*** The Official APERION Thread *** - Page 5

Hi Guys, I waffling between Aperions, Swan and Ascend. I have Def Tech Mythos right now. Room size is a problem. I have a small room. The Def Techs are really good speakers but I had Rockets before I got them and I miss the fullness and immersiveness of the Rockets. But they are way too big. I'm thinking of getting the 533 T's and matching center channel. The center is very important to me and I have been spoiled by the Rocket "Big Foot" center. I'd appreciate your thoughts about the speakers I'm considering, especially whether the 533 center channel is a good one. Otherwise, I'll wait a year until I get the basement done and get speakers with a bigger footprint.

Thanks.

Here is what Aminopterin had to say about the center on the previous page.

I have pretty much the same setup as Mike, and agree with his comments. I too upgraded from a 533-VAC to a 634-VAC in order to match up with the 633T's. There was a slight pitch difference with the 533-VAC, but that is primarily due to most of the sound is coming from the 4" mid-range. The midrange is a 5.25 on the 634-VAC, this makes a big difference. In my opinion, room size/treatments have very little to do with this... the speaker sizes simply don't jive with each other.

That pitch difference is not the main reason I upgraded. During action movies, the 534-VAC simply can't keep up with the 633T's.

Thanks. Maybe I'm missing something but it doesn't really say to me whether he thought the center is a good one. I think his post refers to matching the larger towers.

Just talked to a "guru" at Aperion. He said that he uses the 633t's and the 533VAC at home and is very pleased with them. He mentioned that "most" customers feel this way.

Thanks again for your comments and your suggestion to drop down the 533t's, but since it is free shipping both ways I'm going to go ahead and give the 633t's a try. Worst case, I agree with you about them not matching right and I send them back for the 533's at their cost.

Mike

While I'm waiting patiently for my order to ship, I've been looking for a new TV stand for my 50" plasma. I'd like to put the 634-VAC on a shelf in the stand but it's huge so it seems like it will be a challenge finding the right fit.

I was wondering if any of you have the 634-VAC in a TV stand and which one you found to work for it.

I have the 533 PTs, 532 LRs, 533 VAC and a 45" Sharp LCD and bought a Bello stand (PVSC-4240MW). I realize that the 533 VAC is a smaller speaker, but I think that the stand is large enough to accommodate the 634 VAC . It's kind of a cool looking stand, but you may not have enough room for your other components.
You can find the specs on the Bello website.

Marie

Howdy,

I too was having trouble finding a tv stand to accomdate the 634-VAC. I could not find one. What I ended up doing was finding a stand that I thought looked good, and had a center shelf I could take out. That way I had enough room for the center and a some extra to angle it upward a little toward the seating position. Depending on the tv stand, you may have to find or construct a little stand for the center to sit in the tv stand.... so it does not sit on the bottom shelf (if you can picture that). This will not work for you if you also plan on housing your audio/video components in this stand as well....

There is definately a downside to such a large center... but we all have our priorities.

-James

Let me be clear... both the 533 and 634 VAC are excellent center channel speakers. I got away with the 533-VAC matched up with my 633T's for several months and was happy. I chose that center originally because the 634-VAC was not yet released. The downside to that setup was the 533-VAC was drowned out a bit during big-bang action flicks, there is a noticable size difference. After I received the 634-VAC, I was amazed by the difference in overall presence that a large center channel can provide.

Anyone who has the 533-VAC matched up with their 633T's and say they are happy.... they probably are. However, in my humble opinion, those same folks would not be saying that if they actually tried the 634-VAC in their home (that includes the folks at Aperion). There is that much difference.

On the other hand, the 634-VAC is a BIG speaker, size could be an issue for most installations...

-James

My order arrived on March 1st and here are my findings so far:

532-LR pair: At first, they were very flat and underwhelming. After about 20 hours, they started to sound pretty good. Especially the lower frequencies finally came to life. Its too early to say too much about these speakers, but I will agree that 20 hours or so are necessary to break them in.
I'm still torn about whether to spend the money to upgrade to the 632T's.

632-IC pair: Very easy to install in the ceiling. They sound good too. My previous setup had the surrounds at ear-height and behind the couch. I wonder how long it will take to get used to having the SS in the ceiling. Will I ever get used to it? I sure hope so.

533-VAC: Great center channel. I really like the sound, especially for the money. It took is slowly warming up.

The piano black finish is beautiful!

Now for some newbie questions:

1) I have my 533LR's about 8 feet apart from one another (and the center is in the middle). The distand from the center channel to the main listening position is currently 16ft. Is the resulting angle to the LR's too acute?

2) My receiving is a Yamaha 2600. In configuring the speakers, I can specify whether each one is small or large. Do folks think I should label the LR's as large? What about the center? I did label the SS as large because they have a 6.5" mid. Is that wrong?

I do not have the 532's, so I can't really say what the optimum distance they should be from each other in relation to the seating position. Some of this will depend on the room. BUT, I do believe you have them too close together. If you are 16 ft away, the speakers should be at least 10ft apart... but his is a guesstimate. In the end, it will be what you like. Play around with spreading them out to see how your soundstage changes. You will also want to play with the toe-in when changing speaker distances. This is part of the fun!

On most receivers, a Large setting will bypass the crossover and allow full range to go to the speakers (sub frequencies). If you have a subwoofer, leave all of your speakers set to small, you'll probably get better performance out of movies. Some people like to set their L/R towers to Large (full range, I am one of them), but the 532's do not have the low end extension to accurately do full range. If you DO NOT have a subwoofer, you may want to keep L/R set to large... but that is another thing you can play around with to see how it sounds.

-James

I'm putting together my speaker system for a first-time HT. Currently I'm planning on going with a 5.1 setup with a Denon 2807 with the possibility of adding more speakers for 7.1 in the future. My question is concerning the subwoofer. Originally I planned on just going with the 8" but now I can't decide between that and the 10". The rest of the setup is as follows:

Intimus 532-LR Bookshelf Speaker (fronts)
Intimus 533-VAC Center Channel Speaker
Intimus 632-IC (rears)

My room is about 17'L 8'W 7'H but it opens into the basement so I'm concerned sound could carry. The floor is carpeted and I'm making some fabric frames to reduce anymore echoing.

Also, has everyone that went with the 632-ICs found them to be suitable rears as opposed to a satellite mounted on a wall?

Okay, another question for you....I have a 12x12 room. I could barely squeeze the 633 T's in. I mean it would be ridiculous but to hear the is to love 'em. The 533 T's would fit perfectly. The room is 12x12.

1. Would I be crazy to have speakers that big in such a small room?

I heard a demo today but the room was so large. By the way I have a DD-15 to handle bass.

Thanks.

The 633's aren't THAT big..

And I can't believe this is an issue coming from a guy with a DD-15 in that room.

I get your point. Oh, I know the DD -15 is big. You see, I had a much bigger space with more options until I moved. I picked up some Mythos 4 which are really good unless one has had large speakers his whole life.

The 633 - T' s are 18.5 inches deep. I don't know what speakers you've had but to me that's deep. So I have an AV rack, a big ass subwoofer, a 50" plasma, a sofa and a door which my wife won't let me remove. All in a 12x12 room.

The 633's are front ported, though, so back wall placement shouldn't be as much of a concern. You can probably slide 'em back pretty far.

If anything, I'd be worried about the room's width and side reflection. But that would be a concern, too, with any speaker you had in there. Is your room is pretty decently sound treated?

If this is going to be the room for the foreseeable future, there's no need for that DD-15 in there, really.

I'd sell that, get a smaller sub, and put your remaining money into some really nice bookshelves.

JMO...

Yeah, you should totally sell that DD-15. Feel free to send me a PM so we can talk about it

Really

Mike

PS. If it interests you I've got a DLS-4000R now...

Hi folks, I'm considering upgrading my speakers and Aperion is near the top of my list.
I read through this entire thread. Can someone please explain "breaking-in" the Aperion speakers. Are you taking them out of the box and letting them sit for 20 hours before use? Keeping them at low volume (much like breaking in a new car)?

Also, would a mid-range Onkyo or Dennon (<$1k) be powerful enough to juice those 6-series towers?

I don't know all of the technical details for breaking in. I believe it centers around the fact that the components that make up the drivers are tight when they are manufactured (kind of like your new car analogy). After playing them at moderate volumes for 50 hours or so they move more fluidly and reproduce the source material better. Which is exactly what I observed when I received my 633Ts. They sounded really compressed in the mids and highs -- almost metallic if that is a true description. But after several days of running my ipod through my receiver they opened up and performed much better.

As for driving them with a lower end receiver I did originally have them hooked up to my Onkyo something or other (it was a refurb I spent $150 on -- probably $500 new). It sounded fine to me but I hadn't done any real critical listening on them and sold the receiver for the Denon 3806 (which I paid $800 for refurb) and now they are just amazing.

If you don't have a receiver yet I would consider either the Denon 3806 or the Denon 2807 (which has HDMI upconversion if you need it). They should be around $1k. Whatever you choose just make sure they can drive a 6ohm load (which is what the 633Ts are).

Mike

Thanks Mike.

I've been looking at the Denon models with HDMI, but I have a decent Onkyo 5.1 (sans hdmi) right now, so I'll probably wait to see what the next round of Denons look like.

I've been doing a lot of reading lately about Aperion speakers and I'm considering them for a future home theater.

The 634-VAC looks like a great center speaker. If I were to go with it, I was considering placing it in an A/V cabinet that Salamander makes...specifically a new one called the "Berlin."

The reason I'm considering the 634-VAC (as part of a whole Aperion package) is that is has a boundary compensation switch specifically to compensate for this.

It's the only 3-way center speaker under $1,000 that has this. (That I know of.)

Have any of you used this switch? Did it make a difference? Have any of you placed your center in a cabinet like the one I'm talking about? If so, how did it sound?

Thanks for any input!

I just received the 634-VAC along with 2 633-T's a week ago and I've been running them pretty much constantly with a big grin on my face.

To give you my experience, I did try the "VoiceRight" switch with the two different setups. First being in a cabinet, the second being on a stand. I found that the switch did actually make a difference. First the stand overall makes the best sound regardless of the switch but thats not a big surprise. When I put the speaker in my tv cabinet I tried both settings, and it definitely made a distinct difference. I tried switching it during a few movies as well as some SACD's and the switch set to "in cabinet" was the best by far. So in the end I have it in a cabinet angled a bit upwards with the switch set to "in cabinet" and it sounds terrific. It's a nice feature of these speakers.

Overall it's a really great center, but it's gigantic. I'm not familiar with the cabinet you are looking at but it needs a lot of clearance for the speaker. Might also have to remove the rubber feet under it if its going to be close (I had to).

I highly recommend Aperion, they sound great, look great, and are a bargain!

Thanks a lot for the response.

The cabinet I'm looking at has a top shelf for a speaker that is above the three cabinet doors.

The shelf is 61.25" wide X 9" high X 18.25" deep so it should work, even if the feet are left on the center speaker.

The top of the cabinet is about 31" high so this should put the speaker at a pretty good height...I'm guessing the midpoint between the 634's tweeter and midrange would be around 27" or 28" high when it's inside.

I would then try to fill the remaining space inside with some sort of acoustic material. You wouldn't see it since the opening can be covered with the cabinet's fabric grill.

I appreciate the response and I'm happy to hear you like the Aperion's.

I'm another newbie putting together my first HT. The room is about 18' L x 15' W, with a vaulted ceiling running lengthwise down the room, starting at 8' at the walls and peaking at 11' in the middle. The HT setup will be HDTV on one wall with couch on opposite wall with an estimated 12' viewing distance, in a 5.1 audio setup. Here is my current plan:

o 61" DLP HDTV (currently looking at Samsung HL-S6188W)
o Pioneer VSX-84TXSi Receiver
o Intimus 633T L/R Fronts
o Intimus 634VAC Center
o Intimus 532-LR Surrounds
o Intimus S-12 Subwoofer

The room is carpeted, with a *big* window covered by oak louvers on the "left" side from viewing position. My primary question is whether the 84TXSi is a good match for Aperions. Haven't seen any comments on this matchup. Other than that I'm concerned about sound issues I should be aware of because of the vaulted ceiling and/or the window, although any other comments/suggestions would also be appreciated.

I don't know much about the Pioneer. Does it have an auto setup room EQ like the Audessy in the Denons? I've read that non-flat ceilings are better for preventing first order reflections than flat ceilings so you're probably okay there. Other than that I can't imagine why you wouldn't be happy with your setup. When I first got my Aperions I didn't have my Denon 3806 yet and just had a cheap $200 Onkyo receiver and they sounded pretty nice then (though I hadn't done any critical listening but certainly there wasn't anything glaringly bad about it).

Mike

Thanks Mike. Yes, the 84TXSi has an auto MCACC setup feature, and I've read that it works pretty well.

Frayed:
In breaking Aperions I recommend moderate volume, with an occassional run at upper volume for several minutes. I've done this with both the 533PT's, and the 632's. In both cases I ran them constant for about 100 hours. Don't skimp on the breakin period, it's worth the effort. they mellow and widen the soundstage.

I did have the chance to hear the new 533's in a lousy environment. Ben and Caleb from Aperion came out to an audio gathering I sponsored. The demo pair aquitted themselves quite nicely for a big, concreteand drywall room. I'm looking forward to reviewing them this summer.

This is my first post, I have just purchased a Panisonic 600u 50" Plasma and it's eaten up the space I used to have a set of Klipch KG-2's in. I have an Adcom preamp and 60W/channel amp. The tv has good sound so im not really initially worried about surround sound, I just want something decent for music and have considered the Aperion 532LR's as they will fit on my furniture. Would I be totally disapointed with these speakers for music? or are they just to small to sound good without a sub? I wish I had room for larger speakers, but I don't. Maybe the 632LR's but nothing larger.

Try the 532's and see what you think. With a 30 day no obligation trial in your room with your gear you cannot go wrong. If you like them but want more low end you have the option to upgrade in a year or use them for surrounds even further down the road and add the 6 series as mains.
I would still recommend adding a subwoofer at some point.

Hey A$A,

Great to hear from you -- I love your e-zine and can't wait for each issue to come out

My setup was initially designed as a 90% movie theater with 10% music in mind. However, once I heard how amazing the 633Ts were for 2 channel music I became hooked (my CD collection is starting to outpace my DVD collection in discs bought each month). Problem is most of my equipment is still based around a theater design. Have you ever had a chance to do any 2-channel stereo reviews of DVD players? I've been looking at the Oppo 970 as it got pretty good audio reviews on Audioholics and wondered if you've thought about reviewing that (or even better you or one of your editors already have!)?

Thanks,
Mike

Mike, thanks for posting the A$A link. I haven't seen it before, but I'm already hooked!
After reading the reviews of the Aperion monitors, pt and sub, I'm really looking forward to auditioning these myself, though it'll have to wait until summer, as I'm moving across country on June 1...