Aerial Acoustics 7T / Serria Towers

[Blutarsky]

Subs have a lot of fans, but not everyone needs one, especially for music. I have been perfectly happy with speakers that go down to 30 Hz. Subs need to be dialed in perfectly to sound as good as a floor stander. Not a lot of people can do this, especially for phase. A speaker that goes a little lower just increases listening options. Sub for HT and none for music as desired.

[curtis]

Subs have a lot of fans, but not everyone needs one, especially for music. I have been perfectly happy with speakers that go down to 30 Hz. Subs need to be dialed in perfectly to sound as good as a floor stander. Not a lot of people can do this, especially for phase. A speaker that goes a little lower just increases listening options. Sub for HT and none for music as desired.

Adjusting for phase integration is not hard, and easy with two people, sound level meter, and test tones.

A good sub will also have better bass sound quality in most cases, and the best placement for the bass source is usually not the same place where the mains are.

Now a floorstander may have other desirable qualities other than bass like increased mid-bass capabilities.

My 2 cents.

[davef]

I was lucky enough to go over to a friends a couple hours away and listen to his new Aerial Acoustics T7s. I was truly blown away.On the drive home I kept thinking to myself I wonder how these compare to the Serria towers. Could anyone shed some light on this topic? I understand the T7s are 4 times the cost.

Cheers,
Nik

Based on the Stereophile measurements of the 7T, they will likely sound quite similar to our towers (accurate, neutral), but I must state I am not a fan of the tweeter they are using and the RAAL ribbon is really in an entirely different league.

[nino]

Based on the Stereophile measurements of the 7T, they will likely sound quite similar to our towers (accurate, neutral), but I must state I am not a fan of the tweeter they are using and the RAAL ribbon is really in an entirely different league.

Thanks Dave!,

[Beave]

Based on the Stereophile measurements of the 7T, they will likely sound quite similar to our towers (accurate, neutral), but I must state I am not a fan of the tweeter they are using and the RAAL ribbon is really in an entirely different league.

Are you willing to share what it is about their Scanspeak Revelator tweeter that you don't care for? Is there a certain measured parameter that isn't up-to-snuff on that tweeter?

[davef]

Are you willing to share what it is about their Scanspeak Revelator tweeter that you don't care for? Is there a certain measured parameter that isn't up-to-snuff on that tweeter?

Hey Beave, that is not a Scan Revelator, it is a Scan Discovery ring radiator, an entirely different price class... That said, I have always found problems with the off-axis response of ring radiator tweeters, doesn't even matter what the model is, it is the nature of this type of dome. It is likely why you don't see these types of tweeters being used as often as they used to be.

[Beave]

Hey Beave, that is not a Scan Revelator, it is a Scan Discovery ring radiator, an entirely different price class... That said, I have always found problems with the off-axis response of ring radiator tweeters, doesn't even matter what the model is, it is the nature of this type of dome. It is likely why you don't see these types of tweeters being used as often as they used to be.

Yep, you're right, I meant Scan Discovery. For whatever reason, any time I type Scanspeak, the word Revelator just seems to follow, even in cases when it shouldn't.

Here is an off-the-shelf part very similar to what Aerial uses:
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.co...ring-radiator/

Agreed that the off-axis performance of it, and other ring radiators I've seen, is less than desirable.

Polk's LSiM series uses a ring radiator from a different manufacturer and also has the very narrow off-axis response in the top octave or two.

[nino]

Hey Beave, that is not a Scan Revelator, it is a Scan Discovery ring radiator, an entirely different price class... That said, I have always found problems with the off-axis response of ring radiator tweeters, doesn't even matter what the model is, it is the nature of this type of dome. It is likely why you don't see these types of tweeters being used as often as they used to be.

I just did some research on the tweeter. It is a rather cheap tweeter for such an expensive speaker. The midrange and Woofers are rather cheap also for a speaker with an MRSP of just under 11k.

[Beave]

I just did some research on the tweeter. It is a rather cheap tweeter for such an expensive speaker. The midrange and Woofers are rather cheap also for a speaker with an MRSP of just under 11k.

Aerial's cabinet aren't cheap, however. Nor is their markup or their dealer markup.

But always keep in mind that the price of a driver doesn't necessarily correlate with its performance. Some super-expensive drivers are so-so, while some cheap ones perform pretty well overall.

PSB uses a variation of the Vifa titanium dome in their speakers, from the Imagine XB ($500/pair) all the way up to the new Imagine T3 (which costs around $8k/pair if I remember right). That tweeter probably costs them $10-$15 each. But it performs quite well - except from about 18kHz and up. And I can no longer hear that high, so I'm not too concerned about issues in that frequency range.

And Aerial isn't the only offender, or near the worst offender, when it comes to using mid-price drivers in expensive speakers.

[davef]

Yep, you're right, I meant Scan Discovery. For whatever reason, any time I type Scanspeak, the word Revelator just seems to follow, even in cases when it shouldn't.

Here is an off-the-shelf part very similar to what Aerial uses:
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.co...ring-radiator/

Agreed that the off-axis performance of it, and other ring radiators I've seen, is less than desirable.

Polk's LSiM series uses a ring radiator from a different manufacturer and also has the very narrow off-axis response in the top octave or two.

The Polk LSi used the original Vifa XT ring radiator, which I believe was the very first iteration of this type of tweeter.