Return of the GOAT?
The Aries Cerat brand has established a passionate following, almost cult-like in its rejection of anything short of adulation. With a designer who prides himself on rejecting any rule book formulas, his designs of everything from speakers to electronics to turntables prove him true to that intention. While we’ve always struggled to find anything admirable in the various Aries Cerat rooms that we’ve visited over the years, last year proved a whole new low, with monster sub-woofers generating bass that was so loose and detached that it was actually nauseating. Meanwhile images were massively over-sized and over-blown. Yet even so, legions of devoted followers flooded the internet with positive comment, a chorus that almost managed to match the condemnation. So, this year, Aries Cerat was always going to be the focus of heightened attention. Could they improve on last year’s showing – or not?
With past experience in mind, we approached the Aries Cerat room this year with particular trepidation – only to be if not exactly pleasantly surprised, at least disarmed. As always, Aries Cerat followed its own muse when it came to the designs on show. The Pallas, enormous white horn speakers that dominated the large room were surrounded by mountains of equipment, all proudly displaying the Aries Cerat logo. The set up promised little—a huge cavern of a room with components set up to maximize the ability of look-e-loos wandering about with their video cameras, circling the speakers and equipment to capture the love of fans back home. Yet, this was by far the best sounding Aries Cerat sound we’ve heard in Munich, although that’s a very low bar. This year, the sound was at least listenable, even if images were giant sized and the bass a whole beat behind. Down in the Halls, the company also shared space with AudioNec in a smaller room. The AudioNec speakers might look like a piece of equipment from a clean and press factory but sounded excellent in a similar sound cabin last year. This year, their partner produced a sound far more reminiscent of their prior performances, resulting in a messy, disjointed sound that did nothing to invite extended listening. At 0,1 and 1, Aries Cerat aren’t exactly batting a 1000, but at least this year their big system didn’t drive us from the room.
