Recommendations with $2,000-$3,000 budget?

[rdalcanto]

What about the Aperion Verus Grand?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

What about the Aperion Verus Grand?

If you have the time, give those 30-day trial speakers a listen. I believe Aperion, NHT, KEF Direct, and SVS offer this.

 

[rdalcanto]

Well, I ordered the Aperions for a trial. Tom Andry here reviewed them and the Salks, and the Aperions were supposed to have better soundstage, dynamics, and midrange accuracy than the Salks when looking at his final score cards. With my large room, those might work better for me. If I can get some Salks in as well I may try them side by side. I've had some Mini-Lores for 5 days, and while they are good for their price, I think I want to spend more for a better sound. The Tekton's sound a little too raw or bar stage like for me. I've heard Erik likes to go for the live concert feel, but I think I want something more refined. I listened to some of the same music in my father's theater on his NHT Fours, and I liked them better than the M-Lores (which I know cost only 1/3 as much). The only problem is he has a beautiful, dedicated theater with a different Amp than me, so I don't know how much was the room and amp, and how much was the speakers.

 

[rdalcanto]

I have had the Aperions for a couple days now, and have had them going all day, each day, for break-in. Last night my wife and I watched a little bit of Pink - Love Tour from Australia. Holy cow the sound was amazing. I think it is a really well done concert DVD. It was just a beautiful, full, wall of sound and her voice sounded incredible. The gloss black on most of the speaker is really nice, but the flat black paint on the very front is just o.k.. The finish on the Mini-Lores is actually better in terms of paint. The Aperions sound better, and at 3x the cost, they better. The sound is more accurate, clean, crisp, and precise. The M-Lores have more of a bar speaker type sound, that sounds pretty good far away, but not as good up close. I can't decide if it would be worth auditioning the Salks or not. I can't imagine them being better. Would love to hear from anyone that has had the chance to hear both.

 

[fuzz092888]

I wouldn't call the re views you're citing as directly comparable. Aside from that, his impressions won't necessarily be your impressions of the speakers. Aside from the superb sound quality you get from the salk speakers, a big chunk of the price is the second to a minuscule number build and finish quality. It's up to you though. I would say discounting the Salks from an in home trial based on the AH re view would be foolish, even if you end up keeping the Aperions anyways.

I have had the Aperions for a couple days now, and have had them going all day, each day, for break-in. Last night my wife and I watched a little bit of Pink - Love Tour from Australia. Holy cow the sound was amazing. I think it is a really well done concert DVD. It was just a beautiful, full, wall of sound and her voice sounded incredible. The gloss black on most of the speaker is really nice, but the flat black paint on the very front is just o.k.. The finish on the Mini-Lores is actually better in terms of paint. The Aperions sound better, and at 3x the cost, they better. The sound is more accurate, clean, crisp, and precise. The M-Lores have more of a bar speaker type sound, that sounds pretty good far away, but not as good up close. I can't decide if it would be worth auditioning the Salks or not. I can't imagine them being better. Would love to hear from anyone that has had the chance to hear both.

 

[rdalcanto]

Ordering SongTowers as well. This will be fun....

 

[fuzz092888]

Ordering SongTowers as well. This will be fun....

I'm sure you are well aware of this, or had Jim tell you, but make sure he knows they're for an in home trial. You'll get basic black IIRC, but it will give you a point of reference for the care they put into their cabinet construction and the sound you can expect from their speakers. FWIW, the supercharged ST's are where it's at

 

[rdalcanto]

I ordered plain glossy black, because I think that is what will look best in my theater. Jim says I have 30 days. The bad news is that it might take 2 months to get them. I will have to ask Aperion if I can extend the trial period so I don't have to ship them back and order them again (which wouldn't make sense for them financially if they refused since they pay for shipping both directions).

 

[Kruz]

I ordered plain glossy black, because I think that is what will look best in my theater. Jim says I have 30 days. The bad news is that it might take 2 months to get them. I will have to ask Aperion if I can extend the trial period so I don't have to ship them back and order them again (which wouldn't make sense for them financially if they refused since they pay for shipping both directions).

I would budget around 75 days for the Salks from what I have seen so far. Just crossed 60 days and have a feeling mine will be ready in a week or 2. Then again my finish is different.

Really curious to hear your reviews comparing these two. Did you go with the ribbon tweeter?