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Calling Aerial 20T owners

I just acquired an used pair of 20T V1.

room size is 14 x 18, sources are VPI SSM Ref w/ rim drive, Lyra Skala, Einstein phono, modded Benchmark DAC USB, Einstein pre, BAT 150SE. IC are Audience 24 & Pure Note, speaker wires are Acoustic Zen Hologram II (top) and Audioquest Clear III (bottom). all sit on Grand Prix Audio racks.

due to room size, speakers are 5' from back wall. I had to bi-wire them to remove a bit of bright and edgy top end. not sure if it was the speaker wires or power amp output, I am not getting the "presence" and immediacy like Sonus Faber Amati or Guarneri Memento. I am afraid to use silver speaker cables which will improve the presence, think listening fatigue will set in after 10 min.

want to check with 20T owners:

anyone has success with tube amps?
how far apart do you have them? any toe-in?
how do you move them on carpet? 2-piece construction means I have to take the head unit off every time I want to move a quarter inch.
do you put anything under the speakers? considering some maple block so I can slide them around easily.
Aerial suggests to tilt the speakers up slightly, but after bi-wire I found level sounds better. do you tilt up?

I am happy with the bass response, so I "don't" need more power. but if power will increase upper mid and brings out a bit more presence, snappiness, and immediacy, I will consider a different amp.
semi
semi OP
649 posts
 
some update about the sound after some tuning.

I plugged up the bass module ports, move the speakers closer to the back wall by 6" or so, still slight toe-in. both top and bottom dials are set at "0", I have a pretty coherent sound now. image and focus were both more dense and weightier, top end sounds smoother due to fuller upper mid, bass tightened up and free the slight smearing of lower mid. overall a very positive improvement. speakers are not tilted up any more, after changing to bi-wire I do not feel the need to tone down the top end.

will probably need another few weeks to play with positioning, they are on casters now and I am sure sound will change again once they go back on spikes. but I now have much more faith in the 150SE + 20T combo, I thought one of them will have to go during the first week.

next step is to mod my BAT to further improve bass response. but as of now the bass is tuneful and abundant.
wireless200
415 posts
 
I think maybe it's your amp. Speakers such as the 20T should sound great without a lot fuss IMO.
rainer
4 posts
 
I use a Bryston 14 BSST with DIY 8 gauge 7N Cu cables to power my Aerials 20T V2. I like classical music, and for the first time I can hear individual instruments in music from large ensembles or orchestra (of course this is very much a factor of the recording also). My front end is Esoteric (P-05/D-05), controlled by a Mark Levinson 326S. All interconnects and power cord for the amp are Acoustic Zen Absolute (silver!), while source components have DIY Oyaide 7N PCOCC-A Cu cables, Oyaide plugs and Oyaide receptacles.

I am happy with the sound. Do I think another amp could do better with the 20T V2? Maybe. What would I wish to try next? Maybe Bryston 28 BSST (indicating that SS and fast, fully bridged, high output amplifiers with low noise floor I think are a good match with Aerial Acoustics speakers).
Happy listening
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