Just to provide a little support Pcc, the Aerius i can indeed provide very good bass. Few people know how to set these speakers up, is half the problem, but also the room is important. I don't use the Aerius i, but have set them up for others. In many situations the Aerius will outperform the SL3 as the SL3 is more difficult to match to a room. From what I have experienced with the Aerius i, you can go on improving your system quite a long way before you will outgrow them. The bass just gets better, the better signal you feed it. Tubes have always been the best way to go with these speakers, but there will be some life missing unless you have 100 good watts. The Svetlana KT88 sounds good with this speaker. By the way, have you experimented with the forward tilt of the Aerius and spiked them rigidly - the Aerius sounds indistinct and boring if you don't do this.
preamp/amp for ML Aerius i?
I own ML Aerius i. W/a DC-1,3bst,and transparent cables thru out. Sounds good, but want more. I've auditioned them w/AR-26 and AR amp, also AR26 w/Classe 200. Plinuis 100 and bat 3i. Sunfire amp and Meridian pre. Very boring.. The best I've heard was bat 3i/vk200, my foot is finally tapping and I am excited again, good detail and control. I heard the bat vk30/moon w-5 was a good combo. Any suggestions out there would be great. If you don't own ML speakers then don't slam them. I'm just looking for some HONEST help here.