Value, Realism

None, at this price

See my review of the Proac Tablette 2000's for my detail on my speaker search.

But, these Aegis One's are truly amazing. I was sold on the Magnepan 1.6's, then I heard these with the Naim Nait 3R and the Creek CD43. Amazing! Could've sworn Seal was in the room. And at this price, a steal.

Also listened to the B&W 302's. Not even close! Don't waste your time. The 601's and 602's are more on par with the Aegis One's.

Six stars for value. Yes, you can spend much more to get better sound, so these deserve 3 or 4 stars for price independent performance. But an easy 5 stars overall.

Non-tiring very clear mids and tweeter. Good bass punch in bookshelf package

Imaging, Bass can hollow out and smear above half way on my sony 845

I hooked these up and I turned 'em up to 1/4 volume on my 100 watt per channel system. I wanted to audition them without my KSW-12 Klipsch sub. Then I realized my f*cking sub wasn't on.
Man, what nice bass for a bookshelf! Incredible presence for size. BUT.... I auditioned them with the KSW-12 on against a pair of JBL n24aws. Sheesh, the JBLs had so much better imaging. I like to not tell that my sound is coming from my speakers. And the Aegis Ones definitely kept letting me know that was where the sound was.
Plus when I cranked these guys, they hollowed out on the bass, but the mids and highs were awesome and distinct. Perhaps it is a reciever issue. I have to do more testing of different music. So far I have concentrated on female vocals... Merchant, Brightman, Ethridge, Mclachlin, Gillian Welch, Cow Boy Junkies.... And the Aegis fail to bring these women into my living room where the n24aw succeeds.

But concertos, country, and rock seem to thrive on the aegis ones. These are definitely awesome bookshelf speakers and they would kick the n24aws and many others out the door if a sub wasn't present.

so maybe my reciever is bad, maybe I shouldn't be pairing these up with a sub?

Finally, I like the way these speakers are non fatiguing and I think the bass is very warm. They remind me of old school speakers. I think that the n24aws imaging is nice but its tweeter could wear me down after awhile.

I've only had these things a day. So more testing will come and I will write back later. If anyone has any suggestions on how to improve the imaging, let me know.

Similar Products Used:

JBL n24, n26, sony 515s, bose 301, cerwin vega ls-6, more

Clarity, Transparency, Smooth Mids/Highs...Non-fatiguing

Lack of true BASS without a sub...

I recently upgraded my system and boy, what a difference it's made! If I was impressed before, I'm blown away now...I now run the AGEIS ONES through a NAD C340 with a NAD C520 CD player and the NAD PP1 Phono preamp. I've upgraded all speaker wire and interconnects to Kimble. This system seems to suit the speakes perfectly...I'm thrilled with these little guys day after day...NOTE: the addition of my 100w Klipsch sub really rounds out the bottom end...

Huge, detailed soundstage. Fantastic bass for their size. Nice looks and build (BTW mine say ‘Made in Mexico”). Tonal accuracy. And most importantly, music sounds great on them!

Imagery a little transparent, not as solid as with NHT 1.5s.

I recently set up a bedroom system to take advantage of my “old” (’97) Harmon Kardon receiver, which had to be replaced due to the advent of AC-3 and DTS. I initially started with a $350 (!) pair of Polk RT-35i’s, mostly because I wanted to order from Crutchfield because of their great customer service. (hey, the extra security in knowing they will replace anything and pay for shipping is worth it when you live in such a remote place). Well, I was immediately disappointed with their overall tonal quality after having gotten used to my NHT Super Zeros for two years. So I convinced a “friend” (sorry, Mark) that he would be happy with the Polks (and my “old” Sony digital receiver) and immediately ordered a pair of AE Aegis Ones due to all the praise for them on this site.

I fell in love with these speakers on the first listen. Since I got them one month ago, I jump on every chance I get to lie on my bed and listen to them. When I am doing laundry or other things around the house, I put on some rock or reggae, turn on the loudness button and tone controls, and stay as close to the bedroom as possible. My home theater system (recently upgraded to a Sony STR-DA777ES receiver and NHT 1.5s – see my review if interested) has been lying fallow since I got the AE’s.

I recently decided to bring the NHT 1.5’s into my bedroom for an A/B test with the AE’s to see what the difference was. I used the Denon recording of Gabriel Faure’s Requiem for most of this test, as it was the first disk I listened to on the AE’s and brought tears to my eyes with it’s beauty and “you are there” presence, even though I had heard it a million times before. With the AE’s, I was able to locate individual violins, voices, and woodwinds for the first time in my listening experience. The soundstage exceeds the actual placement of the speakers in width, height, and depth. Boosting the bass with the loudness button increased the size of the soundstage, but with a slight loss of fine resolution. However, even with the bass boosted, the soundstage has a thin, illusory feel, like an image projected into thin air. This is actually quite a pleasant sensation, though, and does not detract from the music at all. The male and female soloists seem to drift around a little, too, apparently as a function of frequency. On the other hand, the $600 NHT’s project a similarly sized image, but the individual voices and sounds seem rock-solid, and did not drift as much. Instruments, particularly strings, come across with much more “attack”, with a palpable bowing and plucking of strings. But even with these improvements, the NHT’s do not manage to sound any more musical or pleasing than the AE’s, just a little different. Tonally, they were equally as accurate in the midrange (a much-touted strength of the NHTs), with the AE’s being perhaps just a little brighter in the treble, but not harsh or fatiguing by any means. The real difference is in the bass, where the smaller AE simply excels. With the loudness button on and just a pinch of bass from the tone controls, I swear it sounds as if a sub is connected to the system. In my smallish (12x16) bedroom, at least. The NHTs, on the other hand, sound thin and weak in comparison, even with the tone controls (which helped, to be fair), and even though their frequency response is similarly rated. I suppose that’s just inherent to the NHT’s acoustic suspension design vs. the ported, bass reflex AE. It could also be the difference in the drivers – the metal cone of the AE’s traveled so far in heavy bass passages I thought I was watching my subwoofer. Of course, they are not subwoofers and I did find that I could bottom them out pretty easily on loud passages with too much tone control. In contrast, the NHT’s polymer cone doesn’t approach nearly the same amount of excursion on these passages.

The AE’s definitely outperform the NHTs on rock and reggae. I found myself drumming along on Throwing Muses’ “Teller”, and playing air guitar on several other rock tracks that didn’t really inspire me on the NHTs. However, they still don’t match the rock performance of my old JBL 3-ways. I am convinced that to really “rock”, you need to forget about audiophile stuff and just get a BIG speaker that “sounds good”. After all, when you go to a rock concert, they don’t just place one amp in front of each instrument. To get truly satisfying rock, I think you need to re-create that wall of loudspeakers effect by just spreading the sound all over, especially the bass. But I digress. I am hoping that there is some compromise out there, some ultimate speaker that can do it all, but so far I think that these are just two schools of hi-fi that don’t really mix. But the AE’s come close, for a bookshelf speaker anyway.

At $269 from hififarm.com, you can’t go wrong with these, especially if you are looking for a stand-alone speaker for a small room. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the AE 2 and 3 are outstanding values for full-range speakers, as well. As a final testimony to how much I like these speakers, I recently told another friend of mine NOT to buy my used NHT Super Zero and Super Center (complete with stands and cable) and spend his money on a new pair of Aegis Ones instead. I lost out on $350, but I just couldn’t do that to him – especially knowing his musical tastes (rock/pop), Kenwood receiver (the AE’s are much more forgiving of cheap electronics), and the fact that he’s probably not going to spend any more money to get a subwoofer.

Bedroom system:
Harmon Kardon AVR 25 Mk. II receiver
Sony something X-500 CD player
Cambridge DACmagic II
MIT terminator 2 interconnects and speaker cable

Main system:
Sony STR-DA777ES receiver
Sony DVD player
NHT Audiocenter One (the matching center for the 1.5s – excellent)
NHT Super Zero Xu’s for surrounds
Atlantic Tech PBM 162 8” subwoofer (not quite enough to match the 1.5’s)
Kimber 4PR speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

NHT Super zero, NHT 1.5, Polk RT 35i, big JBL 3-ways

Detail, transparency, smooth, SOUND, value

Low end won't satisfy everybody, but MORE than adequate for most music.

These are about the most incredible speakers I have ever owned. The music I am hearing!!-my CD and tape collection has come alive. Incredible detail, accurate, transparent, and oh so musical. Smooth. Sound best in a smaller listening area, I think. Paradigm Mini-Monitors may have more bass presence and are pretty good speakers, but they are a bit colored and are harsh on highs--fatiguing. The Aegis One's are for the audio enthusiast who listens for all the details in the music and loves the experience of discovery. And for under $300 you can't match them.

I am using them with an AMC 2N100-2 stero amp (150 watts, and an AMC AVR-81 preamp. Have also driven the Aegis One's with a little old Sansui 30 w/ch receiver and they still sound great!

Paradigms for the primary rock listener. Aegis Ones for the purist!!

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Mini-Monitors, Castle Kendal

Clarity, Transparency, Detail, Neutral Coloration

Bass (Low End under 100hz)

This is in addition to the review I submitted 5-6 months ago...I am constantly impressed and pleased with my AE's! I am an avid jazz listener (bop, hard bop, avant) and these little wonders do the music justice. They have opened up beautifully and continue to thrill me. The addition of my sub (recent Klipsch 100w) rounds out the bottom end nicely. I found that placing the AE's 12-14" from the rear wall with an approx. 6-8' spacing between them, slightly turned inward produces the best sound. I have the speakers sitting on 28" Plateau metal stands filled with sand to damper vibration. I just ordered my new NAD Amp/PreAmp and can't wait to hear the combo!

Highly Recommended!

Natural presentation, Transparency, Excellent Soundstaging, Involving.

Low bass extension but can be replenish by a subwoofer.

The Ones were placed on a pair of 24" sand-filled stands approximately 14" away from a solid rear wall. They were driven by NAD award winner C340 integrated amplifier fed by a Denon DCD595 CD player. I have the Transparent Musiclink interconnects and 6ft pair Monster Cable linking the systems.

After two weeks of consistant breaking in, the speakers were ready to put to test and the first challenge was a CD by Govi-Higher Octave. The percussions and string instruments emanated from the speakers was enchanting. It was the well behaved yet expressive mids and highs that earned my highest praise towards AE speakers. The soundstaging is not at all confined but spreaded gloriously throughout the space delivering an airy sensation. I pratically repeated the first track 3 times before moving on to the second.

The bass production is very honest and natural. I can always go without a sub without any complain. But for the extra punch especially at low freq, a sub is highly recommended for an overall fuller sound imaging.

Set the Ones beside the 601s and you'll notice how close the Ones challenge up at a fraction of the price.

This speaker is definitely a five stars.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Monitors, B&W 601, Infinity Reference Series

Wide soundstage, focus, clearity, lack of brigtness

no bi-wire or bi-amp option

Okay, let's face it. $300 doesn't buy much in the way of hifi these days. It seems that if you don't have $5000 to spend you just SOL. Well, I beg to differ. There are a few products out there that go so far beyond their price that I think the hifi dealers, mag, etc. do their best to silence them. This is one of those products. I have owned a ton of speakers( more than just the ones listed above) and these are among the best. They compare very well with the Dunlavy's ($1200). The soundstage is well beyond the speakers, the bass is tight and fairly deep. There such a sense of the music and a forwardness that is completly lacking in brightness. Yes that uwful word, brightness, it's absent!!!!! Can I think of better speakers? Ya sure, but none that are even close to the price. As for the PSB, B&W, Paradigm(even the reference), NHT brands, there is NO comparision. I have heard them all and the AEs are BY FAR the best. The only speaker in its price range that I would give a listen is the Tannoy Mercury mx2(Listen up, the Brits know how to make a mini monitors). I cannot recommend these speakers enough. 10 STARS!!!!! Praise the budget hifi gods!!!

Similar Products Used:

B&W 602 s1, Dunlavy SC-I, PSB Alpha, Magnepan MMG, Paradigm Ref. 20

clear sound

none

I use that aegis 1 with nakamichi amp and sony CD player,
sounf are great for this bookshelf speaker.
imagine AE1 with velodyne 10" power sub!

Similar Products Used:

B&W 601

solid and weighty bass reproduction

no biwire

good bass and crispy high freq. Especially well suit for H.T setup with loads of thumping bass from small spks.

Setup consists of
front - Aegis3
center- Aegis center
rear - aegis one
sub - klipsch sw12
amp - denon avr1800
cable - cable talk 3.1
i.connect - monster

Similar Products Used:

mission751, kef160,