To Doug Schneider,
Re: Aerial Acoustics 7T to Rockport Technologies Mira 2
Is this truly a worthwhile upgrade? We are 80-percent home theater and 20-percent music. We heard the Rockports, but it is more money. I thought about the Revel Ultima Studio2 for a bit. We have a dedicated room that is 23’L x 14’W x 9’H. We always wonder at what point one can really go overboard with speakers. That said, we use a Simaudio Titan five-channel amp and a Classé SSP800 audio/video processor. The Oppo BDP-93 is the transport. Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.
Albert
I agree that it’s pretty easy to go overboard with speakers, or get the wrong ones altogether. The latter happens a lot, particularly when you’re picking out speakers that have to do double duty: music and movies.
The Mira was an excellent speaker, so I can only assume that the Mira 2 will be as good or better. But is it a worthwhile upgrade, particularly when there’s a higher cost? That’s something you’ll have to decide.
But if I were in your shoes, I’d consider Revel’s Ultima Studio2 again. I’m familiar with Revel’s products because I use a pair of Salon2s right now. The reason I recommend reconsidering them, though, isn't because I'm familiar with the brand, but because of what you said your movies-to-music listening ratio is. You're obviously using your system mostly for movies, so you should buy accordingly.
Many companies make very good left and right stereo speakers, but very few companies make great center-channel speakers. A proper center-channel is vital for the best movie-soundtrack playback. Revel is one of a handful of companies that makes really good center-channels speakers, and when you're talking about the Ultima series, it’s the Voice2 model that you should consider. What makes a center-channel speaker great is if it matches the tonal characteristics of the left and right speakers and maintains that sound over a wide listening window. When the left and right mains and center-channel are all timbre matched, you get a seamless stage across the front. Rockport and Aerial also make center-channel speakers, but I have no idea how good they are. I believe that you’ll definitely want to check their centers out if you decide to still consider one of those brands.
In summary, the best advice I can give you is to not only consider the left and right speakers, but the center-channel speaker as well when making this decision. . . . Doug Schneider
