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#1 ·
I've been hanging out here for couple of months and I did not see an official thread for Aperion. I have heard so much about them, and they are all positive. I currently own Athena Point5 and Mirage S12, but thinking to upgrade to Aperions.

I find very few Aperion threads scattered here and thought will start an official one.


I am planning to get 633T/634VAC and 534 SS next year and working on my budget. Any info's on Aperions would be great
 
#3 ·
Rocket 850s vs 633Ts

-----------------------------


Here is an intersting comparision between Rocket 850's and 633T's. Credit goes to Ken from Aperion forums.


*******************

I recently had the opportunity to do some listening tests with the 633s and the Rocket 850s. A friend of mine lent his home and the 850s while I brought over the 633s (thanks to Ben). Before diving in let me say that my friend and I discussed the sound during the various listening tests and came to the same conclusions. In addition, we concentrated on music even though we are both split 50/50 on music/movies since we believe that music is the more critical listening environment. Since I had listened to the 633s several times in the past, we started by listening to the 850s. At first I thought there was something wrong with the set-up or that the smallish den was affecting the sound, so we moved the 850s out into the main family/living area. Though there was some improvement, it was not as much as I was expecting. The Rockets sound dull/tired across the entire frequency range, as if they were within a tunnel. Though the sound was clean, they seemed to lack any kind of presence. The low end was a bit muffled, the mids were lacking (the dulled part), and the highs, although the best part of the speaker, were very subtle. You had to listen hard for the high end, as if the speaker was not well balanced. Since we were both disappointed, we decided to break out the 633s to see if the room was having a negative impact and for some A/B comparisons.


There was an immediate and obvious difference when we listened to the 633s. They were clean and crisp with quite a bit more definition. The low end had a nice punch, the mids were clear, and the highs were definitive and balanced with the rest of the speaker. The one thing that stood out on the 633s was the upper midrange which seemed to add a slight amount of color. This could be due to the upper mids being more pronounced in the 633s. In comparison the 633s were a joy to listen to while the rockets soon became tiring. We tested across a variety of music (blues, jazz, rock, big band, alternative) and the 633s shined in every case. We also watched a few scenes from Toy Story, LOTR, and Spiderman 2. Though the comparison was much closer than with music, the 633s made the dialogue pop out and provided more punch in the action scenes. Taking into account that the retail price of the 850s is just about double that of the 633s, the quality/value proposition of the 633s really stood out.


As it turns out, my friend also has a pair of Ref 1 bookshelves (AV123's high end line) that he uses for music. We decided to test the Ref 1s with the 633s to see how they would fair against a higher end speaker. There was a huge difference in sound with the Ref 1s compared to the 850s. Where as the 850s sounded muddied, the Ref 1s were clean and crisp from the lower mids through the high end. In addition, they had phenomenal imaging capability, almost disappearing into the room. They were missing the low end, but one would expect that in a bookshelf speaker. The mids were more pronounced that the 633s (especially the vocal range), while the 633s were more pronounced in the upper mids and highs. Interestingly, the sound of the Ref 1 and the 633 was surprisingly close (especially when we added in a subwoofer to compliment the Ref 1s). The Ref 1s cost about the same as the 633s, and we thought it would have been fun to compare the Ref tower speaker (Ref 3 cost is about triple that of the 633). Overall, as much as you can compare the Ref 1s and the 633s, it was about a wash with a slight edge to the Ref 1 in the vocals and a slight edge to 633s in the higher end (the 633 was clearly superior in the low end, but again we were comparing a bookshelf with a tower). Again, looking at cost across the Ref and 630 lines of speakers, the quality/value proposition of the 630s once again shone through.

Happy listening,


Ken


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Link to the thread -- http://www.aperionaudio.com/forum/sh...messageid=2556
 
#4 ·
Thanks for starting this thread! I have been researching speakers for a couple months now and decided to try the Aperion speakers 7.1 style for mostly home theater usage. This is based on the great reviews and word of mouth only as I have yet to listen to them. But thier 30 try out policy is a no brainer so I ordered the ensemble this morning (633, 634, 534, 532, s12).


I'd love to hear more from people who actually own Aperion speakers and I will certainly add my input once my set arrives and I have a chance to break them in properly.



MK
 
#5 ·
I am considering purchasing the Aperion 422 center channel speaker to replace the two Orb center channel in my 7.1 system. The issue with the Orb is that they sound a little thin to me, a little bit like speakers playing into a can rather than a rick, throaty sound for dialogue. I have them mounted on one of their side by side stands, and have been told that the side by side arrangement is a problem when the other speakers all have a vertical orientation. I plan to test this next week, but in case that doesn't solve my problem, the next step is to try a conventional bookshelf replacement for the CC and keep the rest of the Orbs. The drivers in the Aperion are the same size as the ones in the Orbs, does that mean that they will sound pretty much the same, or might they have a little more in the lower midrange than the Orbs? If anyone has any experience in comparing, I would really welcome an informed opinion. TIA
 
#6 ·
Nice idea for a thread! I am a current owner of Aperion and I really cant say enough of about them. I have 532's in the front and the 422's in the back with the 10 inch sub. The sub is very capable and doesnt get enough credit. I live in Oregon (Aperion is in Portland)

and I was able to audition them before I bought them. I was also able to hear the entire lineup of speakers including the in walls. The only one I haven't heard yet is the new 6 series center which is getting some great reviews. My next trip to Portland I will stop in and give them it a listen as well. My wife may not be happy if I buy but I am already working on an excuse. =)
 
#12 ·
Hello All,


I have owned Aperion speakers for a while now, and their speakers are a great value. My current setup consists of the following:


Aperion Speakers:

2 - 633T's

1 - 634VAC

2 - 534SS

1 - S12


I'm using a Denon 3806 receiver and Marantz DV7600 dvd player.


Originally, I planned this setup for primarily watching movies. While this system does an excellent job in that department, I am finding myself spending more time listening to 2 channel music. The 633 Towers are very musical at moderate volume and can really crank if the mood should strike you. At roughly $1000 a pair, I have not heard a set of speakers at this price that can come close to the performance of the Aperion 633T's.


Aperion recently released the long awaited 634VAC center channel. Be warned, this is a large speaker, weighing in at 39 pounds. However, if you are serious about your movies, this center is a must if you have the 633T's, as the 534VAC center channel can't keep up with the larger towers. In my opinion though, any other Aperion left/right combo can get away with a 534VAC as the center. Both centers have amazing clarity.


The 534SS is a bipole/dipole type surround speaker. They are not too large, but are designed to be mounted on a wall. I have mine on tall 41 inch stands and do very well. A friend of mine has them hanging from his ceiling with omni mounts and he is reporting good results so far.


Pros:

- Aperion's 30 day in home trial and no fuss return policy makes trying these speakers a no-brainer.

- You have a year to upgrade your speakers and get full credit on your trade-ins. I have made use of this service when upgrading center channels... it makes it easy to justify upgrading!

- The speakers not only sound great, but look great as well (I'm a fan of the piano black finish).


Con's:

- The towers have a relatively narrow sound field when compared to other speakers I've heard, such as the Paradigm Studio 60's. This is really only a problem when trying to figure out the toe-in for your sweet spot. Keep in mind that you'll pay about 60% more for the Paradigms.

- Long break-in (this is not really a con, just something to be aware of). Aperion speakers sound like crap out of the box. If you order any, be sure to give them ample break in time before evaluating them. I would not do any listening at all unless you give them at least 20 hours. They'll sound better after 50.


Those are my initial thoughts...


-James
 
#13 ·
About sounding like crap out of the box....

I couldn't agree more. It was funny when I got mine out of the box I was really thinking of taking them back as they really sounded thin. Your 20 hour estimate seems about right though.

As far as the narrow sound field goes I found it took some tweaking and moving to really get the field to open up. My 532's are very sensitive to placement in a 5.1 environment and a little more forgiving for 2 channel.



Mrrame I see you found some Hi rez photos. I didnt notice your PM until this morning. I will see if I can get some pics of my set up sometime after the holidays. The next few days will be too busy!


I am really bummed I missed out on the open house at Aperion but hopefully I will be able to go up for the "sidewalk sale" they seem to have closer to summer.
 
#16 ·
I just recieved my 422's on Tuesday. After a long search these little guys seemed to fit the bill for a 2.0 bedroom system, mostly for TV viewing, that required a big WAF. I was going to try to A/B these with a pair of Paradigm Atom's but AFter setting them up and letting them go for a while I really don't think there is a need.


They did sound a bit weak out of the box but opened up after a while. They definately require a sub as there is almost no bottom end, but you can't expect much out of a box this size. What really impressed me (besides the immculate build quility and finish) was the clarity and definition in the mids and highs. I dug out an ancient passive Polk sub to help round out the lows. It blends perfectly. I'm not getting to the bottom of the depth chart here, but I don't need it for TV and background music.


They sound great and they look fantastic. I'm very impressed with Apreion as a company. When it comes time to upgrade my basement system I will definately keep them in mind.
 
#18 ·
I dont know Axs, Timbre is important, but so is having a decent center channel.


If I had to choose between a dinky satellite system that made Sean Connery's deep voice sound metallic ...


Or a timbre mismatched front that could really catch all the low resonances of Sean Connery's voice. .


I would choose the later.



And a nice big center is gonna overpower the left and right satellites anyways, youll barely be able to hear em
 
#19 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnR_IN_LA /forum/post/0


I dont know Axs, Timbre is important, but so is having a decent center channel.


If I had to choose between a dinky satellite system that made Sean Connery's deep voice sound metallic ...


Or a timbre mismatched front that could really catch all the low resonances of Sean Connery's voice. .

If you don't like the sound of it, then perhaps it is best to change L/C/R, not just the center channel. I have not heard Orbs myself, but keep seeing posts around here that they are quite good and many people have them as fronts (L/C/R).

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnR_IN_LA /forum/post/0


I would choose the later.

I guess every person has different ideas about what they want for their setup, so if that makes you happy go for that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnR_IN_LA /forum/post/0


And a nice big center is gonna overpower the left and right satellites anyways, youll barely be able to hear em

But that should not be the purpose (I mean center overpowering L/R). You don't want any one channel overpowering others, all these channels have to be calibrated properly for a seamless transition from speaker to speaker.
 
#20 ·
mrrame, Thanks for starting this.


I bought the System "D", consisting of 533PT's, 533VAC and 534SS's, and am using them with a new Denon AVR-2807, a Samsung HLS5688 1080P DLP TV and an Onyko DV-SP404 DVD player for my HT. This is quite an upgrade from what I replaced. I bought the Powered towers because of space restraints for a stand alone sub (they both have 8" woofers with 150watt amps) and after listening for a couple of weeks now, have decided to exchange for the 533T/S10 combo during the 30day trial period. The PT's seemed a little thin in the mid range with only the one 5.25" speaker and 1" tweeter which showed when listening to music (something I didn't do as often with the old system). The 533T's have 2-5.25" drivers and should perform better across the sound spectrum and I think I can fit in the S10 SW. I should have the 533T/S10 combo around the 1st.


I listened to a set of DefTechs at BB/Magnolia (7004's) and they didn't come close to the build quality of the Aperions nor did they sound any better.


Here's a picture:

 
#21 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by axs /forum/post/0


But that should not be the purpose (I mean center overpowering L/R). You don't want any one channel overpowering others, all these channels have to be calibrated properly for a seamless transition from speaker to speaker.

Sometimes we make compromises for the sake of style, and running an nice heavy 15-25 lb center speaker with 6-pound satellites everywhere else is a choice I have made in the past, and it really added to the quality of movie dialog.


So your giving good conventional advice, but just keep in mind the Orbs have almost no baffe, a critical piece for lower frequency performance.
 
#22 ·
I have my first "real" speakers on order from them as I've been around B&W, bang and even older but goody companies growing up I wanted something that sounded high end on my broke budget.


So I have a setup already going based around a 42" hitachi and am starting slowly with two 533t's by themselves and hope they sound good in a small room by themselves for the time being with movies and music and will probably then add a sub and upgrade to the 633t's.


Whoever gets those 533's first get that reiew up quick.
 
#26 ·
mrrame, I'll try, but I noticed quite a difference on the PT's after a few days and a fair comparison would require breaking in the T's first. Don't know what Aperion would think? The PT's definitely have plenty of bass, especially for movies, and would have been perfect with that additional 5.25 driver for the acoustics in my smallish room, IMHO.


Couch Commander, you are very lucky to be able to preview them near you, but that 30day trial period surely is nice allowing you to put them in your enviroment and trying your own reportoire of media. How did the 633T fare when you compared them to the 533T?
 
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