Aerial Acoustic 5 review
LuSh
Posts: 887
Hello,
I've recently traded my Totem Sttaf's for a pair of Aerial Acoustic 5's and felt moved enough to write a review.
Setup: Electronic's and media used...
The AA 5's (aerial acoustic) are a compact bookshelf speaker which has 7" woofer. The cabinet is sold; even more so then my Totem's, (which i believe to be a design flaw in the entire Totem series) a hard knock on the top of the speaker indicates it is properly braced and overbuilt. The speakers are rated at 4ohm's nominal with a drop to 3 ohm's. They aren't all that efficent with an 85db rating, a trusted high output SS amp is all but needed. I have the AA's setup on factory stands but not filled. The AA 5's are 23" front the back wall (measured front part of the speaker to the back wall) with no side walls within 5' on either side. I was positioned roughly 8 ft away from the speakers with the slighest of toe in. My listening area has no room treatment but is plush with carpet and soft fabric furniture. My trusty Krell 400xi was used for amplification with my Museatex digital front end providing the source. I haven't managed to score a pair of Harmonic Technology Pro 9's as of yet so I've opted to use Audience Maestro speaker cables and HT prosilway mk II's interconnects with a mix of XLO, Moray James and Blue Circle power cords.
The demo disc's used included artists ranging from Diana Krall, Massive Attack, Alice In Chains, Bjork, Radiohead, Greenday, Portishead, Nirvana among others.
What I heard:
The first thing I noticed when listening to vocal tracks was the liquid mid-range. The mid-range this speaker can produce is like no other speaker I've ever heard. Be cautioned that I don't take this test lightly as I've heard speakers at almost every price point from $40K down...the simple ease of this speakers presentation is shocking. The word liquid keeps popping into my head as I listened. There was a certain forwardness that was met with a lush (no pun intended) accent to every vocal. The soundstage was about 1-2 feet forward from the Totem's. I felt the depth was increased as well on Nivrana's Unplugged I could hear more information between tracks then previously. Massive Attacks Protection which features a number of female vocals was glorious, again the mid-range was seductive, forward but open and warm like a blanket on a cold winters night. It was to the point where I stopped trying to find flaws as they didn't exist and simply listened.
Oddly enough the imaging was tighter then the Totem Sttaf's as well, which I found odd as the Aerial Acoutic's are actually wider by about an inch and a half. The vocals were dead center, but more forward, you could hear behind the vocals as well, tiny bits of imformation were all present on a smaller then life platter. The speakers also did a good job of projecting an image outside of the box itself.
The glaring weakness of this speaker was low level information and dynamic's. While I don't pay much attention to "spec" they certainly apply here. The Aerial Acoustics are rated at 60-50hz with a -6db drop depending on placement. The Totem's are rated down to 39hz (they still don't hit as hard as Polk Audio LSi9's but are more tune-full) and it really could be heard. Most of my musical preferences are synth bass heavy and as such I'll find it hard to keep these speakers (I have the ability to keep them for a price or revert back to my old Totem's) in favor of my Sttaf's. I will continue onward for the remainder of the week with the Aerial Acoutic's but ultimately feel I will return them for my awkward Totem's. The AA 5's would work best with a subwoofer and I'm afraid I don't have the space or the money to properly incoporate a sub at this time. Therefore it's a series of trade off's and because of my listening habits and room specifications I will be forced to keep the Totem's. Having said that the Aerial Acoustic's have given me a glimpse of what liquid mid-range is all about. Only the Krell LAT series has given me the glow and warm forwardness that the Aerials have.
For anybody who listens to jazz, blues and soft rock do yourself a favor and audition the Aerial Acoustic 5B's, you will find a truely great speaker which know's what it is and sticks too it. It should also be noted that the speaker stands are all but top-notch and I have a feeling I could add impact and dynamic's with a properly filled stand. Still I feel it will be lacking, this would be echoed even further by the fact that my 2 channel audio system is a two channel HT system., with the Totem's there is no need for a subwoofer, even on DVD soundtracks.
I've recently traded my Totem Sttaf's for a pair of Aerial Acoustic 5's and felt moved enough to write a review.
Setup: Electronic's and media used...
The AA 5's (aerial acoustic) are a compact bookshelf speaker which has 7" woofer. The cabinet is sold; even more so then my Totem's, (which i believe to be a design flaw in the entire Totem series) a hard knock on the top of the speaker indicates it is properly braced and overbuilt. The speakers are rated at 4ohm's nominal with a drop to 3 ohm's. They aren't all that efficent with an 85db rating, a trusted high output SS amp is all but needed. I have the AA's setup on factory stands but not filled. The AA 5's are 23" front the back wall (measured front part of the speaker to the back wall) with no side walls within 5' on either side. I was positioned roughly 8 ft away from the speakers with the slighest of toe in. My listening area has no room treatment but is plush with carpet and soft fabric furniture. My trusty Krell 400xi was used for amplification with my Museatex digital front end providing the source. I haven't managed to score a pair of Harmonic Technology Pro 9's as of yet so I've opted to use Audience Maestro speaker cables and HT prosilway mk II's interconnects with a mix of XLO, Moray James and Blue Circle power cords.
The demo disc's used included artists ranging from Diana Krall, Massive Attack, Alice In Chains, Bjork, Radiohead, Greenday, Portishead, Nirvana among others.
What I heard:
The first thing I noticed when listening to vocal tracks was the liquid mid-range. The mid-range this speaker can produce is like no other speaker I've ever heard. Be cautioned that I don't take this test lightly as I've heard speakers at almost every price point from $40K down...the simple ease of this speakers presentation is shocking. The word liquid keeps popping into my head as I listened. There was a certain forwardness that was met with a lush (no pun intended) accent to every vocal. The soundstage was about 1-2 feet forward from the Totem's. I felt the depth was increased as well on Nivrana's Unplugged I could hear more information between tracks then previously. Massive Attacks Protection which features a number of female vocals was glorious, again the mid-range was seductive, forward but open and warm like a blanket on a cold winters night. It was to the point where I stopped trying to find flaws as they didn't exist and simply listened.
Oddly enough the imaging was tighter then the Totem Sttaf's as well, which I found odd as the Aerial Acoutic's are actually wider by about an inch and a half. The vocals were dead center, but more forward, you could hear behind the vocals as well, tiny bits of imformation were all present on a smaller then life platter. The speakers also did a good job of projecting an image outside of the box itself.
The glaring weakness of this speaker was low level information and dynamic's. While I don't pay much attention to "spec" they certainly apply here. The Aerial Acoustics are rated at 60-50hz with a -6db drop depending on placement. The Totem's are rated down to 39hz (they still don't hit as hard as Polk Audio LSi9's but are more tune-full) and it really could be heard. Most of my musical preferences are synth bass heavy and as such I'll find it hard to keep these speakers (I have the ability to keep them for a price or revert back to my old Totem's) in favor of my Sttaf's. I will continue onward for the remainder of the week with the Aerial Acoutic's but ultimately feel I will return them for my awkward Totem's. The AA 5's would work best with a subwoofer and I'm afraid I don't have the space or the money to properly incoporate a sub at this time. Therefore it's a series of trade off's and because of my listening habits and room specifications I will be forced to keep the Totem's. Having said that the Aerial Acoustic's have given me a glimpse of what liquid mid-range is all about. Only the Krell LAT series has given me the glow and warm forwardness that the Aerials have.
For anybody who listens to jazz, blues and soft rock do yourself a favor and audition the Aerial Acoustic 5B's, you will find a truely great speaker which know's what it is and sticks too it. It should also be noted that the speaker stands are all but top-notch and I have a feeling I could add impact and dynamic's with a properly filled stand. Still I feel it will be lacking, this would be echoed even further by the fact that my 2 channel audio system is a two channel HT system., with the Totem's there is no need for a subwoofer, even on DVD soundtracks.
Post edited by LuSh on
Comments
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Here's a pic of the 5B.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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I'm actually running Aerial 5's not the 5b which is the newer version. But thanks for the picture.
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If I remembered correctly, Aerial Acoustic 7 or 9 are excelent speakers with very impressive imaging, detail, and bass. The bass is amazing that I expereienced with these speakers. Their build quality is very solid and beautiful. I am sure the model 5 that you have are very excelent, too. Congratulations.
Local dealer (SoundWorks in Kensington, MD) carries Aerial, Polk LSi, and Totem if anyone (in Washington area) wants to try... -
I'll be trading back in about a week or so, the mid-range is among the best i've ever heard. I just wish the small packaged offered better low level dynamic's.
