clarity, range, smoothness

none that I have noticed

Let me begin by saying I am *not* a highly knowledgable and critical audiophile, but I *do* know what sounds good. I haven't owned any real high-end equipment (currently I have, in addition to the Aerius i's, JBL bookshelf speakers for home theater, DB+ towers in the bedroom, and vintage Marantz Imperial 8's in the basement)...the ML's are my "treat" to myself, and are used in my "private getaway" upstairs 11x17 den and listening room. When I first purchased these, the room had a tile floor and they sounded quite "bright"...now that the room is wall-to-wall carpeted, that has been toned down somewhat. I concur with others' notes on placement - experiment in your particular room and you will arrive at great sound. I listen to (generally) 80's rock and techno, perhaps the most bass-intensive music extant, and have no complaints with the bass output of the Aerius i. I also agree a "break-in" period is helpful...the more you listen, the better they get! I admire the high-end amplification (tube amps, etc.) used by many of the other reviewers, but I must sheepishly admit to running these with a humble, new, 100w Onkyo hooked to a top-line Technics single-CD player. That's it. Two components. As I said earlier, this my "listening room" and no television, computer, etc. will ever be welcome in there. In my living room, I have a stack of components nearly from floor to ceiling, but space/arrangement considerations preclude using the ML's down there. I am currently listening to a live John Hiatt CD on the ML's, and if I settle into my recliner at the other end of the room it's just like I'm front row center. I realize it's easy to spend more for speakers, but I fail to see why it's necessary! Highly recommended!

I was somewhat dissapointed with these speakers. I found that the blend between the bass and low mid of the driver and the upper range of the panel didn't blend well. I tried numerous placements, but nothing seemed to cure it. Maybe the pair I listed to had a problem with the crossover. Not the speaker for me. (I have always loved planer speaker though) The more expensive Martin's didn't seem to have the same problem.

We bought the Aerius-i's about amonth ago, and absolutely love them. They are extremely accurate and produce a sound unlike any traditional speakers we have ever heard. The midrange and highs are extraordinary, and the vocals are truly special. They are so clear -- it's like listening to the music itself, not speakers.
The only weakness is the bass. For much music this is not a problem. But, while it is very high quality, it just doesn't deliver the "uumphff" we need when listening to rock and hard core music. So we complemented it with a velodyne 15" subwoofer -- now, we have the best of all worlds. With a Classe-151, this system is sweet!!

I have had Martin Logan's Aerius i speakers for almost a year.
My sytem includes the Krell KAV-250cd and KAV-301i integrated amp, Kimber Kable Select 1120 balanced interconnects and Bi-FocalXL bi-cable, and a Tice Solo power conditioner.

To comment fairly on a few of the reviews below, I must acknowledge the weaknesses and stress the strengths of this speaker. One complaint, about the blend between the woofer and ESL panel, is unfortunately true-- this is not fantastic. The sound in the crossover range (400-500Hz) is certainly not messy, but the bass does sound too "disconnected." And the bass itself, despite the Krell's impressive ability in that department, does leave something to be
desired. However, I was surprised, when I had them in a more appropriate room (the room I currently have them in, 20' by 25' with a high ceiling, is too big for them), at the depth and power of bass they could muster. Also, they are not as flexible with their positioning as I had hoped, and even once that is sorted out, there is pretty much just one place you can sit where they sound great.

But how great! Though obviously not perfect, the Aerius i can absolutely soar. Above their crossover, which is to say, through the top 95% of their range, their sound is seamless. To address other comments below, there is simply NO impression that one is listening to a "vibrating mylar film;" on the contrary, the sound truly does "hang" in the air and almost seems to just come out of the air itself. Their detail and speed can be totally engrossing. (Here I should mention that the Krells are often noted for being especially ruthless, almost clinical, in their attention to detail.) Also, the complaint of a "narrow soundpicture" does not do these speakers justice. When you are in their sweet spot, their sound will open up and pull you in. The soundstage is good to very good, though the power conditioner seems to help a little with the sense of depth.

I listen to a wide range of music. That these speakers are not the best for rock and are great for vocal music is probably good general advice. But they are more versatile than one might think from hearing the standard complaints; and even music I normally save for the car is sometimes quite enjoyable and interesting on these speakers. More importantly, what these speakers do for most music (including, in my case, music as varied as opera and experimental electronic) in terms of richness of detail and a truly startling realism and transparency is like nothing else I know of for their price. So I must end with the refrain of so many mostly positive audio reviews: not for everyone but well worth a listen.

As Bruce Campbell would have said in the movie "Army of Darkness" - "Allright you primates.....Listen Up!". The follwing is true of the Aerius i:
1. They are excellent speakers.
2. They are very dependent on everything that is feeding them upstream. The CD player, amplifier, interconnects, and cables.
3. Good placement doesn't seem so difficult to acheive. Followed the recommendations in the manual. My listen room is terrible but the Aerius i sound great.
4. Bass. The bass is well defined and tight. To achieve this, refer back to point 2. In fact, I'm surprised that the bass is good as it is since it is being generated by an 8 inch woofer. If you need more bass, get the ML SL3. Integrating a sub-woofer can be difficult and the results are not always satifying.

So make sure you smile when you say Aerius i. They make me smile all the time.

Transparency of sound, Excellent Overall Tonal clarity, Build Quality, Aesthetics

Relatively insufficient Bass

I have become a great fan of the full line Martin Logan loudspeakers. My home theater uses Aerius speakers as rear channels, but I have also spent significant time listening to music through them exclusively. Generally speaking, I am very satisfied with their overall performance. Bass is tight, midrange is clean, vocals are convincing and life-like. These things are a blast to own, and I recommend them without reservation to anyone in the market for speakers in the $2,000 price range.

Full system:
Martin Logan reQuets: Front Channels
Martin Logan Logos: Center
Martin Logan Aerius: Rear Channels
Velodyne FSR-15: Sub
Sunfire Cinema Grand: 5 Channel Amp
Acurus Act 3 Version 2 (With Advanced Bass Management Upgrade)
Pioneer Elite DVD (05)

Similar Products Used:

B&W Nautilis 805, 804, 605, Martin Logan Script & Scenario, Paradigm Reference Studio 100

you forget them

none

Those speakers are incredible.My room is 17' X 15' with a ceiling of up to 15' and they are at ease to perform at a very good sound level.They can outperformed any other speakers that I previously used.They are also a very good buy on the $/Quality ratio;if you try them you will not be able to return to box speakers.
My system:
Conrad Johnson pv10a
ODL ht2 power amp
Better cables speakers cables bi.
Madrigal cd transport
MIT 350+ interconnects
I have a sub Dahlquist 10';I do not use it except for rock.

Similar Products Used:

smg,kef Q65,bose 501&901,jbl L 100

Superior openess,clarity & dynamics

Only a tad bass shy at times

These speakers are experts at reproducing everything that your audio system has to offer. It is mandatory that you use superior grade speaker cables to reproduce the neutralist sound. Speaker placemnet is also critical,you should be somewhat near side walls & not to close to rear ones. These plug into AC power & Two seperate power regulators should be used.
The sound can be the most open you've ever heard from any speaker at this price range. It will show all the faults of your setup as well as the CD source itself. The midrange they produce is among the best I've heard, box speakers just can't do it. Follow these setup rules & you'll hear the most spacious sound around.
Frank F. DHVCD Studios 2001.

Similar Products Used:

Martin Logan Request, Quad ESL series

Crisp highs,Great looking,Imaging if out of this world.

Bass but you should have a sub anyways.

Highs are crisp imaging is out of this world.What a differnce from my Polks.I mainly use this for Home Theater not 2ch Stereo.For music voices are a little dull.But I am still breaking these in they need 30 hrs. Of 90+db to get thing rolling.I have a good 20hrs. In. So far so good. Have not bought good cables either yet.Just waiting to get final placement for size of cables.For Home Theater these babies are for you for Music they are not bad. I use these with a Sunfire Sub they blen Nicely together.I will update when I have broke them in and bought Good Cables.So for what I use them for they are the BEST I've heard for the Price.

Similar Products Used:

Polk

Great transparency, looks

None

A great spkr with wonderful transparency and broad frequency response.They will spoil you for any box spkr after you hear them. Easy to drive but benefit from plenty of clean power.

Similar Products Used:

Thiel, Dunlavy, Def Tech