Aperion Intimus 533-PT Powered Tower Speaker (Cherry)

Reviewed on 6/19/06    Release date: 6/15/05    Aperion Audio sells its speakers exclusively on its Web site. For many years, the company's product range was limited to one small monitor speaker and three different subwoofers, but Aperion now offers a variety of monitors, dedicated centers, surround speakers, and our favorites, the company's tower speakers. The Aperion Intimus 533-PT ($599 each) is a three-way design incorporating a 150-watt amplifier for its side-mounted 8-inch subwoofer. It's an updated version of the now discontinued Intimus 522D-PT.

Standing 41.5 inches tall, 9.75 inches wide, and 12.5 inches deep and weighing in at 57 pounds, the Aperion Intimus 533-PT is an unabashedly large speaker. Its 1-inch-thick high-density fiberboard (HDF) cabinetry feels extrasolid. The Aperion speakers' luscious cherrywood veneers or piano-black finishes are superb; we'd rate the overall build quality and finish standard on a par with those of high-end models going for at least two or three times the price. Inside its shipping box, each speaker comes sheathed in a protective plush velvet cover.

The Aperion Intimus 533-PT's three-way design features a 1-inch soft dome tweeter, a 5.25-inch midrange driver, and a side-mounted 8-inch woofer powered by the tower's built-in 150-watt amplifier. The woofer and amp are derived from Aperion's S8-APR subwoofer ($399). Since your receiver drives only the 533-PT's midrange and tweeter and not the woofer, the design strategy effectively eases the load on your receiver. The downside (if you can call it that) is that each 533-PT needs a dedicated AC power cord.

The tower's backside is fitted with two bass-enhancing ports and a finned heat sink for cooling the subwoofer's power amplifier. There's also a subwoofer volume control on each speaker, and we consider the ability to easily dial in the amount of bass you want a big plus. Even in our huge home theater, we had the control set just slightly past the mid position, so there's plenty of reserve bass power for those buyers who like their beats maxed out.

Despite our large testing room, we didn't feel the lack of an outboard subwoofer. That's not to say that Aperion's S-10 or S-12 subwoofers wouldn't delve deeper into the bass and pack more of a wallop, but a pair of 533-PTs on their own can get the job done.

As with all its speakers, Aperion sells the 533-PT with a 30-day money-back return policy. UPS Ground shipping is free, and Aperion doesn't collect sales tax in the continental United States. Aperion even picks up the tab on return shipping and refunds your money if you're not satisfied. That makes auditioning the 533-PT towers in your own home a completely risk-free operation.

As stereo speakers, the Aperion Intimus 533-PTs are exceptional performers. Their stereo imaging extended far beyond the outside edges of the units. On well-recorded rock CDs such as Keith Richards's Main Offender, dynamic impact was remarkably powerful, and the 533-PTs proved themselves gutsy enough to fill a large room without strain. Acoustic jazz had the sort of in-the-club clarity we associate with high-end models that go for many times the 533-PTs' price. Classical music is, in some ways, the most difficult to reproduce because it can reveal a speaker's distortion more clearly than other types of music--but again, the 533-PTs' sound was refined and pure.

We next teamed the 533-PTs with the Aperion 533-VAC center and 534-SS surround speakers for home-theater trials. This complete 5.1 setup is collectively sold by Aperion as the System D, or you can mix and match other speaker combinations on Aperion's Web site. Multichannel sound on a wide range of DVDs was never less than stellar. We especially enjoyed the System D's ability to deliver seemingly unlimited dynamics whenever the malevolent aliens raised hell on the War of the Worlds DVD.

Used on their own as stereo speakers or as part of a complete home-theater speaker system, the Aperion Intimus 533-PTs are highly recommended. You can spend a lot more for a pair of speakers, yet get a lot less.

Rating from 1 user How would you rate this product? Write your own review
• 9/10 Spectacular

  June 16, 2006

  by spingle (see profile)

  "Stunning sound. Great looks. Fantastic deal." Read more >>

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