Aerial 7T/6 vs Vandersteen Quatro/Treo/2Ce Sig II

Hi Dodgealum,

My current setup is Paradigm Studio v3 40s in the front, Paradigm Studio v3 20s in the back. With Aperion sub , Paradigm Studio Center and all speakers powered by Marantz SR7005.

My budget is flexible from 10K to 15K, I am willing to go with used speakers and components. I want to start with Speakers and buy matching components. Want to use Marantz SR7005 for Movies but front speakers will be powered by separate amps, leaning towards Rogue Audio, Emotiva etc for amps.

My room size is 24ftx22ftx8ft. Speakers will be placed on the 22ft side.

I listen to classic rock and enjoy movies a lot with my family. I want speakers that disappear when I listen to music. Large soundstage, clear separation of instruments and accurate voice reproduction is important for me. I love the sound of Vandy's I only auditioned 2Ce Sig IIs and 3A and I liked 3As. I am unable to audition Treo/Quatro/5A with the Vandy dealer that is close to my place. I like listening to low volumes btw.

I have heard B&W CM9s, Dynaudio Focus series, Monitor Audio, Kef, Theil 3.7 and they all did not even come close to Vandys as far as my ears are concerned.

I can audition Vandy Treo/Quatro/5A and Aerial Acousitcs from different dealers if I drive 10 hours each way. I want to hear what folks here feel before I put my wife through that drive :).

thanks in advance.

The Aerials were a big disappointment. I actually liked Dali Helicon 400 Mk IIs much better than the Aerials

Dali Helicon 400 is exactly what I ended up buying for my sister. It's sounds very good with a Krell amp.

My sister is not an audiophile but growing up with 2 audiophile brothers, she appreciates good sound and know the difference. Her husband, well ...

Curse this thread!!

The talk about how great the Dali's are, especially along with the negative comments regarding Aerial Acoustics, has me wondering if I should consider the Dali speakers for my home theater.

I built my HT speaker system around the Aerial Acoustics CC5 center (im actually using the LR5 vertical version) channel speaker. To finish it off I used identical LR5 speakers for my left and right.

Does Dali make a center that will at least equal the Aerial CC5? Ideally I would like to use identical speakers for left, right and center. Any recommendations for what I might consider/audition?

At this point in my life I am 75-80% home theater.

JonnyR,

Thanks for the compliment. I have a great deal of respect for you and your store. I'll definitely stop by and listen to the new CT.

Knghifi,

"I have 2 friends using Vandersteen 2's and every time I listen to them, I want to rip the sock out of the drivers. It's muffled, peaky ... can't stand them."

Good call. No one uses socks to tune speakers anymore. They probably didn't even wash them with the special soap for best thread consistency. Vandersteen gives you much better setup options. Why don't you go over and remove the socks, position the speaker, set the back tilt using the formula Vandersteen gives you and make any necessary adjustments to the 2 gain settings on the back of the crossover. Show your friends how to set them up right. They'll thank you for it.

"I am unable to audition Treo/Quatro/5A with the Vandy dealer that is close to my place."

That's sad. Also, not to be judgmental, but powering $10k - $15k speakers with an Emotiva amp???

"I want speakers that disappear when I listen to music. Large soundstage, clear separation of instruments and accurate voice reproduction is important for me."

Well, that certainly is in Vandy territory. To get what you're looking for and to get the most out of them you'll need good amplification and a good preamplifier (haven't seen you mention what you use for a preamp -- what are you using?). Not sure how they do at low volumes. I'd also mention Joseph Audio Perspectives in your price range if you can find a dealer. Not sure how they do at low volumes either though.

If you're currently using a prepro you could insert something like one of the new Rogue integrated amps (or many others) for stereo and use your prepro and Marantz amp to run center/surrounds in HT duty. Not hard to integrate all that into one system, and you'd have the best of both worlds. Best of luck.