AAD System 800

All American home theatre

By Tony Davey

May 2004

AAD System 800. $2999

“Nice” was the first word out of sons mouth as I started to unpack the freshly delivered boxes. I had to agree with him.

AAD, or American Acoustic Development, is a relatively new brand to New Zealand however some quick Googling showed that they are an American based company (it was hardly going to be Irish was it!) based in North Carolina and headed by Phil Jones who has been in the loudspeaker industry for over 20 years (including time previously with Wharefdale, Acoustic Energy and Boston Acoustics).

The package presented for review consisted of the C800i main speakers, the C50i bipole surround speakers, the C301i centre speaker and the SD10 powered subwoofer. The remarkable thing about this speaker package is that for three grand, you get a full bodied speaker set, not just a sub-sat/bookshelf system as is common at the price point.

Construction quality is sound, with a solid (and in the case of the main speakers very heavy) feel to them. Also quite remarkably at this price point is that all of the speakers have dual binding posts rather than spring clips that some manufacturers might try and slip in.

Best you have a room with plenty of spare real-estate for this package, as the speakers are unashamedly big. The main speakers stand a whopping 1.2m high, have four 165mm woofers, a 25mm tweeter and can handle up to 250w RMS amplification. The centre and surround speakers each contain two 130mm woofers and a 25mm tweeter (with the surrounds in bipole format). The review set was finished in their “birdseye” veneer (light brown) but there is also a black ash finish available.

The sub has a 200mm woofer and 75w RMS amplification and it reminded me a lot of a car sub-woofer with its metal grill exterior. Buyers with above average sized rooms may want to look a little further up AAD’s product range as this sub may be a little underpowered for a larger room. However for an average sized room, the sub should perform well, with tight, clean bass.

With the sub placed neatly in my rooms optimal position, and some quick calibrating for volume levels it was down to some serious listening.

For music, I found the AAD system felt most at ease with rock music (classic rock such as Pink Floyd, AC/DC and Guns N Roses to name a few) and more upbeat music (Eminem, Destiny’s Child etc). The AAD speakers were fast paced and had a nice punch to them. Highs could get a little overbearing when the volume was pushed too far, but at normal listening levels this was not problematic. The main speakers were able to produce tight and punchy bass, but when you turned the sub on, the bass was considerably deeper and still remained tight.

I received these speakers as a “home theatre” set, and that is where they sounded best. Their performance with music simply transferred through to home theatre, again with highs being prevalent, but not overdone at sane volumes and plenty of detail to draw you into the movie.

Black Hawk Down is a complete home theatre demo disk, from the opening scenes at the food station and inside the Bakara market, through to the very intense fighting scenes between the US and the “skinnies”. Bullets whizzed around the room and explosions were full sounded (but not ground shaking) and the overall effect immersed me into the movie.

I could be overly critical of these speakers and point out the rather cold tone in the midrange, or the near clinical approach that they tended to have towards acoustic music, but that is not being fair to the good things that these speakers can do.

For an entry level, full sized home theatre package, the AAD package represents a lot of bang for your buck. Their performance is likely to please those that are looking for speakers to fill a room but not wanting to sell the souls of their children, or as an alternative to those that thought they could only afford a sub/sat system.

For your nearest AAD dealer