No Be question! Asperion or paradigm

[happajay]

I'm very interested in the Asperion Verus Forte speakers. However, they are rated at 4 ohms with 88--90db. I'm no expert in this, but they seem somewhat "inefficient" speakers that could be taxing on a receiver. More importantly, my receiver may be inadequate to drive these speakers. I really like these speakers from reviews and reputation of the company. However, I can't actually listen to them since it is a direct to consumer company from oregon. My other choice are Paradigm monitor 7 (7 or 9 floorstanding). I've never heard those either but plan to road trip to an audio store to hear them this weekend. I'd really like to go with the Asperion, but I'm worried that my reciever would be too inadequate to drive them. I have an Onkyo NR709. I tried to get a pretty good receiver for what I could afford, but it may not be adequate for Asperion lower ohm <90db speakers. I want to give the Asperion a try, but the Paradigm are super efficient at 8ohms and >92db. I know room size is a big factor in all this efficiency ohm stuff. It is about 15X15 feet (medium). Any advice please?

 

[FirstReflection]

Just a minor correction to start - it's Aperion Audio - there's no "s" in their name No biggie

First up, Aperion offers to pay the shipping BOTH ways if you don't like their speakers and want to return them. It really is a risk free trial. It's the absolute BEST kind of audition because you get to listen to the speakers in your room, not some dealer show room, and you get to use your own equipment. So if you are interested in Aperion speakers, go ahead and order some and try them out! If you don't like them, or if they don't work well with your receiver, you can send them back at ZERO cost to you. You don't pay any shipping either way and you get a full refund if you return them. You just have to contact them to tell them you want to return the speakers within 30 days. That's the only "catch". So no reason not to try them! Which is the point

Next, the Verus tower speakers - both the Verus Grand and the Verus Forte that you've mentioned - are nominal 6 ohm speakers with a minimum impedance of 4 ohms. That means they are actually fairly easy to drive speakers. Your Onkyo TX-NR709 will have absolutely no trouble with them what-so-ever.

When you see the warnings about receivers having potential trouble powering "4 ohm" speakers, it's because a speaker that has a nominal impedance (a rough sort of "average") of 4 ohms will often have dips down to 2 ohms or possibly even lower. And that can be a lower impedance than most receivers can handle. But a 6 ohm nominal with occassional dips to 4 ohms at just a few frequencies is nothing problematic for any decent receiver. So it's no problem!

The 90dB rating means that when you put just 1 Watt of power into the speakers, you will get 90dB of output from 1 meter (about 3 feet) away. This is on the higher side of normal speaker efficiency. Most speakers are somewhere around 86-89dB at 1 Watt/1 meter.

So basically, there's absolutely no reason for you to avoid the Aperion Verus Forte speakers. Your Onkyo TX-NR709 will power them just fine. They are quite efficient speakers that will play plenty loud without needing a ton of Watts to do so. And you can try them in your own home, with your own gear for 30 days with zero risk. Aperion pays the shipping BOTH ways.

So I'd say...give them a try! They're good speakers. I doubt you'll end up returning them anyway

 

[Nuance AH]

FirstReflection nailed it, so I'll just say that your Onkyo will have no issues driving the Aperions. I'd also take them over the Paradigms, for what it's worth.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'd also take them over the Paradigms, for what it's worth.

Because the Paradigm are more expensive?

If the Paradigm are exactly the same price, would you still prefer the Aperion?

 

[tattoo_Dan]

I bought all my Paradigms from a "walk-in" store,so returning or exchanging would have been VERY easy(should I have needed to),but from the get go,I loved all my speakers ,still do,and have never looked back.

I actually bought 3 different CC speakers at the same time,and demoed them in my home and decided on the paradigm.that helped me decide in a big way ! then I went and listened to the other paradigms in my local store and loved them.

I did not demo the Aperions,but i did demo/compare the paradigms to several lines and I am still happy with my choices.

and my Onkyo TX-SR876 is more than I need for the speakers I have. (all V6)

IMO your AVR will power either line of speakers just fine.

just my .02

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I did not demo the Aperions,but i did demo/compare the paradigms to several lines and I am still happy with my choices.

just my .02

What did you compare them too?

 

[tattoo_Dan]

What did you compare them too?

the 3 CC's I had at home at the same time to listen to was a Definitive Technology,an inifinity,and a Paradigm CC190 V5,I don't remember the other models.

and I listened to many speakers at several stores here in my area,I don't remember everything I listened to,some infinity,some jbl,some Definitive Technology,

I had a price range,and I liked the paradigms the best of what I heard,

but like I said,a/b'ing the different cc's in my home with my avr,etc,etc,was really a great idea.

using a credit card and knowing return policies helped for that as well,

 

[PENG]

I also agree with FirstReflection as long as the room size is 15ftX15ftX8 or 9ft the 709 will do fine. The Paradigm monitor speakers are good but I have never listened to the Aperion so I have no idea which sound better.

 

[jamie2112]

Sounds like a win win situation for you to go with Aperion.......free return is a good thing

 

[FirstReflection]

Yeah, I haven't heard the newest v7 Monitor series from Paradigm yet - not that I'm expecting an Earth-shattering difference from the previous version models. It's not as though Paradigm goes on wild flights of fancy when it comes to the basic design goals of their speakers and their frequency response

It's always kind of funny to me when Paradigm comes up on the message boards. It's like, nobody hates them, but they don't get the same sort of hype as the ID brands. I guess it's cause they're just...consistent.

I really like the Signature Series though. Love me some of that Be tweeter Not exactly inexpensive though. And once you're up in their price range, there are SO many choices. I dunno, I guess it's just harder for people to get excited about them. But like tattoo_Dan is saying, you bring them home and compare and people are rarely ever disappointed with them. Just good, solid design and nice components at reasonable prices.

How bland...