Having just acquired these and listening to them for the last few weeks, I agree entirely with Steve’s review. I would add that they have the rare ability to sound great with good recordings and to even sound very good with poor/mediocre material. I’ve downsized from a home with a dedicated home theater to a small condo, so now I’m doing 2 channel home theater and these image so well I don’t feel a center channel is either necessary or desired. I’ve also come to realize how little all the surround channels contribute to the movie watching experience on most films. With a good pair of front speakers such as these, it’s possible to have a very satisfying home theater experience.
Mark Fontaine thanks for the info...I’m about to downsize from Focal floor standers and seriously considering these with a center channel and 2 subs for home theater/2 channel. I have a pair of GoldenEar SuperSat 50s on the bedroom tv and I love the ribbon tweeter.
GREAT REVIEW Steve! I just purchased the Aon2s and am VERY impressed! They have many of the qualities of the magnepan speakers with the sensitivity/dynamics of box speakers. These are keepers.
I'll vouch for the effectiveness of passive radiators! I picked up a mint condition pair of early-1990s Klipsch KG 3.2s the March day that we all went into quarantine. They are the best sounding speakers I have ever owned, and I've been an audiophile since the 1960s! 96 dB sensitivity and a smooth, rich sound all the way through their range. Their bass and low-midrange is most impressive to me, even at low to medium listening levels, offering a tactility that I have not experienced before now, even with the larger speakers that I have previously owned.
A high pass might help, but the trouble with passive radiators, and even ported speakers to a smaller degree, is that low frequency info will still be produced in the radiators (or ports) unless you pass pretty darned high. It probably won’t be much and may even be welcomed, but it won’t be “accurate”. Sealed and planar designs would work better when high-passed. Great review though, Steve. Sounds like a real winner at reasonable volumes, where most of us do our real listening.
I just rewatched the interview you had with Billy Drummond yesterday. That was one of my favourite interviews of yours. He seems like such a great guy (and lawdy, lawdy does he ever own a lot of gear!).
Thank you Steve for your reviews, and have purchased products based on your spot on product reviews. Never disappointed. Any coffee mugs or Audiophiliac t-shirts to help support your work? Will sign up for the $3 Patreon.
When watching a speaker review I find it interesting when the reviewer compares it with two other similiar speakers. That way I can better understand what the high points really are.
Hey Steve here’s a few requests for future speaker reviews 1) brand new iteration of 2ce Sig Vandy’s 2) Spatial s (ribbon tweeter powered woofer model or passive dome ) 3) interested to see if u are a fan of newVolti’s Razz (esp in comparison to your Klipschs ) Thank you
Thanks for another great review. I've been excited about these speakers since they were announced at CEDIA, happy to finally see some reviews. I'll probably be considering these against the Revel M16 and Kef Q350 (and maybe the Klipsch RP600M). Any thoughts on how they compare? Thanks again!
No !!!!! another bookshelf speaker. Keep them coming.😀 let's see if we can get to 10,000 new bookshelf speaker by the end of the year. Oh and keep them DACs coming to.
Also i think the best affordable speakers are : Wharfedale Diamond 11 series , EVO series and Elysian series designed by Peter Comeau. They sound and look like speakers that cost 3 or 4 times more , they are unique and very good built. I HAVE SPOKEN :D
Hey Steve, any chance you ever had a chance to listen to Sandy's earlier work with Definitive technology. I have been using the bp7002 for the last 10 years and I am still enjoying them. Would love to hear your thoughts if any. Great shirt!!
Hey Steve do you really think goldenear is as much as amazing brand as they get praised? Especially their triton reference speakers are they really like best for less money(relatively comparing to 100k pair speakers?)
I just got my first ribbon tweeter in an Adam Audio studio monitor. Think I'm a convert and the next time I upgrade my main speakers that's going to be a requirement.
Great shirt great review...waiting for my buchardts s 300s...almost thought...um...until the very end of your review...don't want a sub...hope the buchies deliver as reviewed by you and others...thank you!!!☮🕊✌☮🕊✌
@steve I am new to the audiophile world, but love the sound of these speakers. What would you recommend for an integrated amp to power these? I am looking at the Marantz PM 7000M. Really would like to wire it to my desktop PC, but love the ease of use with Airplay technology. Thanks.
I'm not a big fan of passive radiators. The bass is considerably slower than bass reflex or front ported. I don't know if all of them have it but a pair of speakers I had and then a subwoofer with passive radiator, both showed some bass bloating.
PMC and ATC speakers are way much better than any Focal. Passive with Transmission line is beyond epic. Passive is better than ported., but even very difficult is Transmission line, due to resources and funding and money. Very rare companies use passive TL, . I owned a RTL TDL3 in the 90s, which I still have.
Hey Steve, have you had a chance to listen to the Martin Logan 35xti? I think they're comparable to the BRX, 6.5 Driver, and ribbon tweeter. Similarly priced as well. Trying to decide between these two. Currently have a pair of Emotiva b1+ and really loving the ribbon tweeter, i just want more mid bass so looking for an upgrade.
I kept wondering how low these went after seeing them on youtube in several videos but at 45hz being the lowest it goes and the price that these are at I think my Ascend Acoustic Seirra 2EX pair. Anyone heard both extensively?
I have a pair. I love them but didn’t know how good they were until I connected them to 30 watts of pure class A Luxman m600. They bloomed, turning well defined black and white to technicolor. Like Steve’s shirt? Play fairly load, not fussy on placement either. Definitely not a competitor of golden ear products.
Man, now that Sandy is retired, maybe ya can get him on and do an interview on his life in audio. It'll be great now that the gloves are off and he can speak freely.
Thank you Steve. I went and listened to these speakers and bought them. The sound was magnificent as you said. Obvious they had a great amplifier. Now I don’t yet own an amplifier and I am looking to buy one soon. Would you be so kind as to recommend one great budget amp that would be a perfect match for these speakers?
How can so many bookshelf speakers sound so different? Physics allows only so many variances and permutations... Still looking for the true ABX blind tests...lol
If there is ONE thing I really hate it is companies who don't mention the PRICE of their products on their website. Such weird and fake 'exclusivity'.... I stopped browsing after that.
That’s a good question, the BRX makes a hell of a lot more bass, has much cleaner treble. The P3 is more musical and downright seductive. Both are great in their own ways
Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac thanks for the clarification...sounds like an audition is in order. Luckily, I’ve found a dealer with both not far from London!
Lip is too small to cause diffraction on woofer the AMT has a radiation pattern that again will not be affected much if at all by the lip and its location.
Why didn't you listen with a sub so that you could let us know how "BIG" and loud it sounds in that case? I suspect that not too many of your subscribers would consider these without a sub. What do you think?
Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac - But didn’t you make the point that these little speakers might be more successful at playing loudly if they were accompanied by a subwoofer?
