I examined the measured behavior of the Music Streamer+ using the Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and "As We See It" in the January 2008 issue), as well as, for some tests, my Audio Precision System One Dual Domain and the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyzer. I drove the Music Streamers with the USB 2.0 output of my Intel MacBook running OS10.4.11 for the testing, playing back WAV files using Bias Peak 6.2 and operating off battery power. As the Streamer is bus-powered, I wondered if it was possible that it might perform slightly differently with…
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It was an audacious demonstration. For the launch of Aerial's 20T loudspeaker at the end of 2002, Aerial's head honcho and designer, Michael Kelly, had arranged to compare the speakers reproducing the recorded sound of virtuoso violinist Arturo Delmoni with the real thing. The setting was the ornate dining room of one of Newport, Rhode Island's many mansions, and, given the inevitable differences—due to the facts that a violin has a very different radiation pattern from a loudspeaker and thus excites the room differently, and that the recording inevitably gives the listener a double dose of…
When Kelly returned, this time with David Marshall, the final speaker positions ended up somewhat different from before. Whereas the 20Ts' original positions had been what you might think intuitive for a full-range speaker—well away from room boundaries—the speakers were now very close to the sidewalls and aggressively toed-in to the listening seat. There was also a slight asymmetry to the setup, which Michael explained was to cope with a stronger reflection of treble energy from one sidewall. (One sidewall is lined with bookcases, the other with LP racks and bookshelves; the wide lateral…
Changing to the Parasound Halo JC 1 monoblocks, however, required the tweeter to be set to its minimum sensitivity, perhaps because these amplifiers' increased low-frequency control threw the Aerial's top octaves into greater contrast. Even then, the marriage between the Aerials and the Parasounds was still too bright with early digital recordings, such as the SACD reissue of Peter Gabriel's Security (Geffen Chronicles 069 493623-2), an album I love for its music but deplore for its coarse-grained midrange and treble textures. The treble balance became more acceptable when the amplifiers…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 4.1" by 0.375" aluminum ribbon tweeter, 7.1" carbon-fiber/pulp-cone midrange, two 9" carbon-fiber/Rohacell/glass-fiber–cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 300Hz, 3.5kHz. Frequency response: 27Hz–30kHz, ±2dB (–8dB at 23Hz and 40kHz). Impedance: 4 ohms nominal, 2.8 ohms minimum. Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/m.
Dimensions: Overall: 47.0" (1194mm) H by 12.6" (320mm) W by 22.5" (572mm) D. Head cabinet: 15.4" (390mm) H by 10.7" (272mm) W by 22.5" (572mm) D. Bass cabinet: 29.1" (740mm) H by…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Ayre C-5xeMP universal player; Meridian 808i.2 CD player; dCS Puccini SACD player; Benchmark DAC1, Ayre QB-9 D/A converters; dCS 972 D/D converter; Logitech (Slim Devices) Transporter WiFi music player with Apple Mac mini for media storage.
Preamplifiers: Parasound Halo JC 2, Simaudio Moon Evolution P-8.
Power Amplifiers: Parasound Halo JC 1 monoblocks, Simaudio Moon Evolution W-7.
Loudspeakers: Aerial Acoustics 5B, PSB Synchrony One, Totem Acoustic Mani-2.
Cables: Digital: Kimber Illuminations Orchid AES/EBU, Stereovox CV2…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The quasi-anechoic measurements were all performed using DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone. The Aerial Acoustics 20T V2 is specified as having a voltage sensitivity of 90dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was somewhat lower, at 88dB(B)/2.83V/m on the tweeter axis, which is slightly lower than my measurement of the original 20T. The electrical impedance (fig.1), however, is very similar, with minimum values of 3.25 ohms at 24Hz and 3 ohms at 228Hz. Fortunately, the electrical phase angle at those frequencies is low, but with an impedance that stays…
In October 2005's "The Fifth Element." I said of the Harbeth HL-3P-ES2, a descendant of the BBC LS3/5A, "Gloriosky, these little speakers are just great to listen to!" Later, in April 2007, John Atkinson endorsed that remark.
I feel exactly the same way about Aerial Acoustics' 5B: It's just great to listen to. Indeed, A-list New York City classical recording engineer Jerry Bruck used a pair of Aerial Model 5s to monitor Nathaniel Rosen's award-winning release of Bach's Cello Suites (2 CDs, John Marks JMR 6/7), and larger floorstanding Aerial speakers (the 7s, if I recall correctly), to…
On the basis of only the above, and admittedly relying on recent memory of the HL-3P-ES2 rather than a side-by-side comparison, I think Aerial's 5B is a very valid alternative to the Harbeth descendant of BBC's original shoebox. The Aerial has incrementally but noticeably more bass—and wonderfully controlled bass at that—and, arguably, a more neutral midrange and treble, in comparison to the Harbeth's slight romantic sweetness and/or warmth. But the Aerial is by no stretch of the imagination cold—at all.
The one criticism I can imagine some listeners might make of the Aerial is that its…
John Atkinson on the Sound
When Robert Harley reviewed Aerial Acoustics' original Model 5 for Stereophile in April 1997, he concluded that this moderately sized, stand-mounted, two-way, sealed-box speaker sounded "super-smooth, uncolored, and had a top-to-bottom coherence rivaling those of much more expensive loudspeakers." However, he did note what he felt to be the speaker's shortfalls in soundstaging and bass extension, as well as an unassuming character that gave the music "a certain reticence that made me want to turn up the volume."
The original Model 5 combined a 1"…