After a few weeks of running the ALiii's I have come to the conclusion that, as they are now, they will not work for me. This decision comes without investing time/$ into them for upgraded drivers and cross overs. As they are now, bone stock, they do not sound as good as my Silver's. Don't get me wrong, they are incredible speakers with an amazing sound stage but they need help in several areas. Again, my decisions are based on stock ALiii's vs. stock Silver's.
Issue 1: The cross over point does not seem to be correct. There is a noticeable lack of presence in the mid/lower end. It's almost as if the woofers cannot quite reach the roll off of the ribbons or vice versa. Again, the benefit of an active rebuilt or rebuilt cross overs would be immense.
Issue 2: The woofer is just too boomy. It lacks detail and has a tendency to overpower the mid section. Could be that the cross over point is correct and the woofer is overpowering that section so it's less discernible. I think much of this can be contributed to the room. I had them set much further away from the walls (side/back 3'+) than the silvers and still I received a lot of low end distortion. Even after applying several acoustic room treatments I could not resolve this.
By no means would I not highly recommend these speakers. They are not only very impressive sounding but looking. 6' speakers don't give you a rise in your shorts? Then something is wrong with you.
They will be at the shop in the next week or two. I invite you to stop by, give a listen and come to your own conclusions.
