I know some of you thought this day would never happen but I have started my Aperion Home Theater system.  Since I love music I decided on a plan to get the 5Bs for fronts and the Bravus 8D for my sub.  My initial plan was to then get the 5Ts and 5C.  This plan may have changed, more on that later.

A brief history, I mean it this time.  My former speakers were purchased some 18 or so years ago.  They were a kit of the highest quality using some the best drivers available.  I chose Aperion for my new speakers and expected a quality product but possibly not as pure of a performance as the old friends.

My Impressions:

5B and 8D – I will review these together as that is how I intend to always use them. 

These little guys are visually stunning, built very solid and the assembly detail is impeccable.  The driver mounting, terminal block and port mounting are all perfect. 

Don’t let anybody say that speakers do not need break in time because these definitely do.  I started by putting on Dark Side of the Moon, of course with woofy engaged.  I soon realized that woofy needed to be tamed a bit so down with the volume.  I soon noticed congestion, in male voices in particular.  Not surprised.  Changed it over to Sirius Coffee House and let go for a few hours.

Next morning fired them back up and they sounded a bit better.  I needed to be working outside all day so I loaded up the first Days of the New CD, put it on repeat, and cranked up the volume a bit.  If you are not familiar with Days of the New they are an early 90’s XGen band.  They use an electric bass, a drum and acoustic guitars.  A little different combo but don’t be fooled, they produce some of the most dynamic music you will ever hear, especially their first of their two albums.  Every time I came in for a drink of water I would stand in the sweet spot and I slowly began to fall in love.  Every time I came in for a drink of water I stayed a little bit longer. 

The 5B was loosening up and the sound was becoming more complete.  Nice!  I must say though, the 5B is brutally honest.  I heard microphone errors, off key singers, and off stage noises that I have never heard before.  To me the 5B is a full range speaker because the 8D just disappears and all you see is those 2 little speakers putting out so much sound.  Next it was time to load up a CD of famous overtures and that demands the volume.  These little fellows easily fill a large space at very high sound pressures indeed.  I notice some one beating the daylights out of a triangle so he or she could be heard in the William Tell Overture.  I have listened to that CD many times, never heard that before.

I am still not finished with break in and I have not moved them to their final position which will allow me to get a proper soundstage but I did occasionally turned my head to see where a sound was coming from so I have no question that they will be very immersive.

Some time back I indicated fear that my Onkyo 503 with 75 W per could not drive these speakers due to their low sensitivity.  One of the Aperion gurus said I should be fine and mentioned that they rate their speakers accurately where as some companies may embellish their ratings a bit.  Regardless of any of that, my AVR drives them very well.

I currently have my AVR crossing over at 80 HZ.  I am not a bass head so I turned the 8D to -5.  When listening to music I am delighted to hear what I have been missing all these years on the lower end, it just completes the experience.  I am very pleased with my purchase but I must tell you fine folks at Aperion, you may have lost a sale of a pair of 5Ts, these guys are just too good.

Additional Comments:  It appears that the break in happens in a shallow exponential form, improving less and less as time goes on.  It also seems that after they have been played for a while and you give them a rest they sound better than they did at the end of the last time you listened.  That could make sense from a materials science point of view, or it could just be all in my head.

I also got the i29 stands for the 5Bs.  The stand is heavy, very sturdy but devilishly difficult to get aligned correctly.  Some alignment tabs would be a great addition.  I got it done and I am never taking it apart again.

Thanks Aperion!