Interesting thread in that until yesterday it hadn't been responded to in over 13 years!
The OP said,
The OP said,
I've got fond memories of both Aerial and Thiel from my speaker shopping days 10 years ago.Ten years prior to 2003 means the OP last shopped for Aerial and Thiel back in 1993, only two years after Aerial began their business of making speakers. Since the OP's system is not listed, I would be interested to hear about what speakers he actually ended up with. BTW, I am still quite happy with my Aerial 9s, which have faithfully improved with every system upgrade over the years. They are a nice combination of warmth, body, and impact, with pretty good bass, more than adequate detail and a relatively smooth top end.