Aerial Acoustics vs. Joseph Audio

Fairly different presentations, though I like and respect both brands.

Joseph Audio speakers tend to be more liquid and relaxed, whereas Aerial Acoustics are more forward sounding. I wouldn't characterize things in strictly yin/yang terms, but which you prefer obviously depends on your tastes and needs.

Not sure it factors into things, but Aerials tend to present a fairly demanding load to their partnering amplifier.

Tricky Dick could play the hell out of a piano, too!

I have heard Ariel 7T driven by Karan amps. IMHO, they are very high value for money speakers. They neither do anything offensive sonically, nor are they at the top of the speakers pyramid. I will give them a 8.5/10 for cost/performance ratio.

The letdown on the Ariel is ths quality lapse on the finishing of the cabinets which are made in China. Some tiny nooks and crannies were not sprayed on properly because it is assumed that no one will see it, but I did.

I believe the Jospehs are better finished with costlier materials, or at least they seem so. But I have not had a long audition with Joseph lower range speakers before. I do like the Pearl 2 tho...

Hamburger..Michael Kelly last year dropped the source in China making the cabinets for the 7T's due to inconsistent quality in the finished cabinets and now uses the Hornslet company in Denmark that makes the cabinets for Aerial's top models. The Hornslet company also makes cabinets for Dali and other well known speaker companies.

my comments are limited to the 7t's. have never listened to the Joseph Audio Perspective. having owned 7b's for several years, i consider myself an Aerial fan and was looking forward to hearing and maybe even upgrading to the 7t's. i listen to all types of music and the 7b's do well with all of them. can't say they "shine" with any particular category but they do seem to do everything well imho.

recently listened to the 7t's and was a bit underwhelmed. was expecting to hear obvious improvements but that never happened. yes...they sounded just as good as my 7b's and might have had slightly better base extension. but other then that...i couldn't see spending that kind of money for such modest improvements.

not bashing the 7t's by any means. i love my 7b's and the 7t's sound just as good if not a tiny bit better. it's more a matter of paying $8k for them. purchased my rosewood 7b's used several years ago for $2200... with the optional base's. thinking 6k extra should yield me more then marginal low end improvements (ok..to be fair...i am comparing used too new so it's not apples too apples).

for the money...i'm sticking with my 7b's. the 7t's don't bring enough to the table imho to justify the huge leap in expense. especially when the 7b's sound so good for much less. lots of loot left over to buy other shiny things with =).