However, when I first powered the speakers up, I thought that the speaker didn’t sound half bad or at least any problems it had were not immediately evident. I was thinking perhaps I would encounter their flaws when I sat down to give them a closer listen. And when I did give them a close listen, nothing leapt out as being wrong or off in any conspicuous way that I could readily identify. I remember thinking, “Are these speakers actually OK or am I losing my hearing?” I enjoyed listening to anything that I threw at them, contrary to the impression I took from some of their design qualities. And then I was stunned when I took the first measurements of them; I thought “these can’t be that good?!” But the measurements backed up what I was hearing - these speakers are legitimately good performers.
I have to admit to making a judgment about a loudspeaker before even hearing it, obviously not a great move for an audio equipment reviewer. In this particular case, I am absolutely delighted to have been shown to be wrong. The HECO Aurora 1000s are terrific speakers, especially when considering their cost. They are not perfect speakers, and as was mentioned, some aspects of their build quality and appearance seem like merely the lowest-cost way of getting that aspect done. The enclosure might benefit from thicker panels or better internal damping. Also, despite their large size and dual 8” bass drivers, they don’t really excel at powerful deep bass; they can produce some deep bass but not like a subwoofer can.