Rockport Arrakis (Latest) - Save $55,000, Worldwide Shipping

spiritofmusic

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Ked, it just seems that 95% of spkrs remain a massive challenge for lower powered tube amps.
The Divin was purposely designed to be high efficiency, I believe 98dB was stated.
But this is a definite exception.
 

Jazzhead

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Ked, it just seems that 95% of spkrs remain a massive challenge for lower powered tube amps.
The Divin was purposely designed to be high efficiency, I believe 98dB was stated.
But this is a definite exception.

Stenheim Ultime Ref = 96 dB
 

Jazzhead

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Today is not that day for me. But that day will come.

Til then, having heard 3 Rockports (incl Altair 2 and Arrakis) and enjoyed them each tremendously, I can say based on on those [limited] experiences, the Arrakis has an effortless scale that took my breath away despite having heard multiple big Wilsons, Focals and i can think of a few others for years (and having a big Wilson and sub at home). The only other speaker i have heard that challenges and i suspect can do even bigger effortless scale is the Genesis 1. But the footprint difference between those two makes the Arrakis seem downright economic by comparison. 2' x 3' footprint and 9 inches taller than a big Wilson. The Genesis panels are well over 7' tall and 4 feet wide each with a still not insignificant thickness despite being a panel...not to mention the 2 over 7' tall woofer towers...and other boxes that come with the speakers.

I really do like that speaker a lot. Great to see people are keeping an eye out for it! Thanks, Ron, for thinking of me. I will buy those someday.

+1 on the scale it generates and the effortlessness in its presentation . I heard it at an uber high end store in Jeddah , Saudi Arabia . It was an unfamiliar room , where time stood still as I was ushered along on a magical ride . I would take it in a heartbeat over almost any other statement speaker .
 

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Jazzhead

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This was the adjoining room at the store image.jpg
 

spiritofmusic

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What the heck are dynamic drivers (16” bass) doing on a cost no object full range horn design?
 

GMKF

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What the heck are dynamic drivers (16” bass) doing on a cost no object full range horn design?

with the magic of DSP you can make it blend in... And you need to make those speakers "room friendly" which a bass horn isn't. If you want to sell them...

But my dream system would be a full horn setup with Plasmatweeter with an infrasonic sub....
 

spiritofmusic

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GMKF, “Magico Ultimate” and “room friendly” are mutually exclusive phrases I believe LOL.
 

Mark Seaton

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I’m not really in the market at any of these prices.
I just don’t understand why in this day and age, it’s not possible to create a cost no object speaker with high efficiency.
90dB just precludes enough tube amps.

Simple answer is either end of the spectrum. Obviously we're into the realm of huge cabinets here, so it's possible to get into the teens with reasonable efficiency, but every dB higher gets a LOT bigger. Tweeters and well behaved midranges are significant hurdles as well, where you have to really get into fully custom units with less common qualities to get much beyond 92-94dB, or they are very limited in movement/travel, thereby limiting how low in frequency they can operate. Many super efficient drivers currently produced have unwanted mechanical resonances in the passband, and the builders don't "get" the hi-fi market, and the more classic hi-fi builders don't grasp the need or how to scale up what they do to much higher efficiency (or their tooling and fixtures don't easily allow it). It is most certainly be possible to design honest, 94-100dB @ 1W/1m loudspeakers using conventional drivers... but it certainly isn't simple, nor small.
 

spiritofmusic

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Mark, then I guess I have no reason to move past my Zu Defintions 4 spkrs, at a genuine efficiency of 101dB.
 

GMKF

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they are way smaller than a linear not folded bass horn :cool:
Thats how I ment "room friendly".
 

spiritofmusic

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Yes, but a 16” dynamic driver is still a 16” dynamic driver.
For $700k, I’d want SOME kind of basshorn.
 

bonzo75

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they are way smaller than a linear not folded bass horn :cool:
Thats how I ment "room friendly".

Such horns will be phenomenal. I heard a 1.2m straight horn and it had among the best bass ever. Custom made. Will write about it in detail later.
 

c1ferrari

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figure 'street price' on a new set is 30% plus off retail.....maybe more; what someone will actually pay. so that sets the value limit for used. but the listed value has to be kept high to protect the brand.

but this is likely the same set that has been for sale for at least 6+ months by owner.

someone will end up with these for a little over $100k when all is said and done......maybe up to $125k shipped. and that will be a great value for a super speaker system.

Appreciate your insight, here. :cool:
 

Mark Seaton

WBF Technical Expert (Speaker & Acoustics)
May 21, 2010
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Mark, then I guess I have no reason to move past my Zu Defintions 4 spkrs, at a genuine efficiency of 101dB.

Quoting specific numbers in the context of Zu Audio speakers will be fuzzy at best. Generically claiming 101dB and defining how it's measured are entirely different things. One peak reaching that height in the highest frequencies is being generous to say the least, and the same yarn Klipsch has been guilty of spinning in the past. The few measurements I've seen suggest the numbers have ranged from 3-10dB generous vs how say Rockport would specify.

I also mentioned it's tricky to do it with dome tweeters, where the Definition 4 uses a compression driver for the highest frequencies. The Definition 4 also skips the goal of true high efficiency at low frequencies by integrating a powered woofer into the cabinet. With the 400W amplifer, powering these with more than 10-40W means you're short power on the bottom vs. the rest of the range. I think such hybrid designs are a great solution for many, but let's not confuse this with a full-range, high efficiency design. It's a bass limited design with an integrated powered bass section. It also makes admitted trade offs in operating the large 10" drivers so high in frequency in search of the dynamic jump and lively sound they do such a good job of voicing into the Zu's. That said, the technical expectations are worlds apart from that of the Rockports being discussed here.
 

spiritofmusic

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Oh sure Mark. I remain a convert, but could easily swing to true high efficiency horns. And have a taste for hard to drive Apogees. Happy to return back on topic.
 

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