Thomas J. Norton

Before you get d&#233;j&#224; vu all over again, I'll beat you to it and note right up front that we reviewed an <A
HREF="http://ultimateavmag.com/speakersystems/1205aperion/
">Aperion Audio Intimus 633-T</A> system back in December 2005. But the Intimus 633-T ($499/ea.) has been redesigned, and Aperion chose not to change the model number. The parenthetical "II" in the heading of this article, which will be carried through the rest of the review to avoid confusion, is strictly my invention. You won't find it in any of Aperion's promotional material. The system reviewed here also includes the Aperion 634-VAC ($495) center channel speaker, which <I>is</I> entirely new.

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Natural dialogue Detailed without sounding aggressive Great Value
Minus
Limited deep bass

THE VERDICT
This Aperion Audio Novus system delivers great sound with music and, when combined with a good subwoofer or two, enough visceral thrills to keep up with the most sonically ambitious movie soundtracks.

Aperion Audio had a dilemma. Its flagship speaker line, the Aperion Verus III, costs considerably more than its entry level Intimus range, with the $2,500 flagship Verus III Grand tower selling for nearly three times the price of the $800/pair Intimus 5t tower. Both are bargains in high-end audio's accelerating race to the top, but buyers who might spend more than $800 aren't always keen about making a $2,500 commitment, not to mention the added outlay needed for a full home theater speaker setup. Enter the company's new Novus range, which at $1,400/pair for the Novus towers neatly splits the difference between the two existing ranges.

Performance
Value
Build Quality

When Portland, Oregon–based Aperion Audio began selling speakers about 10 years ago, its business plan was simple: design the speakers here, build them where manufacturing costs are low (China—as with many of today’s speakers), and sell direct to buyers to avoid the middlemen—distributors and conventional dealers.

Back to Basics

The fundamental purpose of an optical digital disc player is to play back optical digital discs. While that may be self-evidently redundant, there’s a wide selection of players on the market that offer a numbing range of additional, gee-whiz features. These include such things as SACD and DVD-Audio playback, streaming and downloading of movies and other Internet content (sometimes wirelessly), and of course, today’s top banana, 3D.