I recently purchased a pair of Aon 2's and a 50C. My thoughts where that I would fill out the system with a sub and SuperSat3's. I've since decided I rather have Triton 3's up front. My quandary is what to do with the Aon's? The shop I purchased from will let me return the Aon's if I purchase Triton's. However I like the Aon's and am caught up with the idea of making them surround speakers. Honestly, would Aon's be overkill for surrounds? If I make them surrounds then the issue is where to place them. I've read that surrounds should be at least a couple of feet above ear level. Hanging Aon's off the ceiling or wall is doable but not a good option so this leaves stands. How big of difference would Aon's on 30" stands sound versus something high. Is this getting to the point of splitting hairs? I'm trying to decide if I should get over using Aon's as surrounds and use SuperSat3 or in ceiling Invisa series.

Dear Michael,
This is a great question and an even better problem to have.
The Triton 3s will be awesome up front, and the Aons will make GREAT surround speakers. (Of course you will need to fill in the low frequencies with a subwoofer).
IMHO the Aons on stands is the exact way to go. They will be the right height that way.
You did not mention whether you will be listening to mostly music or movies? IF the surrounds are just for movies with terrible sound tracks where some foley guys are banging tin cans together for sound effects, then it doesn't really matter. For great sound tracks and music get the best speakers you can get. Again, in my opinion, you already have wonderful speakers for rear surrounds. Keep them, use them, enjoy them.
I love to listen to blu-ray concert movies in DTS-MA surround. Whether it is Black Crowes or Counting Crows and you are part of the audience ambiance with great surrounds---or the Vienna Philharmonic and you are in the 4th row center, great surround speakers will make the experience wonderful. OR try the TACET SACD surround recordings where you are actually listening in the middle of the musicians, they are arrayed around you. When you have equally great speakers around you, this sounds incredible.
Just my two cents worth, but I would keep the Aons and get the Triton 3s. You never know when you will need good speakers. and the Aon 2s will make great surrounds.
Enjoy, in fact, it sounds like you will.
Wayne

Hi Michael -

Aons for surrounds is very OK, if you can find a place for them. Stands are OK although many prefer surrounds well above ear level. I've seen Aons up high in built-in bookshelves and on individual shelves (and in one installation where there were ledges in the architecture and the Aons were set on the left/right ledge behind the listeners, that was very cool). For most people the SuperSat on-wall or Invisa in-ceiling is the best "fit" solution. Nice thing is, they'll all sound great.

Thanks for the replies!

What I want to do with the system has changed. Originally I wanted to watch movies. Now I want to watch movies and listen to stereo. I plan on getting a surround music disc of some sort just to check it out but don't plan on investing in that media, though plans do change.

I'm thinking about getting custom speaker stands made that will allow a height of 4 to 5 feet at the bottom of the speaker. Just a vertical metal 2"x2" and hang the Aon's via the key slot on the back. This would put the Aon's above ear height. Maybe not the ideal surround height but I'd think it would produce a good surround experience.

Hey Michael,
I think you are really onto something exciting. If you get the Triton 3s and put the Aon 2s in the rear as surrounds, even on the stands you now use, and get a good disc of some great surround music, there is no going back!!!! I think you will get bitten by the bug.
Just my opinion.
I would try it first this way, then you can see what you need,. I have had surround speakers on the ceiling, on the walls above and behind and now floorstanders. I prefer the floorstanders for both music and movies. (OK music first, I reckon if it can do music well, then movies will be fine too). YMMV.
But you can experiment and see what you like.
The main thing is, you will have GREAT speakers to work with and they will sound great wherever you place them.
Enjoy!!!!

It's been over a month so maybe your decision is already made, but perhaps this will help someone else if that is the case.

Long story short, I ended up going with 3 x Aon3 speakers for the front channels, 4 x Aon2 speakers for surrounds (side and back), and a Forcefield 5 for the sub. I thought seriously about using Triton 2s in the front L/R, maybe even Center, but the bass management situation would have been more complicated, as I really felt I would want dedicated subwoofers no matter how much I was told I'd be happy enough with the bass from just the Tritons. I use my Denon receiver to pass everything below 60Hz to only the FF5. I've also played with setting the crossover at 40Hz, and I can't makeup my mind yet which I prefer.

The Aon2s are mounted at a more traditional surround location, a few feet above my listening position, but angled down toward me. This is as much for aesthetics and geography (no great listening-level location for them in my room) as it is for sound. However, I'm very happy with how that works as a bit of split-the-difference between cinema setup and music setup.

I primarily use my setup for home theater, but when I have time to listen to music, I want to really do it well. So my goals were similar, to have great surround sound for HT, but switch roles to fantastic straight stereo listening as well as surround music listening.

My room is a little less than 3,000 cu. ft. I originally had a Forcefield 4 and it was absolutely fine. However, my dealer (Evolution Audio & Video in Aguora Hills, CA) was nice enough to let me trade-up to the Forcefield 5 for just the difference in price. Since I ultimately want to have a pair of FF5s if/when I get a bigger room, I went for it. I'm glad I did, it's not really necessary, but there's just a bit more presence in the very low-level rumble in movies (where it's supposed to be almost sub-conscious in effect), and it has that much more headroom on where it can go. Of course, even the FF4 was kept to something like 1/8th gain, so it's not like it needed more bass.