Audio & Video Lifestyle Magazine
55
T e c h n o t a l k
Product Type:
AV loudspeaker system
Driver Complement:
See text
Impedance:
6 ohms (all models)
Sensitivity:
93dB (ATS-5)
92dB (CC-240)
89dB (89dB (ATS-1)
Frequency Response:
28Hz-23kHz (ATS-5)
55Hz-23kHz (ATS-1)
35Hz-23kHz (CC-240)
20Hz-200Hz (SUB-240)
Amplifier Requirements:
30 - 200 watts RMS (ATS-5)
20 - 100 watts RMS (ATS-1)
30 - 160 watts RMS (CC-240)
Cabinet Finishes:
Wood Grain, Mahogany or Black
Ash vinyl veneers
Technotalk specifications and recommended
retail prices are supplied by the manufacturer
sum (and expect the speakers to handle
abuse), may often buy Aaron
loudspeakers?
Whatever the case, the second thing
that struck me on unpacking the
speakers was their size relative to their
cost. I say this for none of these
speakers are expensive but all are
indeed large impressive looking designs.
The mains are $1,199 while the rears
and centre speaker cost $499 and $599
respectively. The sub is $1,099 on its
own. The fit and finish on the speakers
is of a high standard that I did not
expect to find at these price points.
All the review samples came in a very
light Beech vinyl finish which Aaron call
Wood Grain, or there’s Mahogany and
Black Ash finishes. The subwoofer
comes in Black Ash.
Starting with the 3-way ATS-5
speakers, I found a formidable looking
speaker with two 8-inch (200mm)
woofers beneath the midrange unit and
the silk tweeter. Pleasingly the speakers
came with spikes and biwireable speaker
terminals. The cabinet felt a little light
for its size and rapping on the cabinet
brought a slightly hollow sound but
otherwise it seemed an impressive
speaker for the money. The big centre
speaker seemed even more impressive
with its 3-way design, biwireable
terminals and substantial 14kg weight.
The rears were of a similar standard of
construction although they had only
standard speaker terminals.
The same family of drivers has
obviously been used throughout the
Magnus Series. The imposing sub with
its twin 10-inch (250mm) woofers with
inverted dust caps, is a ported upright
design with the single large port facing
the rear. It is also a well-featured sub
and has all the important connections
and controls - the only thing missing
was a crossover bypass feature to let you
run the line-level signal into the sub
without going through its filter circuit.
This is not a must-have though and
most subs at this price don’t feature it
either. I placed the main speakers just
inside my own my larger Celestions, and
they ended up around 60-70cm out
from the wall and toed in slightly. I then
placed the rears on top of my own
floorstanding rear speakers and the sub
went near the corner of the room
adjacent to the right front speaker.
After letting the speakers run in for
a couple of days I then started to listen
seriously. The main speakers much to
my surprise imaged beautifully. A lot of
less expensive speakers don’t image that
well but the drivers used for the
midrange and treble must have been
built to pretty exacting tolerances, and
the same for the enclosures themselves.
My favourite imaging test track on my
Audioquest BluesMasters CD was
reproduced without fault. Treble clarity
was good and the theme from the
soundtrack of Jerry McGuire came
through with an enjoyable pearlescent
