 400's overpower the room. I am reducing speaker size for space constraint reasons and overkill. The 9's for me would be over the top. Sometimes at least for me, bigger is not better. To each his own.

I know about 1000 guys with all sorts of things in rooms roughly that size. There are lots of good products on the market and some that aren't so good even if someone you know uses them or even if you use them. Its the job of a good dealer with lots of brand choices to put together a system that meets the customers needs, desires, and budget, Lots of things would work well here. My choice for the brands he asked about would be the Aerials appropriately sized.

I use (5) B&W Nautilus 802 speakers paired with (5) Bryston 7BST monoblocks... two other 7BST's power the Black Hole Subs... I love the B&W Nautilus 802 speakers, particularly their imaging characteristics... They are also ideal for people using regular screens since the mid and tweeter can come right up next to the image, within 0.25 inches... giving you similar psychoacoustics as if placed behind the screen (in terms of position of the sound).

I'm considering upgrading next year, and for sure the Nautilus 802/800 remain high on the list.

I am a B&W 802N ex-owner.. I now have AA9's and the CC5.. still in boxes waiting for my HT room to be constructed. Room will be 22x14x9...

Theta DreadII (5x225) and Casablanca III...

Curious what you think surrounds should be...?

TIA...

Andre

I am a B&W 802N ex-owner.. I now have AA9's and the CC5.. still in boxes waiting for my HT room to be constructed. Room will be 22x14x9...

Theta DreadII (5x225) and Casablanca III...

Curious what you think surrounds should be...?

TIA...

Andre

SR3s for sure. I've heard the following [5.1] set-up in action:

-> LR5 [powered by Theta Enterprise]

-> CC5 [Dreadnaught II]

-> SR3 [Dreadnaught II]

-> SW12

-> Theta Casablanca II

The room was smaller than your room. I've never heard The Chronicles of Riddick to be so enveloping and airy. :cool: It was a breathtaking combination. The SR3 in my opinion is a fantastic surround speaker.

As dealer my $0.02 is probably worth $0.005 but my opinion also comes from actual install experience.

If it's really going to be just movies I would seriously look at the Aerial Acoustics LR5's, CC5, duel SW12's, and SR3 combo, it's easily one of the best HT speaker packages available and, because of the boundary compensation switches on the LR5's and CC5, probably one of the easiest and most flexible to configure for any room size and dimension.

Recommend power products: McIntosh, Anthem, B&K.

Personally I have 20T's, CC5, (2) SW-12's , JL f112, JL f113 and SR3's all powered by McIntosh - as others have said - Couldn't be happier, it's the best.

Good luck...


I'm not an expert in the audio domain but doesn't the McIntosh have a bit of a laid back sound to it? By laid back I mean it is very relaxing and soft sound. I heard an all McIntosh set-up and we played Kill Bill. I personally felt that the sound didn't have enough impact in it for my liking. It felt like switching to a midnight mode ... very relaxing and no fatigue whatsoever. Creamy sound ... something on those lines. Please excuse me if I have been too harsh on Mac as that is not my intention. I liked the sound but I wish it had slightly more impact. Maybe my way of explaining is not that good.

Maybe it is my taste. I just prefer that when McClane throws C-4 from the 20th floor of the Nakatomi, there should be some impact of it. Not noise but fuller sound.

I haven't heard Anthem with Aerial but this combination might be brilliant. I presume you were talking about the P2 and P5 statement amps to drive Aerials? Correct me if I am wrong.

Aerial with Theta gear was very full and clean. Very enjoyable.

I'm not an expert in the audio domain but doesn't the McIntosh have a bit of a laid back sound to it? By laid back I mean it is very relaxing and soft sound. I heard an all McIntosh set-up and we played Kill Bill. I personally felt that the sound didn't have enough impact in it for my liking. It felt like switching to a midnight mode ... very relaxing and no fatigue whatsoever. Creamy sound ... something on those lines. Please excuse me if I have been too harsh on Mac as that is not my intention. I liked the sound but I wish it had slightly more impact. Maybe my way of explaining is not that good.

Maybe it is my taste. I just prefer that when McClane throws C-4 from the 20th floor of the Nakatomi, there should be some impact of it. Not noise but fuller sound.

I haven't heard Anthem with Aerial but this combination might be brilliant. I presume you were talking about the P2 and P5 statement amps to drive Aerials? Correct me if I am wrong.

Aerial with Theta gear was very full and clean. Very enjoyable.

Yea!!!

My prior Aerial 10Ts, Bryston 7B monoblocks, and Theta CB3/Six Shooter sounded darn nice, or so I thought. But in comparison to my now Aerial 9s, Theta Enterprise monoblocks (got em based on 1/2 price retail sale, and I understand Theatermax bought a bunch up and still has some) and of course Theta gear, no contest. Now I've got the transparency, impact and detail that I didn't know I was missin' before.

Steve, you sure the difference is mainly because of the Enterprises, or more of the speaker? Reason I ask, is because I think the 9s outdo the 10s in just about every category, including the transparency you speak of. And, when I demo'd, I felt the Bryston got out of the way a bit more than the Theta's did.
Just curious, since we all have our preference.

Steve, you sure the difference is mainly because of the Enterprises, or more of the speaker? Reason I ask, is because I think the 9s outdo the 10s in just about every category, including the transparency you speak of. And, when I demo'd, I felt the Bryston got out of the way a bit more than the Theta's did.
Just curious, since we all have our preference.

I reviewed the Aerial 9s, then a few months later the Enterprise amps, here at this forum separately. I agree with you. The Aerial 9s were a really nice impovement just as you describe. But the Enterprises then continued taking these improvements to another level in each area as well. At least in my system and room with my ear wax. The Aerial 9s and Theta Enterprises are very, very synergistic in every way!!!@@@

Ear wax? It must be like waxing skis for different snow conditions. If you change speakers, cvhose the correct wax. It will help you in the turns and could cut seconds off your elapsed time. I can close my eyes and visualize Steve B. trying to snowboard on an Aerial 9 say on an easy slope like Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek, Colorado wearing a Beaver Liquor tee shirt. Priceless.

Ear wax? It must be like waxing skis for different snow conditions. If you change speakers, cvhose the correct wax. It will help you in the turns and could cut seconds off your elapsed time. I can close my eyes and visualize Steve B. trying to snowboard on an Aerial 9 say on an easy slope like Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek, Colorado wearing a Beaver Liquor tee shirt. Priceless.

Are you visualizing this with your new digital projector? If so are you giving me your old 9" fully MP modded CRT??? If not, you are a cheapskate!!!@@

I on the other hand am not a fan of B@W, I think you can get much more for your money buying NHT. Very similar sounding.

I like the Revels sound, couldnt get past the look.

I liked the Aerials the best, and the look.

I bought Aerials. Paired with Bryston for power. Couldn't be happier.

Just went from NHT to B&W's I will have to respectfully disagree on the statement that they are similar sounding. B&W's have a much cleaner brighter sound and image much better in my opinion.

NHT is much more like Revel, so I agree, nothing at all like B&W. But I think the opposite. While NHTs often seem like they have less detail, they actually have more. But they don't have the exciting harmonics that kevlar adds to the sound. I certainly haven't heard a B&W that images as well as most NHTs, except maybe the original Matrix 801s. And when I say imaging, I mean everything - wide soundstage, wide sweetspot, imaging focus, and have it sounding natural at the same time. To me, the B&Ws have an artificial sounding soundstage that collapses the moment you move a few inches in any direction. That's my opinion, having heard just about every B&W and NHT ever made. There's a guy in another thread who has sidelined his 802Ds for $2000/pr NHT Fours, so everyone will have a different opinion of what a speaker should sound like and different interpretation of the positive and negatives of any two given speakers.

Which is what makes this hobby so great. I heard what I heard, and I respectfully agree with my statement!
I used to use NHT 2.9s, loved em. Went to upgrade and B@W were some of the first I auditioned. Couldnt justify the upgrade, way too similar in presentation, and like Alimentall said, the NHTs soundstage was to me much bigger, imaging was better, more, tighter bass, but they still sounded the same as far as presentation like I mentioned above, and although crisp, there was no depth to the B@Ws like there is with the NHTs. Both emphasize the highs more than I like now, and I still view them as very similar sounding speakers. Nothing wrong with either, but given a choice, I would personally spend my money on the less expensive of the two, NHT, and feel real good about the purchase.