Manufacturer: Aperion Audio

Country of origin: USA

Model number: Intimus 6T – DB Hybrid XD 5.1 system

Price: $3769 direct from Aperion

Website: http://www.aperionaudio.com

 

Even before you press play, it’s easy to be impressed with Aperion Audio.  The checklist:

n  Best website I’ve seen in the industry.  Simple for novices, deep with information for the experienced.  Not just a sales site, but a resource.

n  30 day money back guarantee, free return shipping

n  1 year full value trade up program

n  10 year warranty

n  Easy access to technical support

OK, tells you nothing about how the speakers sound, but let’s you know there are some brains at work in the company.  These guys/gals ‘get it’, at least from the marketing/retail side.  The site is thought through and informative.

Then the boxes come, in my case the Intimus 6T – DB Hybrid XD 5.1 system at $3769.00.  A pair of 2 way 6T towers for the mains, 6C 3 way center channel, pair of 5DB bipole/dipole surrounds and the Bravus 12D  powered sub.  The checklist:

n  Everything extremely well packed

n  All speakers wrapped in satin/velvet bags. Strikes me as frivolity, but for many it provides some pride of ownership with which I won’t quarrel. 

n  Construction is rock solid

n  The finish, ahhh, the finish.  Yes, the Chinese have gloss black nailed, but here it is as smooth and seamless as I’ve seen on any speaker regardless of price.  They are also available in cherry veneer.

n  White gloves provided to protect that finish while handling.  I have pile of such gloves now, but it’s a nice touch given the quality of the finish.

Upon setup, more:

n  Extremely clear and informative manuals.  Should be a given but is rarely the case in audio.

n  Brass cones that screw snugly into the mains.  Again, should be a given, but…

n  Very simple, solid and effective brackets for flush wall mounting the surrounds, and they’re included.  No nickel and diming on essential ‘accessories’.

n  A channel cut into the back of the surrounds to accommodate the speaker wire.  I’ve installed more the a few supposed-to-sit-flat-on-the-wall surrounds that instead rest unstably against the wire. 

n  In short and again, everything thought through.  Confidence high.

SPECS, ETC.

I hit play and ….well let’s backtrack a sec. with some specs.  Common to all the speakers is construction out of 1” thick High Density Fiberboard (HDF), versus the more common medium density fiberboard (MDF).  According to Aperion, use of HDF obviates the need for internal bracing to provide an inert cabinet.   Further, the added heft it provides over MDF gives the speakers a rock solid feel that customer feedback has been very positive about.

The slim, nicely proportioned  6T towers (41’ x 7.75 x 11) feature new drivers over the model they replace:  a 1” silk dome tweeter and two 6.5” woven fiberglass midwoofers.  The 6C center channel adds a 5.25” midrange cone to that complement.  Makes sense in that clarity of dialogue is job one for the center channel, but unusual that a package matches two-way mains with a 3 way center. The 6C also has a useful boundary compensation switch that tailors dispersion characteristics to your specifiic placement.  Both speakers are efficient and present an easy load to the amplifier – they should work well with the mid-priced, medium-powered electronics they are likely to be paired with.  This is real world engineering.

The trapezoidal XD surrounds use the same silk dome tweeters on each of their two faces and add 5.25” woven fiberglass woofers.  They are switchable between bipole and dipole operation.  My preference is for more direct rather than diffuse information from the surrounds, thus all listening was done in bipole mode.

The Bravus 12D sub employs two side firing 12” aluminum woofers powered by a 500W digital amp in a 15.5” square enclosure.  The dual driver configuration provides a lot of air moving capability in a relatively small enclosure, and can cut the excursion that might be necessary with a single driver. This can add some speed and agility to the bass and can load the room more evenly as well.  

The 12D includes a parametric equalizer to smooth out in-room response, and customizible settings that can be saved under the headings of Movies, Music, and Games.  Settings are accessed via switches next to a small display on the front panel,  As I used the Audyssey EQ function on my Onkyo 9.8 for all movie listening, I didn’t test the EQ functions built into the Bravus. A small remote allows for level adjustment and preset selection from afar.

Aperion’s marketing materials tout the ‘curved design aestethic’ of the line.  Outside of slightly eased edges, the fronts and surrounds look like well finished boxes.  The 12D, however, has a Scandanavian-style wood ‘wrap’ that goes up the front face of the box, curves dramatically over the top and then down the back side of the speaker.  Simple and attractive.

LISTENING

Iron Man features a ridiculous True HD soundtrack with deep bass rumbles seemingly anytime someone enters a scene.  It’s about power and dynamics, and the Aperions delivered without losing composure.  The system energized my medium-sized room without compression, and the 12D sub was capable of impressive gut punch when called upon.  Though not as lockdown tight and detailed as my far more expensive JL f113, it provides a great foundation, particularly given its relatively small size.

The Dark Knight is a state-of-the-art True HD soundtrack in terms of transparency, which the Aperion system ably captured.  Further, it features a number of left/right, and front/back panning effects – the system handled these seamlessly – it’s an extremely well matched package.

In short, strengths of the Aperion system mirror my priorities for movie soundtracks.  The package delivers transparency, dynamics, seamlessness of surroundfield and the ability to play loud without strain or compression.  Resolution is good for the money, though spending significantly more has payoff, particularly with the new 'HD’ codecs.  My far more expensive VMPS fronts/Sunfire CRM2 surrounds rig, for example, is noticeably more resolving.

Moving onto music, I began with a DVD-A surround recording of Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’.  Here again, the system spoke with one voice.   On ‘Money’, manual cash register sounds fire at the listener from all directions.  That these sound the same from any direction is further evidence of the excellent matching among speakers in the Aperion system.  DSOTM further underlined the quick, dynamic quality of the package.

Using the 6Ts for stereo music listening underlined aforementioned strengths while revealing a few weaknesses.

Dave’s True Story’s albums are benchmarks for me not only for love of the music, but having seen them live several times I know exactly how they sound.  Further their albums are extremely well recorded  – no compression, great depth and resolution –- and thus are very revealing of equipment.

The 6Ts captured the quick attack and dynamics of ‘Crazy Eyes’ on their self-titled album, and left/right imaging was precise. Further, Kelly Flynt’s voice came through quite cleanly, but with a slight lack of body.  Reinforcing this thinness was a subtle foreshortening of the decay of notes.  I heard this phenomenon on cuts by artists ranging from Leonard Cohen to Sonic Youth.  I’ll attribute it to two things:  a general lack of body through the middle heard primarily on voices and strings, and a relative lack of soundstage depth, which helps put meat on the bones of music.  I’ll stick my head on the chopping block here and guess fourth-order slopes between the drivers.

Finally, although the 6Ts image well, these aren’t speakers that fool you into thinking you’re listening to something bigger by throwing an image well above their cabinets (see the Guru QM10).  The soundstage stays at speaker height with the 6Ts.

Back on the plus side, the 6Ts on their own are punchy and go surprisingly deep for their size – for $1390/pr you are getting a legitimately full range speaker --   sub appreciated but not required.  You could start with a pair of 6Ts and eventually build out an HT system without feeling like you were just killing time until the bass showed up.

ALTERNATIVES

My $1300/pr. Amphion Ion monitors just float images out in space, and are even cleaner sounding than the 6Ts.  They have some magic with music that eludes the 6Ts. However, they don’t go nearly as low or as loud, and even in a surround system with five Ions and a sub, are unlikely to play with as much power as the Aperion package. 

For similar cost I believe you could build a superior system for music and movies around the $975/pr. VMPS 626jr.  You would get the dynamics and loudness capability of of the Aperion system, as well as some of the musical texture and depth that they subtly lack.  HOWEVER, the VMPS’s aren’t nearly well-finished nor as user friendly.  You will need more powerful amplification. There is no on-wall mounting option for surrounds without going much higher in price, and they are tweaky to setup, which may not appeal.  And while customer support is very good, it lacks the polish and depth presented by Aperion.

CONCLUSION

This is a great value play for music and movies. I have not seen a better-built, better-looking package than this for under $4000.  The Aperion system plays with power, composure and coherence  -- they excel at all important parameters for soundtracks.   For music, I find the package good but not great at the price. However, Aperion’s thirty day return policy which includes free return shipping makes auditioning a true no-risk process -- if you’re in the market, order and draw your own conclusions.

If movies are the primary use with some music listening as well, the Intimus 6T – DB Hybrid XD package is a home run.  I recommended it to my friend Marty for his new home theater – he’s the very happy guy there in the front row.