Uncolored sound

Need lots of power to drive properly

Initially I was using the Aerial 10T's with a Sunfire Cinema Grand amp and was dissatisfied with the treble. There was an irritating graininess to the sound. After I upgraded to an EAD Powermaster 2000 (400 wpc) I was extremely happy with the purchase. I really can't add much to what has already been said below-they are truly remarkable in there ability to make recorded music seem live. I still feel that the Revel Salons have a slightly better sound but I couldn't get by their looks. The Vandersteen 5's may be a slightly better sounding speaker (I'm not certain since I heard them with different equipment than my own-about $25,000 in electronics and cableing) but cost about $5000 more in the same high quality finish. Customer service is exceptional and Mike Kelly is always helpful with questions and generous with his time.

head swivels for fine tuning without having to move

needs juice

newer model is more transparent . I use these with 2 Rel Stadiums 11's powered by a Classe ca300 . The sound is real, and uncolored, not like so many other speakers i've heard. My room is 12w x 19.6L x 8H . I placed the speakers at 1/4 distances from side and lenght. The 2 Rel's are cady corner behind the 10t's and crossed over around 50 and out of phase. This produced the quickest tighest bass and blended in the best for my room, i use a little absortion behind the subs. The stage is wide and deep, like sitting in the front rows centered in a medium concert hall like Radio City Music Hall in NYC. The bass is deep and tight with enough snap thatsounds pretty close to being real (hard to get the real thing without being there but still good from my couch). The sound is detailed and again natural. The highs are smooth with good open detail but could be a tad more present probably caused by the Classe amp and pre but without any fatigue. The mids are again natural with enough detail punch and crispness that sound real and not exagerated. At low to mid listening levels the sound is as described above with good bass. At loud levels WOW sounds incredable like being there. The 10t's are a good natural sounding speaker without coloration and good low end extension in a properly setup system and room. Also as stated by others Michael Kelly goes the extra miles and is dedicated to his customers.

Similar Products Used:

older 10t's

I recently heard the Aerial 10Ts, the Aerial 7Bs, the Aerial 8 and the BW Nautilus 803 speakers. To sum this up. The Aerial 7Bs and Aerial 8 speakers, sounded terrible. Both speakers sounded hollow with bass that was not good. On the 7Bs, there was no bass, on the Aerial 8 speakers, the bass didn't blend in well with the speakers. On the BW Nautilus 803 speakers. They were very sweet sounding. But they were laid back and the speaker lacked bass. Then I heard the Aerial 10TS. I must tell you, this was a great speaker. The soundstage was so large. The Bass was tight and upbeat. Plus, the bass blended in well with the mini monitor on top. The 10Ts were very smooth, articulate with great bass. The BW Nautilus 803 speakers, were alittle sweeter sounding. But they were to laid back and the 10Ts, had superior bass then the 803 Nautilus speakers.

Outstanding speakers. I previously had a pair of B&W 802 series 3. The 10T's outperform them in all ways. The bass is much more extended and powerful, yet not giving up anything in speed or accuracy. They have slam which the 802's lacked. The midrange is even more detailed. The transient performance in the high end is improved. They excel in imaging and sounstage definition. The dynamics are excellent. Very well built and finished.

I owned a pair of 10T's until 12/96. I powered them with either a BEL 1001 mk.2 (not quite enough power), or a Classe CA-300 (good match). I have a small listening room, and the 10Ts were used with their stands. I was bothered by a lack of smoothness in the mid/tweeter crossover region. Just before I sold them, I listened to them without the stands. The lack of smoothness disappeared! They sounded great. Too bad I had a deposit check in hand.
One of the worst things a reviewer can do is assume an optional product - like speaker stands - is necessary, and then not take the time to evaluate the basic product. This was true of the Stereophile review of the 10Ts, and other reviews, too. If you are interested in the 10Ts, please try them first without their optional stands.

In listening to a friend's 10Ts in a larger room, the stands seem to be okay. He uses a BEL 1001 mk.3, which does have enough power for these hungry babies. A notice for buyers of used 10Ts: occassionally one of the mid/tweeter heads can show small cracks - 2" long - due to curing of the material over time. These cracks do not appear to extend completely through the head, and so are cosmetic. Aerial will repair these cracks for you, possibly under warranty. Michael Kelly is an honorable person who is very commited to customer satisfaction. You can feel comfortable buying a used Aerial due to their high level of customer support.

The 10Ts are excellent speakers - enjoy.

Incredible clarity, bass tightness

Trebble can be a bit "hot" with the wrong equipment

I find the 10ts to be more than the sum of their parts. The 10t is a wonderfully crafted and implimented design. Even though the trebble can be a little "hot" with bright amps, the 10ts sound good with almost anything, as long as it has power. While Aerial says the 10ts need over 100 watts, Id say to truly appreciate them, one should not consider anything under 200 watts. For the money, and at even higher price points, the 10ts are winners. Hats off to Mike Kelley!

Similar Products Used:

B&W 802 (natalus)/ Revel Salons

My system consist on:Aerial 10T with stands
ARC LS15 preamplifier
ARC VT100 amplifier
ARC CD1 cd player
transparent Balanced super interconnects and Speakers cables

My mainly preferred music are JaZZ and clasical.

About 10ts I just can only said they are truly the best under 6,000.00 on the market
Before choose aerials I listened carefully dunlavyes SCIV (rated class A on stereophile)
Jamo Oriel (this sucks like anything), B&W 801 III (this is a fat man trying to run),and others
aerial strenghts: top to bottom coherence,wide response and not specific to sweet spot, awesome dinamics,
tonal balance perfect (not hard and bright like dunlavyes), extreme resolution (careful about what you put on it)
and have a special quality of reproducing the musical event so real and one of the best disappearing act.

No coloration, clear clean highs, strong mid range, and strong, deep, and very controlled base, very transparent.

Need careful placement and sufficient power - 200w minimum.

Compared to the Aerial 10Ts the Theil 3.6 seem to have no soul (my wife concurred), they were too analytical and dry. The B&W 801s were not nearly as dynamic and again too dry. The Mirage 3si were much more colored and the bass, while plentiful, was not nearly as tight and controlled. I'm using a single OCM 500 amp with their 88 preamp. It has a very high slew rate - extemely fast amp and a very good match for the Aerial's. Highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

Mirage 3si, Thiel 3.6, B&W 801 III.

Lifelike stage and image, balaced presentation

A window on the source. These speakers are a revelation.
At their price point unbeatable.

Be forewarned: They'll show every flaw of any of your upstream components. Those who claim 10t's are not musically satisfying need to look elswhere of the speaker to find the problem.

I've finally made it to reference level with my system.
Levinson 33H amps
BAT VK50SE preamp
BAT VK-D5 tube CD player
Sony SCD777ES SACD
Aerial 10t's.
Transparent and Nordost cables/interconnect.

No money left! Music sounds good though!

???

bass too boomy, midrange not very open, top too edgy

It's like listening to "audio", not music. It does not get you involved while play with honesty. And bass is a bit muddy and slow. Compare them to Dynaudio Contour 3.3 at $7300 retail, you will know what I mean.

Similar Products Used:

Dynaudio Contour 3.0, 3.3, Confidence 5, B&W 802N, Sonus Faber Extrema, Wilson Watt/Puppy 5.1, and many others