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Aerial Acoustics 10t opportunity...too little, too late?

After watching the local market for many years for these, a set of the later generation 10t's has become available. The asking price is on the high side compared to what I generally see them going for ($1500-3000), but according to the seller they are very clean with minimal cosmetic imperfections (very slight cracking of the composite mid/tweeter cabinet) and have the walnut (rather than black) woofer cabinet. Also, they do not have the sound anchor stands. There is no opportunity to listen to them set up properly, but I will be able to play music through them to confirm all drivers function. My question to those out there who may be equipped to answer it is this...for someone who owns (or has owned) some rather exceptional vintage speakers (Infinity QLS-1, Altec 19, JBL L250, Acoustat Spectra 22, Magnepan MG-IIIa, Klipsch Chorus II with Crites mods) and used them in a dedicated listening space that has extensive and carefully executed acoustic treatments and with a variety of decidedly better than midfi upstream gear (Threshold, Aragon, Rega, ARC, flagship Schiit) will the 10t's offer me anything I haven't heard already? I think the high water mark for me so far has been the Altec 19's, but they fell a little short of the QLS-1's when it came to size of sound stage (the line source, IME, is the king of sound stage scale) and couldn't offer the sort of sound stage depth that the big Maggies could deliver...but in virtually every other category of fidelity they absolutely excelled. So fond of the the 19's was I that I couldn't dismiss the consistent opinions of others that the duplex was more of the 19 but with better imaging and sound stage resolution...so I grabbed a set of 604-8g's and all the parts to built Markwart crossovers and proceeded to do absolutely nothing with them for the past five years because I couldn't find cabinets for them. That changed a few months ago when I got my hands a pair of 620 cabinets (very cosmetically challenged), but a lack of free time has prevented me from putting everything together and that's not likely to change any time soon. So, my concern is this...I understand the 10t's are exceptional speakers that offer a level of hifi that has earned them serious and enduring respect in the hifi community at large...but I've yet to see them discussed in the same sentence/context with some of the best vintage flagship speakers ever manufactured. And given what I've had the great fortune of owning/experiencing will they be able to "wow"me? For sake of comparison, the most recent jaw dropping experiences I've had with a pair of loudspeakers has been with the GR Research NX-Treme (a dipole line source with open baffle servo controlled subs) and the Volti Vittora. Can anyone here contribute to that discussion, please?
I should add that I will have two listening spaces available, a 16x20x8 dedicated and acoustically treated space and a 16x34 (vaulted ceiling) lightly acoustically treated listening space where the 10t's and another set of speakers from the above list (except for the stats and JBLs...they're gone) will be able to reside.

Thanks,
Michael
tomlinmgt
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
Keep the Altec 19's! They have the "breath of life" dynamic range missing in most of today's touted hi-end speakers (Ariel 10t's included) that require mega-watt amp power to come alive! A PP tube amp using 6BQ5's for 15wpc can drive the 19's easily to LOUD levels! Dynamic range is the oft-overlooked quality that allows a speaker system to reach realistic playback levels!
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
I collect and use speakers that are dynamically alive: Altec's, JBL's and Klipsch. I had a pair of Altec Valencia's (similar to the 19's) that I now regret selling. Still have the Santana 1's, Stonehenge 1's, Segovia's and Bolero's. 
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
Get working on that Altec 604 and cabinet/x-over project! When finished those will be real gems! 
willieva's avatar
willieva
61 posts
 

I use to sell Altec speakers , I remember when we got the model 19 into the store.  Was very impressive loudspeaker..  I remember cranking up Steely Dans'  song FM.. any well recorded live album was a treat to listen to thru these speakers. Montrose's Rock Candy would drop a few jaws.

mrdecibel
2,897 posts
 
Michael, you seem to like dynamics, and sound staging. For a dynamic speaker, the 10Ts have good dynamics, but nothing like your 19s. Slight cracking of the composite mid / high cabinet, is not normal, ime. That should not happen. And yes, they require a good amount of power, but with current, as not every 200 wpc amp has the same current output capability. You have owned many excellent speakers. It will boil down to only one thing. What are the specific qualities, such as dynamics, and / or sound staging, that are the most important to you, and, only you. We are all different listeners, and it would be easy for me to make a recommendation to you, as others here have done. The thing is, no speaker will be perfect ( perfection is non existent ), but each of us needs to determine, what we want to live with, and, what we can live without. You have 2 rooms, so maybe you can set up 2 systems, that cater to your various moods. Reading through the lines, your lines, I believe sound staging, is the most important characteristic you are looking for, although, the 19s ( dynamics ), certainly get your attention. I own highly modified Klipsch Lascalas, and feel, they do most things exceptionally well, for, what I want. Tone, agility ( speed ), coherent, and dynamic. With every kind of music, at any volume level ( I did have two subs built, to match them, for that last octave )They have excellent imaging and sound staging, but nowhere as " large " as other speakers I have owned, and you have owned. What they do, however, is present music, in a very realistic way, that makes listening to many other speakers, sound " dead " to me. The 19s are a wonderful speaker, but my only issue with them, and it is an issue " I have ", is it is a hybrid horn system, and I hear that discontinuity between the bass cabinet, and the horn ( I owned them, modified the crossovers, damped the horns, added additional bracing to the cabinets, the whole nine yards ), but felt dissatisfied. A virtue of many speakers, such as Vandy's, Thiels, and many panels, are their coherence. I am used to Lascalas, which use a true bass horn, which has an seamless transition between the dog house ( the bass cabinet ), the mid horn, and tweeter horn. Of all of the speakers you have owned, I would feel, even with the " coherence " issue I find with the 19s, they would be my choice, because of all of the other attributes " I " find important. I tell you all of this, not to make it about me, or to convince you to get a pair of Lascalas, but to tell you, " I know what I want ". Determine what you want, instead of going on this merry go round, that many here, are on ? And, if you cannot find a single pair of speakers, to do it all for you, well, you have two listening spaces to fill. I would pass on the 10Ts. Again, I did not want to make this about me, but any time someone makes a suggestion to another, it is sometimes about them. Enjoy ! MrD.
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