Hey Guys,

I am totally new to home audio and need some help. Here is what I was thinking about purchasing:

2- 532 or 632s front L/R

1- 533-VAC

1- S8-APR sub

Denon 2807 receiver

(rear speakers later on)

I am trying to decide between the 532s and 632s. I want a well rounded system but defenitly perfer stero music to surround sound. I know the 632s are better for music, but they are so much more expensive (240 for the pair and 100 more for the stands). Should I sacrafice the VAC instead?

Hi Thomas,

If you want a really fine stereo, go for the 632's, drop the VAC, and up the sub to an S-10. This will give you a major boost in aural "instant gratification", while upping your total outlay a mere $58.  Movies will sound great, too.  Then start saving your pennies for a center channel, and later the surrounds (none of which you need at all for music).

By the way, that Denon AVR-2807 looks like a winner.

Best of luck...but then you really don't need luck when buying Aperion speakers!  -Fred

P.S. Hold off on those speaker stands.  I ended up putting my front speakers on music racks (that I use for my receiver, dvd, vcr, power center, cd, phono, etc.).  All my worrying about speaker stands, and then I didn't need them!

I disagree with your statement about not needing a center or surrounds for music.  These days DTS, DVD-A, and multichannel SACD music formats are not all that uncommon.  And will totally blow your mind as well!

 

 

Hi again Thomas,

Don't let Matt scare you. You don't NEED a center channel or surrounds for stereo. All you really NEED is a pair of front speakers. I threw in the subwoofer because your budget already includes it and it really sounds great!

As I suggested, the 2.1 system is a great start. Then save up for the VAC and surrounds later on as you can afford them. Eventually you will have Matt's dream system.

Thomas, I would highly recommend the 632's over the 532's for stereo music enjoyment!  The 632's were vastly more musical in my experience. 

I have owned the 522LR, 522PT, 522VAC, 522C, 422LR and have had the privelage to demo and review the 632's for Aperion as well.  I have heard all but their newwest introductions at last years HE show as well!

If you are looking for great 2-channel sound, the 632's with a sub is the way to go OR the 532PT's.  I am a big fan of these speakers and love the way the bass seamlessly integrates into the soundstage with these speakers.  Adding a sub to monitors can give you the best of both worlds - great imaging and tight bass, but it usually requires some work and time dedication to get everything properly 'dialed' in.  Sorry, don't mean to make your decison more confusing.  I loved the PT's in a dual application set-up, but for pure music the 6 series still has the edge.

I think putting your full budget to the best 2-channel option you can afford now is the way to go, then add a center and rears as budget allows.

Well, I’ll throw this out there for what it’s worth. For me the issue wasn’t so clean cut for music. I received a set of 532s which I loved – then the 632s came out and I decided they could only be more of a good thing and would probably be a better match for my S-12. Instead, the difference between the two sets of speakers turned out to be greater than I had expected. I ended up with both for a few days and had the opportunity to A-B them in my own home. I listened to both with three different amplifiers using vinyl, CDs, and DVD movies as inputs. What I found was that I preferred the 532s to the 632s. I wanted to keep the 632s – I knew they should sound better than the 532s – but for me they didn’t. I loved the size and they looked better on my stands. So, thinking maybe my ears had gone bad quickly, I brought in seven different people to give me their opinions. Of those seven people, five thought the “bigger” speakers were playing when it was actually the 532s and the other two people couldn’t tell. All seven preferred the more “open” sound of the 532s to the 632s. Don’t get me wrong, the 632s sounded wonderful and I would have been perfectly happy with them if I hadn’t had the chance to A-B the two sets. They have a fuller bottom end and a warmer sound overall. What they lack, at least in my set-up, is the incredible imaging and some of the definition of the 532s. There was a definite sweet spot with the 632s that sounded great, but it disappeared if I moved my head more than a couple of inches. In contrast, the 532s have a huge imaging sweet spot that can be enjoyed by a number of people. Anyway, after driving myself nuts trying to justify it, I just had to admit that the 532s sounded considerably better to me. Caleb had the 632s tested when I returned them and they were fine, so it wasn’t that I got a bum set. Anyway, lots of people swear by the 632s and I can honestly say you can’t go wrong with either set. But I learned that bigger and more expensive certainly doesn’t translate into better sound – at least to my middle-age ears. Now what I’d really like to see is a tower with both the 5.25” and 6.5” drivers. That could turn out to be a very special speaker. Best of luck to you. Tom

Tom, your post brings up an excellent point - trust your OWN ears!!!

Absolutely, Jim. Of course, that's exactly the strength of Aperion's marketing strategy. Listen to them in your own home. And I couldn't be happier with the results. Now I'd just like a set for the office and the kitchen and the garage...