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Anyone listened to Aerial 9's?

These have been around awhile now, but have received little press here, and virtually none in audio publications. They seem to have the same or similar bass drivers as used in the 7b (except maybe with aluminum voice coils), and the same 7b, 8b, 10t, MB Quart tweeter, with a new 6 inch midrange driver. Efficiency is better than the 7b and 8b, at 90db, and power handling is rated higher, up to 500wpc. I like the idea of the front firing bass drivers for easier room integration, and I believe the port is on the bottom. Bass is said to be down 2db at 30hz. It seems the bass should be tighter and with more impact due to the multiple smaller drivers, if not quite as extended as in the 10t or 8b. All in all, it seems this should be a very user friendly speaker, with the same attributes as the earlier highly rated Aerial models. Any user feedback?
mitch2
parsiphal
2 posts
 
Tweeter on the 7T is better, but the model 9 has a special je ne sais quois that prevented me from 'upgrading'.

I also prefer the look of the 9 vs the somewhat more standard 7T!
mitch2 OP
3,683 posts
 
Wow, a blast from the past. I have never heard the 7Ts, buy based on this thread I purchased the 9s and owned them for years.  I really enjoyed the clean, dynamic, and somewhat warm sound of the Model 9s.  They sounded good on a variety of rock, pop, and blues music.  Two caveats, they need some power (at least 200 wpc) to really come to life and IMO the bass is probably the weakest aspect of the speaker because they can overwhelm a smaller room and the bass reflex design can result in some degree of boominess in certain rooms/situations, IME.

I recently moved to the slightly less expensive LR5s and I believe the bass is even better with a pair of 9-inch woofers in each sealed (i.e., acoustic suspension), very inert box.  The bass on the LR5s rolls off at about 40Hz but I augment them with a pair of SW12s and the result in the bass is vastly superior IMO to the Model 9s alone.  The cleaner bass performance also seems to improve on the mids and high frequencies in my room.  However, the LR5s need even more power as their sensitivity is only 86dB.  I am happy with the change to the LR5s plus two subs and Michael Kelly told me that set-up is about as good as it gets with his products. 
jdlynch
62 posts
 
@mitch2
what amp are you using to power your aerials? I also have LR5’s for my LCR powered by an ATI 6005 signature.
mitch2 OP
3,683 posts
 
I have used a variety of amplifiers with the LR5s.  Consistent has been Clayton M300 Class A monoblocks but I also currently own Cary CAD 500MB monos and a pair of DNA-1s that are at SMc for Steve's Signature treatment.  I am in the process of working out the details with Steve and Patrick.  Both the Claytons (300wpc) and the Carys (500wpc) double into 4 ohms and both have plenty of power although they do sound different from each other. The nice thing about the LR5s is that they indeed let you hear the characteristics of whatever gear is in front of them.
jdlynch
62 posts
 
Mitch2- can you tell any difference when you feed the LR5s more power? My ATI puts out 450 watts into 4 ohms;

I an mainly using them for HT and am extremely happy with their performance. I just wonder what more power would do; if anything at modest listening levels (80-85dB).
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