Aperion's best-ever home theater speaker system?
I've reviewed hundreds of speakers, and back when I was selling high-end audio, I auditioned many hundreds more. Summing up those experiences here's what I've learned: they all sound different, but some sound more "right" than others.
"Right" connotes an even-tempered balance that doesn't call attention to itself and is likely to wear well over the years. The Aperion Intimus 5T-DB Hybrid HD should do just that. You can read my full review for Ultimate AV here.
(Credit:
Aperion Audio)
The Intimus 5T-DB Hybrid HD ($2,829) is a six-piece system featuring a pair of 5T towers, the 5C center speaker, a pair of 5DB dipole/bipole surround speakers and a remote-controlled subwoofer, the Bravus 10D. True, the speakers don't look all that different than previous generations of Aperions, but as they say, the devil is in the details.
Aperion sells direct from its Web site with a 30 day money back return policy. UPS Ground shipping is free in both directions, and Aperion doesn't collect sales tax in the continental US. Feel free to try the Intimus 5T-DB Hybrid HD as I reviewed it -- and then if you decide, heck, I want the larger Bravus 12D sub that'll be no problemo. Aperion will pay for the Bravus 10D's return shipping and you'll just pay the difference in price between the two subs.
The Intimus 5T-DB Hybrid HD is a big step up from the Intimus 4T Hybrid SD ($1,569) I reviewed for CNET a few months ago.
My auditions with the 5T system started with a visceral rush induced by the Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray. The Intimus 5T-DB Hybrid HD may be comparatively small (piece by piece), but I quickly determined the speakers and sub have the combined gravitas of a much larger and more expensive system.
I was consistently impressed by the way the five speakers developed vast, wrap-around soundstages. For example, when bad guy the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) is pulverized within a scientific experiment, the texture of the sand grains was palpable, which added immensely to the emotional pull of the on-screen action. It wasn't just the 5DB surround speakers--the entire Intimus 5T-DB Hybrid HD's first-rate integration was responsible for maintaining the illusion.
Steve Guttenberg is a frequent contributor to magazines and Web sites including Home Entertainment, Playback, and Ultimate AV. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
i bet Aperion sells less than 1000 of these systems.
still, that would be $3 million.
It's really not that big of a system. I bet nearly every suburban home (and even most apartment dwellers) has plenty of room for a couple tower speakers (next to the TV). Place the center speaker on the top of the TV or below it. Then mount the surround speakers on the walls or some stands. Place the subwoofer anywhere in the room that is convenient.
Now whether or not everyone wants this type of system is another story. Perhaps you feel it is too big or you don't like the price.
If they sell 1000 or 5000 more power to them.
<<<<<John72953 >>>>>
I think you missed something very important.
30 day money back guarantee.
Aperion PAYS shipping BOTH ways.
So if you don't like the system it just means you had $3k riding on your credit card for a month and you get it ALL back without a dime out of your pocket.
Plus this is really the BETTER way to audition speakers - in YOUR home. Then there is no question about how they will reproduce sound in YOUR environment. Purchasing store bought speakers is fine but the way they sound at the store may change quite a bit when you get home and put them in YOUR room.
Room acoustics greatly influences how speakers "sound".
AS I said above there is not much risk involved here since they pay for shipping both ways and will give you a full refund.
In fact I think you should buy a set from them just to test them out and try their return policy to prove it to yourself this a valid and great way to buy speakers.
maybe you neglected to read the speaker placement article that precedes this one. what it will tell you is that you should place speakers, perhaps even in a home theater system, about the same distance apart as what you are sitting away from them, so plopping the tower speakers next to the TV isn't the optimal placement.
if you don't have a special home theater room, and most people don't, you are probably going to sit 8 - 10 feet from the TV screen. if you need the towers to be 8 - 10 feet apart, and you need to avoid placing them in a corner of a room, which is the only way to get them to perform optimally, you will be restricted to a substantial degree.
returning the Aperion system, if you decide you don't want it, means boxing it up, taking it to a UPS store, lugging it out of your vehicle, and i have no idea how many separate boxes the system will come in, so it isn't an easy task. the less boxes, the more problematical, since not everyone has a vehicle that will accommodate the bulk represented by this system.
i would be especially snarky if i suggested that you box up and ship back the system if i didn't like it, so i won't do that.
Typically when you return speakers they have the shipping company pick the speakers up from your house. If you really truly are into audio, then you'll take the time and effort to set it up in your home and adjust until it sounds the best it can. Then, if it's not sounding like you want then you return it. I've heard quite a few stereos that sounded great in the store but not so much in the person's house due to various things, mainly room acoustics. When you buy from brick and mortar stores you have to "lug" the speakers home yourself and "lug" them back to the store if you return it.
- by jettcatt February 10, 2009 4:59 PM PST
- These speakers are great and so is the company that makes them. You can get them risk free, as they have a free return policy ... as in, they pay the shipping if you decide you do not like them and want to send them back. It is unlikely they would be returned ..... these things will BLOW YOUR MIND ..... ! In any event, make sure you keep the original packaging ( you will love how they are packed, by the way ) ....
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(7 Comments)Aperion also has a free upgrade policy for a period of one year ..... check it out. Who else does that?
You gotta try these .... seriously.