Aerial 10t vs B&W 802


I'm looking for a pair of speakers for 80% music and 20% HT. I just listened to 802 and aerial 7B. Like B&W802 better. Since there is no 10t in showroom in my area, so I'm asking if anybody has listened both 802 and aerial 10T or Aerial 8B? Thanks a lot, Shenzhi
shenzhi45c4

Showing 1 response by rayhall

0I am neither an 802 or 10T owner although I have auditioned both speakers. To me, the two speakers sound incredibly different, so, based on your personal taste, I don't think you should have any trouble choosing between the two. I auditioned the 802's with BAT electronics (VK-50 and VK-500). I found them to be bright (typical B&W sound, to me) with a moderately overemphasized midbass and not a lot of bass extension. Also, in this audition, I found them to be kind of lifeless, which may be the fault of the setup rather than the actual fault of the speakers themselves. The 10T was auditioned at a different store, different day. The 10T had better bass extension, no midbass bloat, excellent treble, but had a range of upper midrange brightness that, to my ears, bordered on harshness or stridency. This speaker was auditioned with McCormack DNA 1 and Aragon 8008BB amplifiers. No preamps were used. I didn't end up buying either speaker, and based on my own personal criteria, would not recommend either. I did prefer the Aerial over the B&W. I think you wil be making a mistake to rely on other's opinions since speaker evaluation, more than any audio evaluation, is an extremely subjective exercise. Different rooms, different electronics and cables, even the music which you bring all play huge factors in how any speaker sounds to any individual. Go listen for yourself. But in my opinion, these speakers sound as different as night and day (even the Aerial 7's and the B&W 802's are radically different), so you really should be able to find one which you like better very quickly between those two.