Experience with Aerial models 6 or 7b

Hello there No money.
I've owned 7Bs for about 7 or 8 months now. My listening room is smaller (14'x11') and I'm running them on the low end of the recommended wattage, a little over 100 watts from a Threshold t200. But they sound great man! I listened to the 6s at the dealer but when he took me into the room with the 7Bs I fell in love on the first CD (I swear). Big difference in the way they sounded to me. 7B ported on back, 6 is ported on front. According to dealer the 6 could go closer to wall than the 7B. Heavy 2" thick cabinet. Seemed like the best value out there for my money. By the way, I listen primarily to rock as well. Happy hunting!

Aerial gets good at the 8b and 10t models, the lower models have too much compition to be a reccomendation. The Vandersteen sub is a great idea with something like Audio Physics Vergo's, Merlin VSM or even Vandersteen- just my oppinion but I have owned the Aerial 5 and 8b and just thought if you are going to spend that much money you should get a more musical speaker.

Lots of good feedback from 6 and 7b owners. I auditioned the Model 6 and 7b, primarily for HT use. The 6 is appealing for its size, integration of its drivers, and it produces surprising bass from one 7" bass unit. The 7b is much larger, and puts out quite a bit more bass. I didn't feel that the mids were as well integrated with the bass on the 7b. I would try and audition these speakers in your room if possible where you plan to place them. One other option you might consider is the Aerial LR3. It uses the same mid and tweeter as the 6 and 7b, and two 7" bass units from Aerial's CC3b. Its relatively compact, 24"h x 8.5"w x 12"d, and works well on a 24" stand. Same price per pair as the Model 6, but capable of higher output, more efficient, and has better power handling then the 6. Its a sealed enclosure with bass cutting off sharply around 50hz, so a sub is necessary and can be easily integrated. It also has environment controls that compensate for shelf, in wall, or stand mounting. I ended up with the LR3s, and use it with Aerial's CC3b center. If you do end up with one of the Aerials they respond well to biwiring. Good Hunting.

Thanks again for all of the input. It looks like either of these will work where I want to place them. The dealer offers a 1 year trade up program on speakers so I plan to purchase and then evaluate at the end of the first year on if I can or feel the need to make the move to 8b or 10t.

Tom_munro, thanks for reminding me about the new monitors, they will also be on the hit list but I will want to be able to bolt them to the stand and fill that with lead/sand, whatever to make it nearly impossible to knock over. You know how paranoid us audio fellas are about this stuff. I just wish I could afford to swing the Aerial sub at the same time ! As it is if I go for something like that I would have to be happy with the Vandersteen. This also brings up the second option of sinking the whole budget into the Aerial sub to go with the ML Aerius I have right now, and ultimatley get some mains to match later but given the room size I just don't think the ML can output enough volume to do justice to that level of sub. Sure would be nice to try though.... Thanks again to everyone, this puts my mind a little more at ease as far as knowing they can be placed that close to the wall.

Although I preferred the midrange of the Aeriel 8 over the 7b, it was clear that they were WAY to bass-heavy in my similar room. I didn't like the incoherence of the N803 at all, but was mightily impressed with the Revel F30!
I would seriously consider them over the 7b, especially for their remarkably good midrange. Helluva value at $3k net too! They also may be more efficient than the Aeriels, and thus perhaps save you $ on amplification. They're a no-brainer at the price if you like what they sound like IN YOUR ROOM! Good luck. Ernie