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Just hooked up my Aon3 speakers to my Denon AVR 3300.
The Aons are replacing Infinity RS3s.
1st impressions:
The infinitys are easy to listen to. They do a lot of things well. The Aons do more. A lot more.
The Aons are very resolving on the top end. There is a ton of high end energy but they remain easy to listen to.
The bass response is great. Tight with good extension. I will be running a sub regardless.
The manual says 40 hrs to break in. They will likely improve as time passes.
The Aon3 is truly a great speaker. I do not know of any monitor that delivers more for a $1000.
Update:
After a week of break in the Aons have done nothing but improve. The woofers have loosened up a bit.
The speaker has a single speaker wire terminal. No bi wiring or bi amping. The Aons seem very easy to drive so this should not be an issue.
The bass has improved. Not so much that I am deleting the subwoofer. The only bookshelf I have heard with slightly stronger bass would be the Dynaudio C1.
I have noticed that the tweeter is offset to the right. This led me to believe that maybe these were a L/R specific design. That assumption was incorrect.
The speakers are all the same. The tweeters are intentionally offset to the right. Goldenear didn't get into it too deep but confirmed that they are designed that way. Without being too critical this seemed like a cheap way out. Why offset the tweeter one way and not offset in the opposite direction for the other speaker? A small nit pick.
The grill sock. It has pros and cons. I dont have a problem with it as it conceals the passive radiators on the sides. However, the AMT and woofer are very nice to look at. I would rather have grills so I can see the drivers, but the design sways me to leave the sock in place. A personal preference issue more than anything else. The top cap snaps firmly in place. One reviewer said it was sloppy and cheap. I disagree. It was so firmly attached to the top of the speaker I was scared to remove it.
After listening to a lot of my material on the Aons I continue to be more impressed. Things can be heard that did not exist on the Infinitys. The Aon resolves detail better than any bookshelf I have heard. It does this without being harsh or forward. To me, this is where this speaker stands apart. The AMT in the GE is truly reference.
I have read a couple, (only a couple) reviews placing the Goldenears behind other similarly priced bookshelf speakers. I could not disagree more. I have not heard a better tweeter in a bookshelf. The bass driver is also extremely good. In my opinion, the Aon destroys the $1000.00 speaker category and is competitive to much more expensive speakers. I cannot think of a bookshelf speaker that I would rather have on my desk. I considered the KEF R300, NHT Classic 3, Paradigm Anniversary, PSB Synchrony Monitor and ML Motion. Those are all great speakers but I am happy. The Aon is simply the best choice.
I wish I could get my hands on the AMT for my car system. I am addicted to its performance.
Now I plan to upgrade the Denon. I believe the Aons will respond nicely to the Cary Slp03 or the Mcintosh 2300. We shall see.............
Just hooked up my Aon3 speakers to my Denon AVR 3300.
The Aons are replacing Infinity RS3s.
1st impressions:
The infinitys are easy to listen to. They do a lot of things well. The Aons do more. A lot more.
The Aons are very resolving on the top end. There is a ton of high end energy but they remain easy to listen to.
The bass response is great. Tight with good extension. I will be running a sub regardless.
The manual says 40 hrs to break in. They will likely improve as time passes.
The Aon3 is truly a great speaker. I do not know of any monitor that delivers more for a $1000.
Update:
After a week of break in the Aons have done nothing but improve. The woofers have loosened up a bit.
The speaker has a single speaker wire terminal. No bi wiring or bi amping. The Aons seem very easy to drive so this should not be an issue.
The bass has improved. Not so much that I am deleting the subwoofer. The only bookshelf I have heard with slightly stronger bass would be the Dynaudio C1.
I have noticed that the tweeter is offset to the right. This led me to believe that maybe these were a L/R specific design. That assumption was incorrect.
The speakers are all the same. The tweeters are intentionally offset to the right. Goldenear didn't get into it too deep but confirmed that they are designed that way. Without being too critical this seemed like a cheap way out. Why offset the tweeter one way and not offset in the opposite direction for the other speaker? A small nit pick.
The grill sock. It has pros and cons. I dont have a problem with it as it conceals the passive radiators on the sides. However, the AMT and woofer are very nice to look at. I would rather have grills so I can see the drivers, but the design sways me to leave the sock in place. A personal preference issue more than anything else. The top cap snaps firmly in place. One reviewer said it was sloppy and cheap. I disagree. It was so firmly attached to the top of the speaker I was scared to remove it.
After listening to a lot of my material on the Aons I continue to be more impressed. Things can be heard that did not exist on the Infinitys. The Aon resolves detail better than any bookshelf I have heard. It does this without being harsh or forward. To me, this is where this speaker stands apart. The AMT in the GE is truly reference.
I have read a couple, (only a couple) reviews placing the Goldenears behind other similarly priced bookshelf speakers. I could not disagree more. I have not heard a better tweeter in a bookshelf. The bass driver is also extremely good. In my opinion, the Aon destroys the $1000.00 speaker category and is competitive to much more expensive speakers. I cannot think of a bookshelf speaker that I would rather have on my desk. I considered the KEF R300, NHT Classic 3, Paradigm Anniversary, PSB Synchrony Monitor and ML Motion. Those are all great speakers but I am happy. The Aon is simply the best choice.
I wish I could get my hands on the AMT for my car system. I am addicted to its performance.
Now I plan to upgrade the Denon. I believe the Aons will respond nicely to the Cary Slp03 or the Mcintosh 2300. We shall see.............
