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Aerial Model 5T Loudspeaker

Aerial Model 5T Loudspeaker

You don’t need to be a connoisseur of compact loudspeakers to recognize that the Aerial Acoustics Model 5T is quite a looker. Short (a mere 15″ in height), dark, and handsome, it’s a gracefully proportioned two-way in a bass-reflex configuration. In spite of its modest $3795 base price, the 5T in many ways mirrors Aerial’s larger and pricier models, the Model 6T and Model 7T. For example, it has comparable curvilinear cabinet construction; the same luxe, high-gloss finish; the same tweeter; similar refinements to its woofer; and similar premium crossover components and wiring. At the same time it also represents an all-new design at its price point, entering the Aerial line as a replacement for the 5B.

Readers may recall that the 5B was a smaller, acoustic-suspension two-way, with lower sensitivity. Aerial’s Michael Kelly says that “with the new 5T, we wanted to extend the bass, maintain good bass definition, and increase sensitivity slightly. The 5T accomplishes these things but uses about 30% more internal volume to do so.” Significantly, the 5T is also purposely designed to be flexible in placement—anywhere from two inches to two feet from a wall, and equally happy on a bookshelf, a tabletop, or mounted on a stand. (Aerial will be offering its own bespoke speaker stand later this year.)

The posh enclosure is crafted by bonding multiple layers of wood together under high pressure for 48 hours in a 20-ton press. Aerial then adds crossbracing to the already thick walls and damps the interior with New Zealand long-fiber wool. The slanted, front baffle is attached to the cabinet face with an environmentally safe damping glue. The port is front-facing and optimized with a streamlined flow for extended bass response near wall boundaries. Aerial has always been known for its exquisite finishes, and it hasn’t dropped the ball with a more modest effort like the 5T, using what it describes as “architectural veneers.” Four priming layers are applied followed by a ten-layer hand-polished gloss finish. The 5T is offered in Nero metallic black, high-gloss rosenut, or an all-new premium high-gloss ebony.

Aerial Model 5T Loudspeaker

The driver complement comprises the same custom-made ScanSpeak 1″ woven, ring-dome, dual-magnet tweeter from the 7T, with machined aluminum face plate, and a new 6.7″ long-stroke, dual-magnet, papyrus-blend mid/woof, custom-made for the 5T. The high-order multi-element crossover uses polypropylene capacitors, silver solder, and Teflon-shielded wiring. Crossover is at 2.7kHz. The back panel has two pairs of binding posts with jumpers for single-wiring, bi-wiring, or bi-amping. A thoughtful touch: There are the four adjustable spikes with protective covers for furniture or bookshelf placement.

The sonic mission of the 5T came through loud and clear—a deceptively small footprint to disarm the listener and then, ka-boom, a full bodied, big-boy, musical signature. From the fusillade of winds, bass drum, and timpani that opens Copland’s Fanfare to the crunch-groove of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” the 5T stands as a rebuttal to the small compacts of yore that were not only bass-shy but carried stingers instead of tweeters.

In tonal balance, the 5T is not a speaker of extremes. It satisfies by concentrating its energy right down the middle, projecting a round, rich, colorful musical landscape that avoids any brittle, aggressive, or forward tendencies. Its balance is not of the over-hyped variety, either in the upper octaves or in the mid-to-upper bass. It has a forgiving character that keeps sibilance in check, soothing and smoothing the reedy rasp of a tenor sax or the smoky sensuality of a Stevie Nicks vocal on, say,  “Dreams.” Its treble range is lightly shaded, and on occasion this lowers the ceiling of the acoustic. To my ears, the 5T was not pool-table flat over the frequency spectrum, either; yet, the overall truth of its warm midrange always kept its balance musical. In my opinion, when a fifteen-inch-tall loudspeaker trades some overall accuracy for a bit of added charm and musical flattery, it’s a fair exchange.

 

With the 5T positioned about two feet from the back wall of my listening room, I enjoyed bass response that was smooth and tuneful, with extension into the 50Hz range. (Response weakened when the speaker was moved further out into the room, lending credence to Aerial’s claim that the 5T is, indeed, optimized for wall proximity.) The 5T was also lively and nicely weighted in the critical mids and lower mids—the range that captures the physical presence of vocalists, cello resonances, and the bloom of a concert grand piano. For example, during the cello solo from Nickelcreek’s “Green and Gray,” the 5T provided a real sense of the way the movement of the bow creates a ripple of harmonics as it passes over the lower strings. Keep in mind that in order to extract the quality of bass I was enjoying, amplifier power is important—the 5T’s really start to sing with 100Wpc but will be even happier with more.

Low-level resolution was also very good. During Harry Connick, Jr’s rendition of “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square”—a tasteful, intimate track for voice, sax, and bass—the textures were velvet, relaxed, and forgiving. Micro-dynamics and transient information were good, and the percussive hand-tapping upon the bass was nicely defined though not quite as crisp as I’ve heard it sound on my reference ATCs. Port artifacts or overhang were close to nonexistent, even when the speaker was facing the challenge of pipe organ during Rutter’s Requiem. Only a slight looseness crept into the lower reaches of its midbass. All in all, the 5T performed uncommonly well in this regard for its modest size, and while a great small sub like the REL T7i would add to the bottom-octave festivities, the little speaker rarely left me unsatisfied.

One of the key strengths of the 5T is its reproduction of soundstage and dimension. As I listened to Audra McDonald’s performance of “Somewhere” from her album How Glory Goes, her vocal clearly projected from a point slightly further upstage than I usually experience with this recording. Equally impressive was the manner in which symphonic music was conveyed with a depth and section-layering that often extended to the back wall of the auditorium. If you picture yourself in a concert hall, the 5T presents a row G perspective—a little further back than average but still a seat that would allow a listener to gather in the entire ensemble while also zeroing in on individual musicians. Part of the credit for this perspective might be owed to the warmer general character of the 5T, and a small drop off in the upper-mid or presence range. Also playing a role is the absence of diffraction artifacts, due to the narrow baffle.

In the final analysis, some loudspeakers feed the head, while others like the Aerial 5T touch the heart. Its performance, warm listenability, and fetching cosmetics are uncommon in a small loudspeaker in this range. The 5T is a speaker you can curl up with and enjoy all day, everyday—as I found myself doing.

A compact to covet.

Specs & Pricing

Type: Two-way, bass-reflex compact
Drivers: 1″ soft-dome tweeter, 6.7″ papyrus-blend cone mid/bass
Frequency response: 48Hz–25kHz +/-2dB
Sensitivity: 87dB at 2.83Vrms and 1.0 meter on axis
Nominal impedance: 4 ohms (3 ohms min)
Dimensions: 15.0″ x 7.9″ x 12.6″
Weight: 23 lbs.
Price: $3795/pr. (high-gloss rosenut or Nero metallic black); $4195/pr. (high-gloss ebony)


AERIAL ACOUSTICS
100 Research Drive
Wilmington, MA 01887
(978) 988-1600
aerialacoustics.com

A Few Words with Michael Kelly, Aerial Acoustics
What are the challenges in designing a modest two-way compact?
The new 5T is the smallest speaker we make, but it has about 30% more internal volume than our previous 5B and is slot-vented. We wanted to reach lower, avoid a bass signature (a typical problem with small speakers), and improve sensitivity and dynamics while correctly balancing bass and midrange using just the woofer—also a challenge in a two-way design. I think the 5T’s combination of a long, smooth slot vent with low tuning and a unique crossover design with modified crossover “knees” achieves those goals. The laminated and heavily braced curved cabinet is lavishly built and is exceptionally inert for a small speaker.

Do you learn something from every new model—something that makes you a better designer? If so, what did the 5T teach you?
Well, it is always fun to make something small that turns out better than you expected and does almost everything right. It is my kind-of “desert island” speaker—a speaker that has sufficient bass to be satisfying on most music without a sub, is excellent from about 50Hz up, is exceedingly natural and transparent, images well, and ages well. By that I mean it doesn’t have some characteristic that over time starts to annoy you. It is always satisfying—yet small.

Could you name a couple things that TAS readers would be surprised to know about Aerial Acoustics?
Aerial was started in 1989 and incorporated in 1991 by David Marshall and myself. Dave and I worked together at Analog and Digital Systems (ADS) for many years before that where we built all of our own drivers in-house on a large scale. I learned about driver design and manufacturing at Braun in Germany and was the guy who transferred that know-how to the U.S. Today we have custom drivers made mostly in Denmark. Our complex, high-quality laminated and curved cabinets are made in various places using the latest German and Italian furniture machinery. We have always designed and assembled 100% of our products here in our small but modern factory in Massachusetts near Boston. Our goal is to provide exceptional performance at a reasonable price that people will enjoy for a long time.

By Neil Gader

My love of music largely predates my enthusiasm for audio. I grew up Los Angeles in a house where music was constantly playing on the stereo (Altecs, if you’re interested). It ranged from my mom listening to hit Broadway musicals to my sister’s early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles, and Stones LPs, and dad’s constant companions, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. With the British Invasion, I immediately picked up a guitar and took piano lessons and have been playing ever since. Following graduation from UCLA I became a writing member of the Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshops in New York–working in advertising to pay the bills. I’ve co-written bunches of songs, some published, some recorded. In 1995 I co-produced an award-winning short fiction movie that did well on the international film-festival circuit. I was introduced to Harry Pearson in the early 70s by a mutual friend. At that time Harry was still working full-time for Long Island’s Newsday even as he was writing Issue 1 of TAS during his off hours. We struck up a decades-long friendship that ultimately turned into a writing gig that has proved both stimulating and rewarding. In terms of music reproduction, I find myself listening more than ever for the “little” things. Low-level resolving power, dynamic gradients, shadings, timbral color and contrasts. Listening to a lot of vocals and solo piano has always helped me recalibrate and nail down what I’m hearing. Tonal neutrality and presence are important to me but small deviations are not disqualifying. But I am quite sensitive to treble over-reach, and find dry, hyper-detailed systems intriguing but inauthentic compared with the concert-going experience. For me, true musicality conveys the cozy warmth of a room with a fireplace not the icy cold of an igloo. Currently I split my time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Studio City, California with my wife Judi Dickerson, an acting, voice, and dialect coach, along with border collies Ivy and Alfie.

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