Hello Aperion community!

Recently I have gotten the A/V bug after I purchased my first HDTV, Panny 58" 800U. As awesome as that TV is, I now find myself taking a hard look at my audio gear to really compliment it properly for the full HT experience. I have a 2002 Pioneer HTiB (HTP-725DV) (my AVR in that system is a Pioneer VSX-D811S, 100wpc, 8 ohms.). As with all HTiB's speakers (6 satellites each with 3" midrange and 3/4" tweeter), they just aren't cutting it anymore and I really feel the need to upgrade; the center channel in particular as you can imagine.

So now I have graduated from the HTiB club and am ready to dip my toe into the "buying separate speakers club". I am really new to this and am trying to learn on the fly. My plan was to initially buy a new center channel speaker because that's the one area that was seriously lacking for us in watching movies, but the more I read, the more I found that people recommended that the Center Channel match the 2 Fronts. So, with that in mind, now I am looking at a Center Channel and 2 Fronts. And at a later date will be upgrading my sub once it is financially feasible to do so. I will upgrade my surrounds later as well.

I have done a done of researching on the AVS forums and Cnet and actually came across Aperion from the CNET review of the 4T system. I had never heard of them before but then visited the website and read some reviews  and I really like what I have seen/read about these Aperion Speakers so I wanted to come to the forum to get everyone's thoughts.

Here are the specifics of my room. Right now our living room is 20ft across by 15 deep. 10 ft ceiling.  Sitting area is about 8~11 feet with some off axis sitting areas (speakers would be placed 9.5' apart across in the front). I would say our audio consumption is about 50% movies, 50% music. (I could see us listening to more music with better fronts). In terms of budget, obviously that is an issue and coming into buying speakers I really had no idea of their price points. It looks pretty vast. I am not the kind of guy that gets upgrade-itis all that often so I am willing to spend, but at the same time there is a limit.

I am thinking Tower Speakers is the way I want to go over bookshelfs+stands because I have the room and WAF is not a big factor (the wife cares more about the cost, though them looking nice doesn't hurt. We would be going with a black finish.). I really want to have a vast soundstage to fill my room, plus we like to hear the music in the Kitchen when we prepare dinner (there is openings on the back wall on either side to the Kitchen).

I have done some initial research but would love to hear some suggestions, opinions, buying advice, basically any recommendations you can offer I would love to hear it. What should I be looking for in a Center Channel and Front speakers?

thanks for your help!

I have a 15x20ish room as well.  As my consumption is almost entirely HT and TV, I went with bigger bookshelves versus towers.  If you listen to plenty of music, towers will probably be the way to go, particularly if you're going to wait to upgrade the sub.

 

For a room that size, the 4T should probably suit you nicely.  I would definitely jump up to the 5C for your center, though.  It matches well with the 4Ts, and for that size of a room, it should be a great fit.

 

If you can swing it, the 5T is probably the best bang-for-the-buck option for that size of a room, particularly for music, but your mileage may vary.   You may find that without a sub, the 4T lacks a little on the low end.

 

Since you have little speakers currently, and you're going to piece your system together, I'd go in this order, personally:

 

L/R Towers

Center

Sub

Surrounds

 

And obviously, the more you can afford faster, the better in creating your system.

 

A couple of final things to keep in mind:  A) 30 day in-home trial, so you have 30 days to determine if something is enough/too much, B) They have a 1-year trade-up policy, so even if you live with it for a while, you can always upgrade (sub not included, so get what you want early), and C) Quality remains long after the price is forgotten.  No matter what you choose, make sure you're satisfied, as only your ears can decide! 

 

Good luck!

Excellent assessment PJ.  I agree that for what you are trying to accomplish, big sound stage and good sound in an adjoining room, the 5Ts and 5C would be a great choice.  You may even benefit from stepping up to the 6T as they do have the biggest sound stage and are the most sensitive speaker of our entire line.  Due to those factors, they will provide better sound for the kitchen, but if you are just looking for background listening in the kitchen the 5Ts should be adequate.  The 6Ts will also fill in the low end a bit better until you are able to upgrade the sub.

I hope that helps but let us know if you have any other questions, thanks!

 

 

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Jason Hicks
Aperion Audio Guru

I second the first Jason's remarks. Having lived with the 5T for 8 months and now upgrading to the 6T I can vouch for the fact that the 6T's low end will fill the room plus the kitchen easily. Since you want to piece the system together it'll be easy to use the 6T's and get away with not having a sub. I listen to all my music without a sub and the 6T's are fantastic. If you can swing it, go for the 6T's. WAF with the 6T's may be harder to swing since they aren't small speakers....they are the size of small people at 70lbs.  

My living room is 20ft x 12 ft and I sit 12 ft from the TV. The room opens up on the long axis to the rest of the house and the 6T's fill the whole apartment with deep bass. Since you like to listen to music I would recommend the 6T's. A year ago I only listened to music on the subway. This past weekend the weather was so bad I stayed home with my fiancee and we listened to LPs all weekend to break in the new 6T's. It was fantastic. Coming from a HTiB you'll be amazed. You can't go wrong with the 5T's, but they don't have the low end to fill the whole house. My 5T's did when they were supplemented with my 8D. 5T's plus an 8D and you're looking at the price of the 6T's.

Hope that helps!

Jason 

 

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Speakers: Aperion 6T's, 6C, 4B's, and 8D
Receivers: Onkyo 805 and Pioneer SX-1050
DVD player: Oppo 981HD
TT: Pioneer PL-71
Amp Selector: Niles DPS-1

Thanks all for your suggestions and recommendations! I think I am pretty set on the 5C for the center. But I have been debating really hard on the 5T or 6T towers. I will be getting a bravus sub later in the year though, as I want that extra bass kick for movies.

Question: The way our room is set up, the Towers would be pretty far apart. I wonder if I would have to "angle them in a bit" to get more in line with our center coach. Is their soundstage big enough where I wouldn't have to do that (basically keeping them flush and inline with our entertainment unit encompasing our tv)? I really wouldn't want to because the depth of those 6Ts is rather big. The reason I ask is because I feel to get the best sound now with our smaller HTiB speakers we have to angle them in.

 

Jason, thanks for the info on your room. It sounds like your room is similar to mine so that really helps get a good feel for how the 6Ts operate in that space. And since you had 5Ts before, you have a really good comparison.

 I have a question for the gurus or anyone else. Will my current Pioneer AVR work ok with the 5T/6T speakers? I can't swing a new AVR right now, so I am hoping it will be able to handle them.

 Again, thanks for everyone's input and thoughts. It makes me feel more confident in the process. It can be overwhelming.

 

You absolutely want to angle them in.  It's called "toe in" and will help you soundstage dramatically.

 

Not sure what to tell you on the receiver.  Most HTIB receivers tend to be designed for their accompanying speakers, I think.  It may or may not work.

 

FWIW, if you're considering the 6Ts, you could just as easily get the 5Ts for your room, and use the extra cash to upgrade your receiver (the popular Onkyo 606 is usually around $400).  And, if you still feel like you want/need the 6Ts, you can upgrade for full price within a year when you've had a chance to come up with the difference in dough.

 

Hope that helps.

Hey Deuce,

I've been reading up about your AVR and think you have two options. I realize you said you thought you'd use the system for 50/50 music/movies so I'll write out the two ideas.

For movies: I think 5T's first plus an onkyo 606 ($424 shipped from aperion with the $75 discount) =$1414. This will allow you to play music and it'll sound great. I used my 5T's for 8 months without a sub and for music it was wonderful. I upgraded from 30 year old pioneer speakers and it was night and day. I think the AVR is very important for movies since it lets you extract the best quality sound. Even though the 606 is rated at only 90wpc I think most would agree the HTiB AVR at 100wpc is likely inflated. The difference between the 5T's and 6T's is 400 and even though you need to pay shipping for the upgrade, if you watch the open box deals for some 6T's you can make up the different on shipping. 

For music: If you think you'll end up using the system for more music (70/30 music/movies) for awhile I'd suggest going straight to the 6T's now ($1390). Your AVR even at an inflated 100wpc should easily drive the 6T's which are very sensitive (4dB higher than the 5T's). For music I think this would be optimal. Then you can upgrade center, AVR, sub, and surrounds. 

If you can't decide, do the 5T's. You have 30 days to play with them and see if you like them. If it sounds like night and day keep 'em. Get a nice AVR and then we can figure out how to add in the rest.

Hope that helps!

Jason 

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Speakers: Aperion 6T's, 6C, 4B's, and 8D
Receivers: Onkyo 805 and Pioneer SX-1050
DVD player: Oppo 981HD
TT: Pioneer PL-71
Amp Selector: Niles DPS-1

Good advice Jason....as far as the HTIB inflating the wattage specs....I bet my life that it is.....Who has not seen the $700 HTIB 1000 watt system?

I would do the 5T and upgrade the AVR as well. You will be a very happy camper Deuce!

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Scottiemon

Hey Deuce,

Depending on when you read this.. there is a pair of 5T's as open box right now. You can save an additional 150 and go from a 606 to a 706 or for an extra 50 on top of that you can find an 806. There is much discussion regarding the 6xx from 7xx onkyo line and there are small differences. I think there is a pretty unanimous feeling that stepping up to the 8xx line is another league in terms of power supplies and audio circuitry. 

If you went open box with the 5T's ($842) + an onkyo 806 (~$630 shipped) =$1472

If it were me, I'd do open box plus an 806. This puts you in an entirely different league in terms of AVR's. I use the 805 (previous generation with less video upscaling) and it sounds amazing. IMHO this puts you in the best position for future upgrading. The 806 does all the latest video codecs in case you want to jump into the blu ray world and has tons of power for the 5T's.

I've gotten both open box and B-stock from aperion and I have to say they are both as good as new. Open box = like new and I promise you won't be able to tell the difference. 

Just my opinion! 

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Speakers: Aperion 6T's, 6C, 4B's, and 8D
Receivers: Onkyo 805 and Pioneer SX-1050
DVD player: Oppo 981HD
TT: Pioneer PL-71
Amp Selector: Niles DPS-1

Just wanted to come back into this thread to say thanks for everyone that posted their thoughts and suggestions. After long looking I have decided to get the Aperion 6Ts and 5C.I showed them to my wife and she approved. :) Probably not going to order until later this summer though. Saving money. I am very excited and look forward to them. The waiting is the hard part. But I really want to get this right and think this is the best way to go. Still looking at a Bravus subwoofer. But will have to wait until the fall for that one. I think piecing this system together over time is the best way to go to get the best bang for my buck.

Now I will live vicariously through everyone elses posts about their Aperions until I get mine. :) 

Just note that the 1 year upgrade credit thing apparently doesn't apply to the subwoofers, so you should buy as big as you think you'll ever need... I know that convinced me to try to find a way to afford the 12D over the 8D.

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Speakers: Aperion 6T, 5DB, 6C, 12D
Receiver: Denon AVR-3808ci
Monitor: Panasonic TH-65PZ750U
DVD: Denon DVD-1920
Blu-ray: Playstation 3