smooth sound, clarity, separation

those darn face plates can't be taken off without pulling the plugs out. not a big deal but a little annoying.

i purchased 5 emeralds and a denon 4800. i got the emeralds before the receiver so i broke a pair in on my old kenwood bookshelf system. the emeralds weren't dissappointing even before break in. they put my kenwood speakers to shame but that isn't saying much. after a few days of playing constantly, i became wowed by the sound quality. i would say to break them in for more than the 50-70 hours that aci recommends. the highs become much more detailed after break in and the bass has more solidity to it. as for the break in myth, i broke in two speakers and they definitely sounded much better than the other pair that wasn't broken in at all.
the denon arrived and the local hi-fi shop let me take home some paradigm monitor 3's. maybe this isn't a fair comparison, but when i did an a/b comparison, there was absolutely no contest. the paradigms weren't as clear and there seemed to be a wall of treble behind them, whereas with the emeralds all you got was what you were supposed to hear. in home theatre, sounds are often mistaken for the real thing, such as doors knocking or kids talking, or dogs barking, etc..
sound is hard to describe, but i can say that i'm addicted to the sound. there is something very satisfying about the way that high hats and cymbals sound. also, jewel sounds like she's singing right in my room. to think that i was going to buy some polk audio speakers before the guys at these forums set me straight and sent me to www.audioc.com.

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listened to polk audio, paradigm, jamo.

I recently purchased a complete home theater setup from ACI in kit form. The Emeralds are my Left Center and Right. I chose a pair of ACI Encores for surround and a Titan subwoofer. The Emeralds (and Encores) feature Vifa drivers. The Emeralds were built according to ACI plans with 3/4 MDF (I subbed 1" for the front panel). The Encores were built exactly to plan. So how do they sound? Phenomenal!I slipped Hunt for Red October into the DVD player. Yowsir! From the opening scenes it was apparent this was money well spent. Imaging is terrific, ships moved across the screen smoothly. Crisp dialog. Tremendous sonic detail. I picked up background ambience I didn't realize was there before. Maybe it's my ears, but my biggest complaint about many of the systems I auditioned was mangled dialog. Voices seem to disappear or get trampled when something else is going on. To compensate, I found myself constantly twiddling with the center level and volume. Not with the Emeralds. I set the levels and left them alone. The Titan performs as advertised. Shakes the glasses off the opposite walls during explosions, disappears during quiet passages. Altogether seamless. The imaging holds up even well off axis. Even sitting 8 feet off center, the spatial image is centered on the screen.

After the movie, my dogs settled back down, my returned to the living room and demanded equal time. She chose some tear jerker on cable. Though I'm not a fan of anything "cute" or "heart warming", I hung out. Even at very moderate listening levels, the system imaging, balance, and dynamic range held up. My previous systems seemed to "go mono" when the volume was turned down – the image lost breadth and depth. Again, the ACI's proved a dramatic improvement. One of my dogs went nuts looking for a barking dog in the background. Ruby was certain that the TV mutt was 7 feet to the right of the screen!

So what about music? I grabbed my audition disks. (I'm no snobby audiophile, so no apologies for my choices!) First, Santana's Moonflower. With both studio and live cuts, this is a great audition album. On "Transcendence", the wide dynamic range was cleanly represented. Greg Walker's vocals were crisp, clear, with no slurring or "spitting". On "Europa" (a live instrumental, perhaps my favorite all time cut) Carlos' sustained notes cut to the inside of my head. Sharp, but not shrill, it put my teeth on edge. Next, Alan Parsons On Air. The system handled the wide range, special effects, and mixture of strings and synthetics with out a whimper – filling my 25 x 35 great room effortlessly. The Titan is every bit as quick, tight, and precise as advertised. No "tubby" bass here. Just for yucks, I tried some of the surround modes on my receiver. I liked "Sports" the best. The image literally filled the room in all directions! (Wait till the next party!). These effects seem to be more pleasing on newer CDs. Older analog masters sound boomy. Next, Linda Ronstadt's Hasten Down the Wind (an older analog master). On "Try Me Again", I detected a bit of rasp on high notes. But "Crazy" was spectacular. This rasp was also present on her newer digital disks, not really aggravating, but a small nitpick none the less. (I suppose that's why MCI sells Sapphires and Jaguars). If, like me, you're an old fart, and you listen to a lot of older remastered CD's, you may find these speakers a bit too real. Compared to my 15 year old SpeakerLab 30's, (state of the art in their day) this setup is definitely less forgiving of poorly mastered CD's.

If you like this kind of project, and money is tight, definitely! You could buy the assembled system (with MC2s for surrounds) for around $1800 plus shipping. It would still be a hell of a deal. If you like the idea of having something unique, and are tired of oak, the kits are the only way to go. This system beats anything I heard from Def Tech, Cambridge, Polk or Phase Tech. At $1300 for kits & materials (plus $1/hr for labor!) it SMOKES! I couldn't imagine anything much better for twice the price! If you have any doubts about ACI, don't hesitate. These people are the real deal.

Too many to list

Not the most effecient speaker, too thick binding posts for spades, wish it came in dark wood for less $$$.

I am estatic about these speakers! It sounds so musical...so natural! They're also only $580. What a great deal!! If your in the market for a mini-monitor please, please, please demo these(mail order only). Give them 50 hours break-in and use a powerful amp.

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Newform Research R630, Paradigm Studio 80, B&W LM-1, Boston Acoustics VR20