Aperion Audio Verus Forte Speaker Family First Look

It isn't often that a speaker really floors us. It also isn't often at that speaker tricks us. Aperion Audio has done both on short order with their new Verus line of speakers. We were floored by the performance of the Verus Grand speakers and now they almost managed to trick us with their new Verus Forte Towers. At first blush, we thought they were a traditional D'Appolito MTM design but that's not the case. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Aperion Audio has been providing quality speaker online for years and we've consistently been impressed by their offerings. The new Verus Forte line looks to build on that tradition by providing a quality of speaker similar to their new flagship Verus Grand speakers but at a more wallet-friendly price. First of all, the similarities. The Verus Forte speakers look very similar to the Verus Grand speakers complete with the options of gloss black or gloss cherry finishes. Many of the same drivers are utilized but in smaller and more compact enclosures. The enclosures have the same sexy curves and rounded edges with the Towers sporting the same outrigger type feet for added stability. The same 10 year warranty and free shipping both ways for an in-home audition also applies. But these are not just knock offs of the Verus Grand. There is a lot that is unique here.

First, with the Towers you may think, as we did at first blush, that they've utilized a D'Appolito MTM design. But look more closely at the picture at the top. this is a true 3-way design with their ASR tweeter, one of their 4.25" midrange drivers with an aluminum phase plug on top, and two 4.25" woofers below. For those that don't remember from the Verus Grand review, the ASR (Axially Stabilized Radiator) silk dome tweeter is one of the main elements that made the Verus Grand speakers such a success. From our Verus Grand review:

The tweeter is a new design from Aperion that is optimized for lower frequency performance. This allows them to cross the tweeter over at a lower frequency which relieves the midrange drivers from having to reproduce frequencies that are notoriously hard for them without the cone "breaking up" or beaming. Aperion does this though a number of innovations. The most obvious is the use of the stabilization bar. This goes across the front of the tweeter and pins the center of it down. On other dome tweeters, the dome is allowed to rock during playback which can cause distortion when playing low. By pinning the center down, this rocking is eliminated allowing the tweeter to play lower without distortion. In addition, most really good dome tweeters are vented in the back into a damped chamber to reduce the pressure on the dome. Aperion also added eight additional vents to relieve the pressure behind the surround. Together, these additions allow the ASR tweeter to play lower (it is crossed over in the tower at 1.8kHz) creating a smoother, more natural off-axis roll off.

Once again they've gone with High Deinsity Fiberboard rather than Medium, a step above the industry standard. The cabinets on all of their speakers are braced and the Bookshelf and Tower Verus Forte speakers are ported (the former in the front, the latter rear ported). The Tower speaker weighs in at a respectible 30 pounds each and they are quite a bit smaller than the Verus Grand at only 6" wide and 8.25" deep. They stand 33" tall. Aperion rates the Verus Forte Towers down to 53Hz at -3dB and 47Hz at -6dB. If our review of the Verus Grand speakers is any indication, their in house measurements will be very similar to your in room performance.

Like the Verus Grand counterpart, the Verus Forte Center is a sealed design for better integration into the vast number of locations center channel speakers end up. This makes placement quite a bit easier. Unlike the Tower speakers in the Verus Forte line, the Bookshelf and Center speaker feature a coaxial driver. This is essentially the marrying of the 4.25" Woven Kevlar mid with aluminum phase plug and their ASR tweeter. Essentially they have replaced the phase plug with the tweeter. This saves space while retaining the same sonic characteristics and off-axis response.

The Center flanks this driver (coined the Aperion PhaseSync Driver with Integrated ASR Tweeter) with a 4.25" Kevlar woofer on each side. But, again, Aperion was tricky. Only one of the drivers is powered, the other is a passive radiator. The Center is 19" wide but only 6.2" high and 8" deep. It tips the scales at half the weight of the Towers at 15 pounds. It has a 2-way design and is rated down to 72Hz at -3dB and 70Hz at -6dB. This essentially means the response drops off steeply after around 75Hz. This is more than enough extension to cross the speaker over at the THX recommended 80Hz.

The Bookshelf uses only the PhaseSync driver and is front ported. It, too, is a 2-way design but the enclosure is MDF instead of HDF like the Towers (the Center channel material wasn't specified but, based on the weight, it is probably HDF). The Verus Forte Bookshelf speaker is an absolutely tiny 9" tall, 5" wide and 5.7" deep and only weights 6.5 pounds. We've seen satellite speakers that are bigger. The Verus Forte Bookshelf is rated down to 80Hz at -3dB and 72hz at -6dB. This may mean you'll want to cross the speaker over a bit higher to make sure you aren't losing anything at that crossover point. While 80Hz is generally considered the threshold for localization, depending on your subwoofer placement, this may or may not be an issue. We encourage you to experiment.

Conclusion

With the Verus Grand line you are looking at over $3k for a 5.0 system. With the new Verus Forte line, it will be more like $1700 (a bit less, actually). That's a hefty savings for much of the same technology. You'll still need to spring for a sub but you already knew that, right? The diminutive size of the Bookshelves means you'll have no problem placing them. In fact, the entire line is very decor friendly from the furniture-grade finishes to the small footprints and sexy curves. If you can afford the Verus Grand speakers, we have no problem recommending them (if you read the review you should know that). But the Verus Forte looks to be a very nice offering for a nearly 50% savings. Now, the question is, which Verus line are you going to demo? Or is it, as we suspect, going to be both!

For more information, please visit www.aperionaudio.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.