Very detailed, though slightly overemphasized treble. Fantastic midrange and midbass. Excellent bass as far as it goes (38 or 40). Acoustic suspension design makes for very tight and controlled bass, even if it is not terribly efficient. Aerial SW 12 or other good subwoofer helps. Works well with Martin Logan Depth subwoofer.

High power handling. Sealed design makes placement in room a bit easier in my opinion. Works well as a relatively big speaker in a relatively small room. I am sure it plays well in large rooms as well.

Incidentally, beautifully finished and constructed. At 105 lbs you can bet that the cabinets do not resonate very much.

Low sensitivity for a speaker of its size and weight. Craves lots of current and wattage from a big heavy amplifier or two. Thus, it can require expensive upgrades to the rest of your system.

A little two much treble, but I believe this is not a major problem, or at least something you can adjust for. Not quite a full range speaker in that it can still benefit from a subwoofer for two channel music.

Still the favorite speakers that I own.

An excellent speaker that I was able to purchase at a reasonable discount. I must agree with previous reviews that the titanium dome tweeter makes it a bit strong on the top end. Fortunately, I am able to compesate with a McIntosh C46 preamp with equalizer.

The Aeriel LR5 is very clean and detailed, although perhaps not quite so much as some electrostatic speakers. It has tremendous dynamic authority, however, that no electrostat I have ever heard could possibly match.

The speaker has quite a low sensitivity at 86 db, but has very high power handling. The key to making this speaker sing is lots and lots of power. I tried using a Cambridge Audio integrated amp that delivers 200 watts per channel into 4 ohms and it was beautiful at low volumes, but stressed when trying to drive with authority. The Rotel RB 1090, which delivers 700 watts per channel into 4 ohms (and weights 84 back breaking pounds!) is a far, far better match. Truth be told, I must consider upgrading to monoblocks of 1000 watts or more into 4 ohms.

Customer Service

No problems so far. Local dealer happens to be excellent.

Similar Products Used:

KEF, Cabasse, Martin Logan, Bowers and Wilkins, Thiel, Focal, Vienna Acoustics, Sonus Faber, Monitor Audio, ADS, Klipsch, Polk, M&K, Bang & Olufsen, and that is just a partial list of the speakers I own (or close members of my family).

Yes, the Aerials are my personal favorites, even though I have some other great speakers.

Extreme clarity in the mid to top end. Very tight controlled bass Excellent imaging & stability

The mid to top end is louder than it should be and doesn't quite match with the woofer volume levels. Adjustment pots on the back of the speaker only make the condition worse.

I have owned the LR5's for 5 months now, and have noticed that they can be a bit on the bright side in the mid to upper range. The adjustments on the back panel don't help because they only make the speakers even brighter. I am however very pleased with the resolution that they are capable of reproducing. The bass is strong and highly detailed but does not match the volume of the mids and highs. I am currently using the Vecteur I4.2 cd player and the Audiomat Opera amp with MIT CVT interconnects and bi-wired with MIT CVT speaker wire. I think that if you can damp the mids and high end down a few db that this would be a true reference speaker.

Similar Products Used:

Snell Type A's Vandersteen Model 4's

Dynamic flawless reproduction Finish is world class Customer Service

Cost

Michael Kelly at Aerial has produced one of the most dynamic speakers available in the LR5. Fast, dynamic with a soundstage and depth that has to be heard to be belived. Crystal clear Highs exceptional mid range. Base is tight and precise. If you are looking for a speaker with booming bass don't bother, buy a Klipsh. If you are going to use this in a HT system a Sub is a must. But for 2 channel immersion into your music or as front mains with a sub in a HT system you will not find a more engaging speaker. And last but not least is the finish. Michael provides the absolut last word in Book Matched flawless finishes. The price is high but they are worth it.

Similar Products Used:

NHT