Hello all. I just installed a new pair of 422-LRs as my front pair in my home theater setup. The remainder of the system is a middle of the line best buy purchased system. I'm in the process of upgrading on a per-set basis as my budget allows. First off, let me say I am VERY impressed with the packaging, build quality, and overall solid feel of these speakers. It's obvious this is a high quality product that outshines everything else I have seen or heard in their price range. The hoops Aperion jumps through to make you feel proud to own their products are impressive. I have my pair set up on the stands Aperion sells. They are centered properly and 17" off the wall, which is 1" behind the face of my TV. The image is excellent, and the speakers sound very clear and clean. Strings are sharp and well defined. My concern is with the overall warmth and fullness of the sound. Right now they are dry and harsh overall for lack of a better way to describe it. I am listening to them with my receiver (a Yamaha HTR-5990) set to Pure Direct with a Sony DVD player playing a normal audio CD. "Pure Direct" is a mode on the Yamaha in which it shuts down all it's audio and video processing systems and acts purely as an amp. In this way they are almost devoid of bass, which I expected in speakers this size. I mention that only so you know I'm not talking about frequency response here. I have never owned speakers that would benefit from a break in period, and I intend to break these in by Aperion's guidelines before making my final judgment. That said, can I really expect much change from them as they break in and loosen up, or are they destined to be forever dry? I assume I will get better answers here from real Aperion owners than I will on an independent forum. Any input is appreciated!

Having tried the 422s (and 522s, 532s, etc) I can say that eventually they will have a more open (and less harsh) sound, but not a particularly warm sound. I would recommend adding a good subwoofer, and setting them to "small" in the receiver. That will help gain a warmer, more bass oriented sound.

And speaking of the receiver, I have noticed that Yamahas tend to have a brighter sound as opposed to a warmer sound. This could be  contributing to some of the harshness you are experiencing. By no means, however, am I suggesting you get a new receiver. Yamaha does compliment a wide range of speakers. I currently have a Yamaha that I used when trying Aperion speakers and was very pleased with the sound for movies.

For a warmer sound, you might eventually consider moving the 422s to the rear and upgrading the fronts to 532s. In my opinion, they are nicer sounding speaker; more musical and open. Even better, jump up to the 533-Ts (if you budget allows it).

Carson, I share your first impressions of the 422's.  I hooked mine up to a Panasonic saxr55 receiver and was less than impressed with the overall frequency response on the low end, at first.  I let them play for a while and became more impressed with the presentation. 

I'm not convinced that speakers 'break in' any more than the listeners' ears break in.  I'm not trying to start any big debates here but that's just my opinion.  All I know is that after about an hour of playing my 422's setteled in to the sound they have now. 

I would describe them, in my setup, as very accurate.  I've auditioned many brands of speakers and associated gear, from budget to high end systems.  The mids and higs were incredibly accurate as compared to other systems that I had heard during my hunt for a quality pair of bedroom speakers.  My reference for this application was a $600 pair of Era Design 4's that really blew the doors off anything in that price range and I have to say that the 422's are almost identical, with the exception of the low end. 

The frequency response chart provided by Aperion seems to be pretty damn accurate.  I haven't taken any measurements but they sure seemed to roll off quickly after about 100hz.  I ended up hooking them up to an ancient Polk passive subwoofer that seems to fill in the holes very nicely.  This rig dosen't go way deep, but I'm not asking it to. 

The bottom line is, in my experience, the 422's provide an amazing degree of accuracy and presence for $200, even compared to a $600 product.  They need help in the lower regions but you should expect that in a speaker this size.  I've found that with my all digitally amped Panasonic reciever (which some folks are hailing as the David to Goliath of amplification) these little babies do not compress or become harsh at all, no matter how far up I turn the dial, with any source. 

Thanks for your responses. I need to fiddle with the settings on my Yamaha a bit more yet to see if I can create a slightly fuller sound. I will let the 422-LRs run all day while I am at work today to see if they loosen up a bit. Your observation of moving the 422s to the rear and upgrading the fronts is my eventual plan, when money allows. I'm sure they will make phenomenal surrounds, and a larger speaker up front will certainly be more musical. I have also heard that the Yamahas tend to produce a bright sound, but I have not been in a position to test that until now. I suspect that the combination of that trait mixed in with the freq. roll-off at 100Hz is creating most of what I am hearing. In any case, I am probably hooked on Aperion, and I'd better start saving money!