TEST BENCH

Frequency response (at 2 meters)
tower 50 Hz to 20 kHz ±3.9 dB
center 69 Hz to 20 kHz ±2.5 dB
minispeaker 68 Hz to 20 kHz ±3 dB
subwoofer 43 to 210 Hz ±3 dB

Sensitivity (SPL at 1 meter with 2.8 volts of pink-noise input)
tower 83 dB
center 86 dB
minispeaker 84 dB

Impedance (minimum/nominal)
tower 3.3/6 ohms
center 3.0/5 ohms
minispeaker 3.0/7 ohms                   

Bass limits (lowest frequency and maximum SPL with limit of 10% distortion at 2 meters)
tower 32 Hz at 84 dB
center 72 Hz at 93 dB
minispeaker 72 Hz at 96 dB
subwoofer: 25 Hz at 92 dB SPL
96 dB average SPL from 25 to 63 Hz
99 dB maximum SPL at 40 Hz
bandwidth uniformity 93%


The frequency-response curves shown in the graph are weighted to reflect how sound arrives at a listener's ears with normal speaker placement. Measurements were made at 2 meters to ensure that full effects of cabinet diffraction and front panel reflections were included. All of the measurements shown in the graph were taken with the speaker grilles removed. The Aviano 6 tower speaker was measured standing on the ground, which is the way it will always be used. The Aviano 5 center and Aviano 2 minispeaker were measured on a 6-foot stand. These tests gave quasi-anechoic results down to about 250 Hz. Response of woofers and ports was close-miked, summed, and spliced to the quasi-anechoic response. The subwoofer's driver and port were close-miked and summed.

The Aviano speakers all exhibit a reasonably even frequency response. Interestingly, all share a somewhat reduced midrange output, typically a reduction of -1 to -3 dB from the range of about 1.5 kHz to 7 kHz. All show a bump of a few dB at 7 kHz as they're coming out of that midrange dip. This bump is obviously a characteristic of the tweeter and possibly the cause of the mild treble emphasis I noted in the review. All have a treble rise at 18 kHz, although the weighting technique we use for center speakers obscures this peak in the Aviano 5's frequency-response curve. The Aviano 6 also exhibits a "floor bump" at 420 Hz-an expected result with a floorstanding speaker. With all models, the grilles cause a dip of -1 to -2 dB between about 5.5 kHz and 11 kHz, with a slight peak at about 13 kHz.

Off-axis response of the Aviano 6 tower and the Aviano 2 minispeaker is excellent. Both show the same unusual trait-they roll off gracefully in the upper midrange and treble as you move off-axis, but response in a narrow band centered at 5 kHz stays essentially the same even at 45° off-axis.

The Aviano 5 center, though, shows a lot of off-axis anomalies, caused by interference between its woofers. Some of the dips are severe: -15 dB at 3.8 kHz at 15° off-axis, and -24 dB at 1.3 kHz at 30° off-axis. The first-order (6 dB/octave) crossover is probably the cause, because it filters less high-frequency energy from the woofers than a steeper crossover would, and higher frequencies are where adjacent woofers exhibit the greatest interference effects. Fortunately, as the frequency-response graph shows, these anomalies average out fairly well, although the flaw was apparent enough for me to notice it during my listening tests (which, as always, took place before I did the measurements).

All of the speakers drop to a low of around 3 ohms impedance in places, but that's not as scary as it sounds because the nominal impedance of all models is reasonable. Sensitivity is rather low, though, especially for the Aviano 6 tower and Aviano 2 minispeaker. I noticed that I had to turn the Onkyo TX-NR5007 receiver I used for some of my testing about 3 dB higher than usual to deliver a satisfying volume. These speakers might be a little too much for a cheap receiver to handle, but any midpriced-and-up model should work reasonably well.

The Aviano 7 subwoofer plays surprisingly low for its size; it even had some usable output at 20 Hz (although not much-just 75 dB).  It hits its peak of 99 dB at a relatively low frequency of 40 Hz. Average output from 25 to 63 Hz is just average for a sub of this size, at 96 dB, but still enough to deliver decent punch in a typical living room. These measurements were taken with the sub's internal equalizer deactivated and the low-pass filter at its 200-Hz maximum setting. -B.B.