The Verus Forte Tower Speaker System from Aperion Audio has been making it to the top of editorial lists ever since it was launched. With beautiful and sleek looks to complement its robust sound and build, the Forte Tower continues the tradition of excellence of its earlier Verus Grand series. Aperion is an internet-direct audio speaker system maker who first got noticed with the amazing Intimus line of speakers. They have continued to deliver high end products year after year at extremely attractive prices, thanks to the distribution costs that their marketing model eliminates. The introduction of the Verus Grand line, and the wireless Zona speakers went on to set Aperion apart from the rest of the crowd, with their focus on high quality cabinets, technological innovation, attention to user needs and, of course, high value for money. The Verus Forte Tower system is yet another step towards consolidating this reputation.
Features:
The towers are 35â and actually shorter than most other similarly positioned towers in the market. They come with a 1â ASR tweeter, a 4.5â Kevlar midrange, and two 4.5â Kevlar woofers. The center comes with a coax 1â tweeter, a 4.25â passive radiator, and a 4.25â midrange. The center is 6â high and 19â long. The Verus line also comes with a bookshelf satellite option. The satellites come with a 1â custom soft dome tweeter, and 5.25â phase sync driven midwoofers. They are just over 11â high. The sub is a 400 watt vented Bravus II 10D, with the clarity of an A/B and the intelligence of a D using a BASH amplifier. It comes with a 10â aluminum cone and two 10â passive radiators. The sub is a 13.5â high square design and 15â deep.
The dome tweeters are the axially stabilized radiator designs that were seen in the Verus Grand, with lower frequency crossovers, and a stabilization bar that actually holds the center of the dome down to eliminate the rocking distortion that has typically plagued low crossover tweeter designs.
The cabinets are high density fiberboard, with lacquered cherry veneer finish. The terminals are double metal multiways and bi-amping friendly.
High points:
The innovative high frequency engineering is definitely the most attractive thing about the Verus Forte line. This is all the more pleasing at the price point which is significantly lower than a similar combo of the Verus Grand line. The lower (1.8K) crossover for the ASR tweeters also gives a greater clarity to the high range, with the midrange drivers spared from having to reproduce those cone-breaking frequencies. The soundstaging is deep and well centered. With a very clear tendency to center vocals and dialogs, the Verus Forte will please movie viewer and music buffs equally. The mid bass range is natural and clear all the way down to 60 hz, something that sets this line apart from the fake bass drone that can be heard in many similarly priced and positioned speakers. A major high point of this series is, undoubtedly, the pocket-friendly price point.
Shortcomings:
The height of the tower is a problem for sound imaging since it is lower than the standard seated ear height of 37â. Another area where the Verus Forte seems to lose some ground is in the scanty attention given to the low range imaging and the inclusion of a fixed low pass filter on the Bravus sub. The full range comes to life only with bi-amping, which is not default behavior for all audiophiles. The full power of the sub seems to be slightly mismatched with the rest of the line, and there is visible doubling in the 30 hz range when played at high levels.
Price: Verus Forte Tower comes for $990 a pair, the Verus Forte Satellites for $350 a pair, the Center costs $350, while the Bravus II 10D Subwoofer is priced at $799.
