Hi, I finally received my piano black 522-PTs last week and noticed that one of the had a loose base (the pedestal), i.e., when you turn the tower, the base moves a little diagonally. Looking in the rear port of both the speakers (even the one which is solid), I noticed holes in the finish were there was screws and a caster. The inside of the port doesn't look that finished and is scraped on an edge and there are some metal casters peaking through some cracked black finish. I guess one can't be too picky about the construction, especially since one doesn't look into the port during listening! But since one of the PTs has a loose base, I'm wondering if this is a manufacturing defect? If anybody has a black PT, please look into the back of your port and let me know how it looks, if you see the "screw holes" etc. To be honest, I wasn't too impressed with what I saw inside the ports. Those holes look weird and the scrapes on the edges... I will contact Aperion tomorrow. Dealing with UPS is a real pain, especially when you have to be at work and are never at home to make/receive shipments...but I suppose I'll have to go through the hassle again. Thanks and regards, Sany.

Okay...I noticed all the screws were loose on the bottom of the pedestal/base and tightened them and now the looseness problem is gone. I will then be able to straighten the other PTs base, which is crooked too.

Sany, I just took a look at the rear bass port of my PT, and it is as you describe.  Had to get a flashlight to see into it, but the piano black finish blends out to unfinished wood about 1.5"-2" in.  I could also see the (4) pedestal screw attachments as well. 

I've had no problems with my bases at all, and I hope you've been able to self-fix yours as well!  I am assuming this must have happened in shipping, or it was a manufacturing error and they were never torqued all the way tight?  Either way, give Aperion a call, I am sure they will fix you up (if your still having a problem).

Hey Jim, thanks for your response. So far the pedestal has been firm after tightening all the screws, which were all very loose! Next I will try to straighten the other pedestal out. I noticed that one of the base ports of one of the towers is definetly scraped (or at least as a rough edge which is white) at the inner edge of one of the ports...but that is not a big deal and a reason to return I wouldn't say, since it doesn't affect performance nor the integrity of the construction. I guess Aperion isn't applying Six Sigma to their products

Sany, one of my PT's has scratches in the high-gloss finish inside the port as well. As this has no effect on the sound, and that I never knew it until tonight, I don't even see it as an issue. If Aperion has Six Sigma BlackBelts on board (and paying them accordingly), I don't think their speakers would be as affordable!

Heh heh Jim ...probably no Six Sigma BlackBelts at Aperion, but due to the similarities in the scratches in our products, perhaps some other kinds of BlackBelts working in the assembly lines......but on a more serious note, I wonder if anbody at Aperion is aware of these issues and if they are the same across all of the PTs...must be the way they are assembled, again not a big deal, but interesting from a product quality/manufacturing point of view...or maybe not

Okay I'm replying to myself here: this weekend, I finally found the time to properly connect my PTs in a 2-CH stereo configuration, connect them with me HK DPR2005, and calibrate them. I can echo what Lewis McCulloch has stated on this forum earlier - that the speakers sound SUPERB matched with the DPR2005 (and that's playing music with just digital cable radio as the source and with standard connections, not even optical, nor a decent quality CD player, both which I have yet to purchase). Nonetheless, the bass is incredible, even just at the mid-settings in the rear. I can't believe how deep and rich the bass is. Even at a very low volume, you can still get deep rich bass. That is a sign of a great speaker. I'm still piecing together my system as I find time, I'm waiting for my a/v furniture, stands etc. to arrive before I mount my surrounds, center, wire properly etc. The sound is so thick and rich. I'm afraid to go above -15db in the evenings due to my neighbors. It is plenty loud for me at that level anyhow. My 110w/ch 7.1 receiver has plenty of power for the PTs, probably its overpowered for the size of my room even. I've auditioned the Polk's LSI series as well, though not in my home which might make a difference, but I found the bass on the PTs to be much better integrated and much richer. Bottom line, with humble ad-hoc connections at the moment, until I finalise my room and add better sources - these are damn good speakers. Damn good. I can't wait to set up the rest of the speakers. Whomever is lurking these posts and thinking, they must give these speakers a chance. I can't think of anything at this price that looks and sounds so good. Aperion can keep my money, because these speakers aren't going anywhere.

The impression I'm getting is that you are impressed most with the bass performance.  Anything else about their sonic characteristic that you enjoy, that you would like to comment on directly?

We are considering a powered tower design for our living room HT, for those quality two-channel listening periods.  However, Aperion has recommended the 633T to us for quality music listening, instead of the 522PT's. 

So since Aperion themselves are telling us this, we are seriously rethinking our idea of buying the 522PT's, and perhaps instead waiting for the 633T's with a great amplifier.

Hello NewBuyer,

Perhaps I mentioned the bass mostly because both my ears have been infected for some weeks and are very blocked (great coincidence with my 30-day trial period), so that's almost all I hear

I was speaking of the bass mostly because I didn't expect it to be so good for a speaker that size and also that well integrated. I can open the floor to the audiophiles on this forum that have had their PTs longer than me because they can probably give you much deeper analysis, but from what I've heard so far, the speaker is quite detailed in general and I am very satisfied with the clarity of the mids and highs. Ofcourse, I need to spend more time with my speakers and with different kinds of music in order to really be able to analyze them better. But so far I can say the PTs have exceeded my expectations by a very large margin.

I'm sure that the 633s with a sub-woofer, or even without, sound superb as well and probably even better due to all the reasons you mentioned regarding their design - which is why Aperion suggested them for stereo. However without a sub, the PTs will go lower. 633+sub would require lots of tweaking, as more experienced members of this forum will tell you, in order to get the bass integrated just right. But perhaps you are good at that and don't mind spending the time or perhaps you don't mind that the 633s alone wouldn't go as low as the 522-PTs.

I guess it all depends on the primary application for your speakers and the size of your listening area and how large a speaker you can or are willing to fit in there. For my modest space, the PTs are perfect in terms of size/sound - infact, they are probably even overpowered for my space. Anything larger or more powerful would not do me any good as I have neighbors in all directions and my living room would turn into a hifi studio, which I wanted to avoid. I probably listen more to music than watch movies, but I'm happy that my system is good at both. I'm sure the 633s would be great for movies as well though. 

All the listening I have done so far with my Aperion 5.1 system has been in stereo (as I recently moved into my new place and still need to play tetris with my furniture and then set up the surrounds and center) and thus far the PTs are more than enough for me.

You have a difficult choice ahead of you, as you are considering great products. But no matter which way you go, I'm sure you wouldn't be dissapointed.

BR,

Sany.

NewBuyer,

The PT's are great in a lot of ways other than the bass.  The integration of the bass seamlessly into the mid-bass and upper range is what impresses me about these speakers!

The seamless integration that the PT portrays is very hard to acheive.  Before the Aperion PT, I hadn't heard it in a powered tower, the bass always overwhelmed the midrange in other designs I've listened to.  Integrating the bass with a seperate sub can also be a daunting task, and may be nearly impossible to acheive -either via localization of the sub, a frequency gap or overlap or just soundstaging inconsistencies based on location.  There are so many variables that the PT just seems to simply eliminate.  Just slap them down, tweak a little and enjoy the music!

The 633's are also an impressive speaker.  I heard them at the HE show and was impressed!  They don't go as low as the 522-PT, but pairing with a sub they could - but with the above mentioned difficulties above.  They had a very warm sound, and very smooth.  I would assume that the newer 532-PT with the HD-X3 crossover would sound even smoother than the 522-PT's I currently own.  Some of it is probably inherent to the 6.5" dual drivers and the 633's design, but I would say comparing a 522 vs. 633 isn't as 'apples and apples' as the 532's vs 633's will be.

Sany brings up the important issue of space and room size.  Do you have the room for the 633's and a sub (or two subs)?  Do you want to spend a considerable amount of time setting up the subs and tweaking them to get them perfect?  If you do, the 633's may be the route for you.  The PT's are an incredible speaker though, and I think you would be quite pleased with them!

If you could post some room size and placements requirements, we may be able comment further...