I heard the Reference 1 and the Aegis Neo 4. We played a suite of studio master recordings via a Rotel RSP-1570 working as the DAC and Preamp, and a NAD T737 working as the Power Amp.
The Aegis Neo 4 plays loud and low. It provides enough low end extension to recreate the venue's resonance in many recordings. The low end is a bit strong for Marc's demo room, but it'd be perfect in a larger area or with different matching components, as I've heard the same bloat in other big speakers like the 683. The woofers pound fast and clean, and the midrange is nice and neutral. There are frequencies where the tweets could be too eager at times, but that may be resolved by switching to other components in the chain. With no idea of final pricing, I really don't know where this product slots in, but it's a great speaker nonetheless.
The Reference 1 is an accomplished performer. It plays fairly low for small bookshelves, but this undermines resolution in the bottom end (it exhibits the typical bookshelf boost just before it rolls off). The real magic happens in the midrange and highs. It's clean, resolute and free of obvious anomalies. It reveals fine nuances effortlessly, without having them stick out unnecessarily. The stage is not expansive in width or depth, but the images are in decent focus, and don't move around the stage unnecessarily. This is a speaker that won't feel lost in a sea of high end gear. What sets this speaker apart is not that it does some things exemplary well, but it's the fact that it's so flexible with material and is devoid of blatant peculiarities. I'd love to hear this speaker against the B&W PM1.
