Hi All,

 I am presently in a serious internal struggle trying to decide on 5 speakers for my home theater. 

 The contenders are currently:

Aperion:
Intimus 5B-5C-5B -> LCR
Intimus 4BP -> surrounds
or
Axiom:
M22 - VP100 - M22 -> LCR
QS4s -> surrounds

These speakers spec out pretty similar, I think. However, the Aperions look gorgeous and I'd really love to get them, but I notice that their sensitivity is about 10dB lower than the Axioms. I only have a Onkyo SR707 - will it be able to drive these speakers to reference volume?

What else do I need to know in a Aperion/Axiom comparison?

HearingLoss:

 Hi All,

 I am presently in a serious internal struggle trying to decide on 5 speakers for my home theater. 

 The contenders are currently:

Aperion:
Intimus 5B-5C-5B -> LCR
Intimus 4BP -> surrounds
or
Axiom:
M22 - VP100 - M22 -> LCR
QS4s -> surrounds

These speakers spec out pretty similar, I think. However, the Aperions look gorgeous and I'd really love to get them, but I notice that their sensitivity is about 10dB lower than the Axioms. I only have a Onkyo SR707 - will it be able to drive these speakers to reference volume?

What else do I need to know in a Aperion/Axiom comparison?

 

Hello there and welcome to the forum,

As far as the sensitivity goes, our sensitivity ratings are anechoic, so if we are comparing apples to apples the speakers from us are 3-5 dB lower than the Axioms, however that is still a fairly significant difference so in all honestly you will get more overall output from the Axioms before you run into clipping.  

A big factor in just how much SPL you will get from the speaker before the amp begins to clip is how far you will be sitting from the speakers, since SPL drops off the further away you are from the speaker.  

I find this calculator to be very useful as a rough guide to how much SPL you can get from a speaker with a given amount of power at a particular distance:

http://www.crownaudio.com/apps_htm/designtools/elect-pwr-req.htm

As for other comparisons I could point to a couple of areas where I think we best the Axioms.  First is our tweeter which is a silk dome and it sounds smoother and more natural to my ear than the titanium tweeter that they use.  Second is our build quality, in everything but the 4 series we use a one inch thick HDF cabinet while they use a 1/2" or 3/4" MDF cabinet, which makes our cabinets rock solid and less prone to any vibrations or resonance. You also get a furniture grade finish we all of our speakers, while with theirs you'll get a vinyl wrap unless you pay extra for a real wood veneer.  Finally, while we both offer a 30 day trial, we cover return shipping on ours, so our 30 day trial is truly risk free and should you return anything to us it won't cost you a dime. 

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

 

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Jason Hicks
Aperion Audio Guru

Thank you for pointing out the calculator and that your sensitivities are anechoic.

I am unlearned in such matters and was blindly hoping to hit the THX reference spec, which is 85dB and 20 dB of headroom. Looks like this will require 1133 Watts for the Aperions at 10ft, so maybe that was not a realistic goal. My Onkyo (which I can still return for another 2 weeks if needed) can apparently do 2 channels at 100W each.

Also, I know this is a naive question, but how does the 8ohm vs 6ohm speaker impedance fit into the equation?

HearingLoss:

how does the 8ohm vs 6ohm speaker impedance fit into the equation?

All else being equal, lower impedance speakers are more demanding on an amplifier than higher impedance speakers.  So, your receiver would have an easier time driving the Axioms to higher volumes than the Aperions.  However, if I may make a suggestion, speakers are the most critical link in your system for sound quality.  I wouldn't buy crappy speakers simply because they can play really loud, especially considering the louder you play something, the easier it is to detect flaws.  And please don't get me wrong; I'm not saying the Axioms are crappy- I've never heard them.  But I do know the Aperions sound superb.  If you went with the Aperions and found your Onkyo didn't drive them to the volumes you desire (which may be a reality, given your user name), you can always add an external amp to your receiver using the pre-outs (I checked out the manual for your receiver on Onkyo's website).  If you don't know anything about amps, I suggest you check out www.emotiva.com for arguably the best bang for the buck.

My point is, do not sacrifice quality upfront in choosing speakers simply to achieve the highest volume.  Think of your speakers as an investment and add additional components as your finances allow so you can build a quality system around them.

-Nick

OK, but let's say money was no object.... and I bought the Aperions AND wanted to hit THX reference levels.  Does this mean I would need $1000 Emotiva amps for each channel?  Seems excessive.  Maybe the THX spec itself is excessive?!

Given that even the $2700 top-of-the-line Onkyo only puts our 50% more power than my 707, I just want to know whether I will be able to get real theater-quality thunder with the Aperions (cause I really want them!).  I have heard that the Speaker/AVR+Amp spending ratio should be about 2:1.  I am a little over that since I have an Outlaw LFM-1 Plus

Maybe an audition of the Aperions is the only way to know for sure...

 

 

There is a huge difference between sustained reference level and and hitting reference level occasionally when it comes to the receiver, and your ears and neighbors for that matter.

Cheers 

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Russ

Joined you!

For me listening at reference level is not something that is important or even desirable, it's just too loud for my ears and listening at sustained reference levels will likely (further) damage your hearing in the long term. 

I personally am a big believer in quality over quantity myself, but if you really need to hit over 95 dB you'll either need an amp with over 225 watts/channel or more sensitive speakers.  

With the 707 you'll be able to push the 5Bs cleanly to just over 90 dB, which is plenty loud enough for me, but might not be for your preference/usage.  

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Jason Hicks
Aperion Audio Guru

I'm sorry, did you say something?

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Scottiemon

OK - thanks all for the comments.