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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
 
sounds like the owner's manual does contain some useful info, something I did not get from the dealer. most speakers I owned I don't bother to read the manual as they are quite useless.

so Rowland 304 bi-amp is your amp of choice now? I have only one pair of output from my Einstein, so I can only use 1 amp. I will much rather keep my BAT, I haven't found any solid state to equal BAT midrange and up, in fact no tube amps could compete either. will try to drag my friend's Pass 350.5 over to try though. another person also highly recommends 20T with 304, I think you know whom I am talking about.

I do have the wheels, but I found the sound changed a lot after putting the spikes back on due to ribbon's limited vertical dispersion. owner's manual suggest to sit at tweeter level? before going bi-wire, the sound was on the bright side so I called Aerial and Andrew suggested (and a common practice for them) to tilt it up a little. how little he did not say, but everyone who listened to my system last weekend with bi-wire preferred the sound w/o tilting. I wasn't sitting in the sweet spot to hear w/ and w/o tilting, but presence and immediacy did improve a bit after the speakers are level.
mmike84
309 posts
 
You can use a Y connector from your pre or have another set of outputs installed. I'm sure the Pass will sound great by comparison. Who knows maybe you'll prefer it? Bat also makes some solid state amps. BTW you don't have to Bi-amp just use a powerful SS amp. That's just what I'm doing.

In the end though, and I hope this doesn't offend you, you didn't do your homework on the 20t's because not many people would say they are "tube friendly". I'm sure a high power tube amp can do it and sound pretty darn good, but IMHO that speaker is designed for SS. If you are dearly attached to the Bat you may have a mis-match.

One side note: I also read the Stereophile review again and in the conclusion they speculate a room that's too small may compress the low end and tilt the speaker's balance to the high end. I suppose that might also be your problem as your room is on the small side for the 20t's (IMHO).

I'd prefer not to name names or slam past equipment but my system is updated. If you want a list of stuff I've tried email me.

Mike
semi OP
649 posts
 
I did try to "do my homework". I spoke to Aerial before committing to buy, another owner had them in the same size room with 2x SW12, and previous owner was using ARC VTM-200. I know they are not tube friendly, but I don't need the lowest bass and thought I could get away with BAT especially if I don't listen loud. I will try solid state just to see what they are capable of, not sure what I will do next regardless of the outcome.

I know I still have lots of work to do in order to optimize the positioning, will see if I can dial them to the sound I prefer but then Aerial will not sound like Sonus Faber for one...
goatwuss
877 posts
 
I've heard them sound great with big mcintosh amps. I think it was actually the 1.2Kwatt amps that I heard ( :

I would use a bigger SS amp with these.
wireless200
415 posts
 
I'm using Mc with my Aerials after trying Krell, Marantz, and MF. I had the HF issue as well. I think it had as much to do with the source at is did with the amp. The McIntosh fixed the problem and they make beautiful music now that I can sit and listen to for hours. Never could do that before. Of course try first. The laid back sound of Mc is not to everyone's taste. I think the 20Ts are going to take some power. I briefly hooked up my Cary 120S to my Aerials and while they sounded fine the umph just wasnt' going to be there and I didn't want to push the Cary.
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