captouch
Addicted Member
I just picked up some new-to-me Aerial Acoustics 7B speakers. Earlier today, I wrote some fairly lengthy impressions to a friend who owns another model of Aerials, so I thought I'd post my impressions here as well.
Background:
I've been using Sony SS-M7 speakers up to this point, which have dealt well with my somewhat difficult room (HW floors, sliding glass door - a somewhat hard, reflective room). I've been quite happy with the Sonys, but felt at times they were too rolled off at the top and lacked some energy. They also only go down to ~47Hz, so the lowest bass is lost. Attempting to address that, I added an EQ to boost the highs and also used a sub to augment the low end.
I have a couple of acoustic panels on the side walls at the first reflection point, but no throw rugs, or other treatments to soften the room. Just one couch where I listen, as well as some CD and Expedit LP racks for holding my music.
The electronics used: Bryston 1B preamp, Forte 3 amp (200W into 8 ohms, 400W into 4 ohms), Oppo BDP-95 disc player. My Thorens is acting up, so haven't tried any records yet.
Placement-wise, the back of the speakers are 28" off the back wall, width about 8' apart, ~15 degree toe in, and my seating position is about 10.5' back. I imagine they might be even happier farther out from the back wall, but my room limits how far I can pull them out without obstructing an entryway.
In my room, about 15 degrees of toe-in seems to give the best balance of power/energy while maintaining soundstage width. Straight ahead gives arguably give the widest soundstage, but the vocals seemed a bit recessed and energy is lacking somewhat. Toeing in further than 15 degrees may give marginally increased the power/energy (though if so, it wasn't drastic), but the soundstage width seemed to collapse/compress and things seemed less dimensional.
I moved the Sonys out of their positions and against the back wall to give the 7B's adequate spacing. Since it's also not quick to change the bi-wire spade connections on the back of the speakers, I decided to just form impressions of the 7B's and "compare" them to the Sonys from my memory. I've had the Sonys in place for months, so I have a good idea of their characteristics without doing a real-time A/B switch.
Sonic Impressions:
The 7B's are very well balanced speakers. I had read that they're slightly on the warmer/darker side and not at all sharp/bright despite using a titanium tweeter. I find those comments to be very true. They provide more high and low end extension, more detail, and more energy and punch compared to the Sonys, but they're not objectively bright.
Likely due to having more high-end extension (vs the Sonys), I can hear certain details (esp things like brushes/hi-hats) without straining or feeling like anything is recessed/veiled. But I wouldn't say they're ultra-detailed either. Details are there, but they're not in your face. In overall character, they're actually somewhat similar to the Sonys, in that they're full sounding, cohesive and somewhat on the dark/warm side of the spectrum (but only slightly). In my room, that's a definite positive. They aren't at all fatiguing on the top-end, which has been an issue on some other speakers I've tried here.
They do their thing effortlessly and I'd summarize them as "slightly laid back, yet still audiophile sounding".
The only demerit (in my room) that I've observed so far is the bass. At times, it can be a bit overpowering on bass-heavy tracks - I think more so when I had them closer to the back wall. With these speakers, I definitely don't need a sub - there's plenty of bass energy and depth. They may not be quite as tight as the Sonys (and this I'm not actually sure about), but definitely deeper and more powerful. I need to experiment w/placement a bit more or buy some bass traps and play around with them. It doesn't concern me at this point as I think it can be addressed with some effort.
In a nutshell, the 7Bs address the shortcomings of the Sonys (high/low end extension, detail) without venturing into danger zones (brightness, leanness) that would be long-term dealbreakers (for me). They're not the type of ruthless speakers that make bad recordings sound really bad or detail monsters that compel you listen for minutiae vs just enjoying the music. They're somewhat forgiving speakers in that way.
I believe they'll also be more capable of revealing differences in electronics (vs the Sonys) and their ceiling is higher. Roughly estimating, I think I gained 10-15% extension on the high end, 15-20% on the low end, and maybe 10-15% on overall detail. Looks-wise, they're unexceptional, but not objectionable. I prefer the look of the Sonys and it would have been ideal to have one of the non-black wood finishes on the 7Bs to make them 'prettier'. But that's a minor point. With the black ash, they look better/classier IMO with the grills on, while I think the non-black finishes probably would look better grill-less.
They do allow me to disconnect both the EQ and the sub to simplify my system, which is nice. From everything I've read, they need a lot of power and current to come alive. At the volumes I listen at, the Forte seems to be just fine in providing the power and current they need.
Background:
I've been using Sony SS-M7 speakers up to this point, which have dealt well with my somewhat difficult room (HW floors, sliding glass door - a somewhat hard, reflective room). I've been quite happy with the Sonys, but felt at times they were too rolled off at the top and lacked some energy. They also only go down to ~47Hz, so the lowest bass is lost. Attempting to address that, I added an EQ to boost the highs and also used a sub to augment the low end.
I have a couple of acoustic panels on the side walls at the first reflection point, but no throw rugs, or other treatments to soften the room. Just one couch where I listen, as well as some CD and Expedit LP racks for holding my music.
The electronics used: Bryston 1B preamp, Forte 3 amp (200W into 8 ohms, 400W into 4 ohms), Oppo BDP-95 disc player. My Thorens is acting up, so haven't tried any records yet.
Placement-wise, the back of the speakers are 28" off the back wall, width about 8' apart, ~15 degree toe in, and my seating position is about 10.5' back. I imagine they might be even happier farther out from the back wall, but my room limits how far I can pull them out without obstructing an entryway.
In my room, about 15 degrees of toe-in seems to give the best balance of power/energy while maintaining soundstage width. Straight ahead gives arguably give the widest soundstage, but the vocals seemed a bit recessed and energy is lacking somewhat. Toeing in further than 15 degrees may give marginally increased the power/energy (though if so, it wasn't drastic), but the soundstage width seemed to collapse/compress and things seemed less dimensional.
I moved the Sonys out of their positions and against the back wall to give the 7B's adequate spacing. Since it's also not quick to change the bi-wire spade connections on the back of the speakers, I decided to just form impressions of the 7B's and "compare" them to the Sonys from my memory. I've had the Sonys in place for months, so I have a good idea of their characteristics without doing a real-time A/B switch.
Sonic Impressions:
The 7B's are very well balanced speakers. I had read that they're slightly on the warmer/darker side and not at all sharp/bright despite using a titanium tweeter. I find those comments to be very true. They provide more high and low end extension, more detail, and more energy and punch compared to the Sonys, but they're not objectively bright.
Likely due to having more high-end extension (vs the Sonys), I can hear certain details (esp things like brushes/hi-hats) without straining or feeling like anything is recessed/veiled. But I wouldn't say they're ultra-detailed either. Details are there, but they're not in your face. In overall character, they're actually somewhat similar to the Sonys, in that they're full sounding, cohesive and somewhat on the dark/warm side of the spectrum (but only slightly). In my room, that's a definite positive. They aren't at all fatiguing on the top-end, which has been an issue on some other speakers I've tried here.
They do their thing effortlessly and I'd summarize them as "slightly laid back, yet still audiophile sounding".
The only demerit (in my room) that I've observed so far is the bass. At times, it can be a bit overpowering on bass-heavy tracks - I think more so when I had them closer to the back wall. With these speakers, I definitely don't need a sub - there's plenty of bass energy and depth. They may not be quite as tight as the Sonys (and this I'm not actually sure about), but definitely deeper and more powerful. I need to experiment w/placement a bit more or buy some bass traps and play around with them. It doesn't concern me at this point as I think it can be addressed with some effort.
In a nutshell, the 7Bs address the shortcomings of the Sonys (high/low end extension, detail) without venturing into danger zones (brightness, leanness) that would be long-term dealbreakers (for me). They're not the type of ruthless speakers that make bad recordings sound really bad or detail monsters that compel you listen for minutiae vs just enjoying the music. They're somewhat forgiving speakers in that way.
I believe they'll also be more capable of revealing differences in electronics (vs the Sonys) and their ceiling is higher. Roughly estimating, I think I gained 10-15% extension on the high end, 15-20% on the low end, and maybe 10-15% on overall detail. Looks-wise, they're unexceptional, but not objectionable. I prefer the look of the Sonys and it would have been ideal to have one of the non-black wood finishes on the 7Bs to make them 'prettier'. But that's a minor point. With the black ash, they look better/classier IMO with the grills on, while I think the non-black finishes probably would look better grill-less.
They do allow me to disconnect both the EQ and the sub to simplify my system, which is nice. From everything I've read, they need a lot of power and current to come alive. At the volumes I listen at, the Forte seems to be just fine in providing the power and current they need.
