Any other Sony SS-AR1 owners out there?

I heard the Sony Speaker in Berkeley at Music Lovers, last month; Blue Coast Music and Reference Recordings were on hand for the demo..... pretty spectacular.

Right, Surprisingly good effort from Sony

I like em

Des

I was considering buying the SS-AR1's, and feel sorry for those who took the plunge, and will be buying the Aerial Acoustics 7T's as soon as my sound room remodeling is complete. I heard the AR1's while I was in southern Calif. and was impressed, but after hearing the Aerial's in Portland at Fred's, the Sony is no match against the 7T's which blow the Sony's out the window. Best transparency and mid-range clarity I have ever heard. The bass was powerful, rich, very deep and very tight. Aerial's tweeter is an in house custom design, built by Scan-Speak, who also provides drivers for the Sony AR1's. The 7T midrange driver, is also a in-house design, built by SB Acoustics in Wisconsin who provides the mid-range drivers for all the Wilson Audio speakers including the Sasha's. Michael Kelly at Aerial informed me the 7T's mid-range and bass performance will equal or better any speaker regardless of price. They are that good. Before you plunk down $27K for the Sony's, check out the Aerial's and listen. You will be amazed at what you get for $10K, and think twice about buying a more expensive speaker.

We all know there are a myriad of factors that influence a system's performance and various listening conditions. How many people have got their speakers home to discover that it wasn't the cat's meow that they heard back at the dealer.

In addition, we all place our own value of different things in our speakers and systems. So while you may be in love with one model, it could be a dog to me and neither of us will be able to fathom how that could be. I have heard the exact same assertion you attributed to Mr. Kelley at Aerial from a number of people but it was in reference to the speakers that that individual was selling on that given day. In the end, we can each be happy with a path we have taken and it does not necessarily invalidate what someone else has done or experienced.

I do not represent Mr. Kelly or Aerial or sell his speakers. I am not a dealer. A well executed speaker design
based on the quality of the drivers and a well designed crossover network, will result in a speaker that will perform well in any environment with proper placement. Given Mr. Kelly's reputation as one of the best speaker designer's in the U.S. for over thirty years, formerly with
A.D.S., and now Aerial, speaks for itself. Do not fall into the fools gold trap thinking you have to spend well over $20K to get an outstanding performing speaker. That thinking is for the stupid rich. The Aerial 7T is a masterpiece for the price. All you have to do is listen, and when you do, you will realize its a steal for the price. It can handle enormous amounts of power. 500 watts rms is no problem. Make sure its hooked up to a high quality powerful amp before you listen.