My Rockport Saga

My Rockport Aquila Saga

Given the general lack of information available on Rockport speakers I thought that a record of my own saga may be of interest to others. I'll continue to add to this post in sections as events unfold.

Background

I've been an audiophile since my pre-teen years and grew up in the home of two music lovers. When my family moved into our "new house" I was 6 years old and absolutely mesmerized by the new "Hi Fi" that came along with it. It's funny that at this point I can't recall many details about myself at that age, but I can tell you all about the stereo (KEF 105s, Audire amp / pre, Rabco table, Onkyo tuner, TEAC open reel). By my current standards it was all higher mid-fi, but at the time it was the most amazing thing in the World. I grew up on Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Wagner, Borodin, and many others. In high school I was the oddball who listened to classical and jazz as opposed to the current popular dreck.

Fast-forward to 2011 and I have a very nice high-end system made up of Vandersteen 5As, VTL MB-450s, VTL TL-7.5, VTL TP-6.5, Wadia S7i, and a Basis 2800 vacuum table. After moving into a new room which, albeit small, elevated the performance of my system to a point that I found that I was wanting more. Much of this was likely due to the fact that I hadn't done much upgrading (save for the CD player) in the last couple of years.

Although I loved the Vandersteens and found them to be a wonderful all-around speaker I found that I was editing my listening habits based on what sounded good. I'd skip over the old RCA and Mercury classical recordings in favor of the Blue Note and Impulse re-issues of small jazz ensembles. I realized that the Vandersteens weren't giving me the dynamic presentation that I was looking for in large-scale orchestral recordings.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I hadn't done any major upgrades in a while?

At this point I assumed that I would swap the Vandersteen 5As out for a pair of Wilson Sashas and call it done.

The Catalyst

Toward the end of January my dealer and Wilson Audio parted ways. Being fiercely loyal to my dealer meant looking at other options that were available (for both of us). Rockport and Avalon were at the top of his list and the two of us spent the weekend independently researching options. Based on the limited information out there we found that Rockport speakers had a near-universal admiration for sonics and build quality along with unfaltering respect for their designer, Andrew Payor. As my dealer consulted with some of his trusted advisors in the industry and I spent countless hours re-formulating Google searches we both arrived at the conclusion that Rockport would likely be his new premier line and my next pair of speakers.

I spoke with Mr. Payor the following Monday afternoon about my particular needs and some specifics about my room. Although I had assumed that I would purchase a pair of Ankaas it became clear that the Aquilas were a much better fit for what I was looking for and a significant upgrade over what was offered by the Ankaa. Availability also became an issue as Rockport is in the process of re-working the Ankaa so the model is on hiatus.

My dealer ordered a demo pair of Aquilas and scheduled a seminar featuring Rockport, VTL, and Transparent Audio. I told him that once I had a chance to audition the Aquilas I would likely be his first Rockport customer.

More to come.... I was able to audition the Aquilas yesterday and will post impressions as soon as I'm able to collect my thoughts.

I'm getting my audition notes ready, but lasercd's post reminded me that I have a few people to thank:

First off I'd like to thank lasercd for taking the time to answer my questions about his setup (which I found via his virtual system on AudioGon). In photos his room appeared to be similar to mine in dimension and I was curious to find out how they worked. Thanks again for taking the time!!

Next I'd like to thank Jeff Fritz and crew at Ultra Audio and SoundStage! for providing so much coverage of a line that is essentially ignored by the mainstream audio press. Please keep it up and I hope to see more articles featuring Rockport.

Frank Peraino's review of the Aquila in Stereo Times was the only English language review of the Aquila that I could find and it was very helpful in my quest for information.

Finally, thanks to all of the Rockport groupies out there singing praises of the brand. If it weren't for the nearly universal praise from such a diverse group I likely wouldn't have zeroed in on Rockport so quickly.

Audition Day

Approximately 3 weeks passed and my dealer was notified that the demo pair of Aquilas had shipped. I happened to be on the phone with him when the truck pulled up to deliver them. At about 500lbs each the crates provided a healthy challenge and by the end of the day he was able to get the speakers out of the crates.

Keep in mind that I live about 150 miles away from my dealer so getting in for a demo requires some work on my part. The speakers arrived on Tuesday, but I would be unable to see and hear them until Saturday. I requested as many details as he was willing to offer up about the un-crating and setup process and in return received regular updates along with some photos.

Saturday couldn't come fast enough. I blocked out the entire day to travel to Phoenix, listen as much as possible, and make my final go / no-go decision. I gathered up 25 - 30 CDs the night before, went to bed early, and set the alarm for an early wake-up. I was on the road at 8:00 and made it to my destination just before 10:00. My dealer now operates out of a dedicated addition that he built onto his home and I was given the run of the place for a few hours.

Upon first seeing the Aquilas I was struck by how massive they are. Dimensionally they aren't huge by audiophile standards (they have a 19 x 32 footprint and stand almost 50 inches tall), but they give the visual impression of something very, very heavy. Fortunately, the subtle curves of the cabinet hide some of the bulk and make them look a bit smaller than they actually are.

I spent some time inspecting the quality of the build and have to say that I'm extremely impressed. All surfaces are painted (including the bottoms) to a level of finish perfection that I haven't seen before on a loudspeaker. I've long admired the quality of the paintwork that comes out of the Wilson factory, but having previously owned a pair of Wilsons finished in black I can say without a doubt that the Rockports are completed to a higher standard of finish quality. All of the details of the speaker from the massive spikes to the binding posts to the perfect seam spacing around the front baffle exude a level of fit and finish that is truly state of the art. Even the shipping crates are a step above the industry norm, all components are made out of multi-layer plywood and bolted together. We're talking Rolls Royce quality here!

I had planned to note the measurements of the setup (distance apart and from side walls, etc), but once I started listening none of these details seemed important. I did note the equipment in use, though… just in case you're interested.

Amps: Theta Citadels (not my personal favorite, but he's waiting for new demos from Rowland, VTL, and ML)
Digital: Complete Wadia model 9 system including transport
Power: Transparent Power Isolator Reference and Reference Power Link Cables
Cables: Transparent Reference XL MM2 speaker cables and interconnects (his reference MM cables are being re-configured)

Listening impressions

I'm not going to go through and list of each individual disc that I played as I've rarely found that useful in a product review. Inevitably the reviewer is paying attention to some aspect that isn't important to me and the effort to build a context is just lost. I will say that I played several classical selections featuring large and dynamic orchestral works, several classic jazz ensembles in both studio and live settings, some male and female vocalists, and some modern (independent label) rock. I where appropriate I'll list some individual tracks.

For my first selection I threw in a CD that I had recently played on the 5As and there was one aspect of this performance that I found lacking. This was Graduation Day by Chris Isaack from Heart Shaped World. This song is Isaack singing vocals backed up with guitar, bass, and a drummer. There's a persistent rim shot coming from the left of the soundstage and on the Vandersteens the initial snap was soft, as if the drum stick was soaked in water. On the Aquilas I was in for an interesting surprise. I found that the rim shot was clear and crisp, but once I had answered that question I just got lost in the music. Before realizing it I had played 3 or 4 more tracks from this disc. Never once did I find any part of the presentation lacking nor did I note anything that jumped out and made me pay attention. I just spent 15 minutes enjoying the music.

At this point I was actually a bit disappointed. Every time I've evaluated a new piece of gear *something* has jumped out as being an amazing feature. I could always identify some aspect that could be used to characterize the product: warm / cool, analytical / musical, dynamic / muddy, great imaging, extended top end, fabulous midrange, etc. I sat there for a couple of minutes and pondered what I had heard. I know that I really enjoyed it, in fact I had to force myself to stop the disc, but if asked I couldn't possibly tell someone what they sounded like. Nothing jumped out and hit me in the face and at the same time nothing was so lacking as to focus negative attention. They just sounded good.

From there I switched to classical and put in Piatigorsky playing Dvorak's Cello Concerto (Munch, BSO, RCA, XRCD). This is one of my favorite pieces of music and I waffle between this one and Janos Starker's performance. To me Starker's performance seems to be more precise and technically perfect while Piatigorsky's is more emotional. This is a dynamic recording and when going full steam the full orchestra can sound a bit muddled if the speaker isn't up to the task.

After a few minutes I finally started to find aspects of the presentation that I could point a finger in an effort to classify the Aquilas. First off, this was one of the best presentations of stringed instruments I've ever heard. The cello itself had presence and body that I've never experienced before in this recording. There was some meat to it and during many more technical passages I got the impression of Piatigorsky wrestling with this large and difficult instrument; as if he was trying to tame it. Furthermore the string sections of the orchestra were clearly defined and sounded like actual instruments playing in unison. It wasn't just a case of violins on the left and bass on the right; I could hear slight differences in timbre between individual instruments as well as common changes as the performance went on and bows became drier. These were all things that I've never heard before in this recording.

As with the previous disc I lost all concept of time and played it through to the end. I absolutely enjoyed every minute of it.

From here I played the Heifetz performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto, Reiner's rendition of Pictures at an Exhibition, several tracks from Brubeck at Carnegie Hall, some Vampire weekend, a little Matt Costa, Harry Connick Jr., Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Hank Mobley, and a few others.

In all of these recordings the one track that I expected to play turned into several and in many cases the entire disc. I had made the trip with the sole purpose of critically evaluating these speakers and instead spent 5 hours having an absolute blast listening to music.

Typically when I find a flaw in a system it starts to consume my attention and the act of listening isn't fun at all anymore. This is especially true when I'm trying to evaluate a product. If I'm not tapping my foot or getting lost in the music then I know that I won't be happy with the product in the long term. I'm happy to report that I became so totally engrossed in the listening session that I lost all concept of time. I figured that I would be leaving around 1:00 and was surprised when I was interrupted at 2:00 by my dealer offering some lunch. I finally made it back on the road at 4:00.

Overall I was impressed by the Aquilas and even more impressed by the fact that there was no single thing that blew me away. Instead I found all aspects of their presentation to be excellent with only a few minor faults (more on that later). I constantly found myself making a mental note of things that I had never heard before in recordings that I thought I knew very well. On a couple of occasions I actually backed up the disc to see if I'd actually heard what I thought I did… and I did. The amazing part of this wasn't hearing background aspects of the performance (music stands getting bumped or performers flipping pages in the score) it was having an overall presentation with such clarity that instruments which I previously simply knew were there in the background could be heard clearly, isolated, and focused on.

I'm used to detail retrieval being a trade-off between neat audiophile tricks and overall musicality. I typically find that more detailed components can cause fatigue over time and have learned to accept this. In the case of the Aquilas I never felt any amount of fatigue and could have easily gone one for hours more had I not had a 2 hour drive home ahead of me. Furthermore, I suffer from mild tinnitus which is typically aggravated by extended listening sessions. After five hours I was really surprised to find that my ears weren't upset in the slightest bit.

The Aquila has the ability to pull details out of a recording which are typically buried by other speakers. At the same time it doesn't highlight these details or present in an over-analytical way. I've never heard a speaker which has the ability to present so much information while never doing a disservice to the music being reproduced.

So, to sum up… the Aquilas did everything well and in a very level and even way. Nothing jumped out as a defining characteristic nor as a critical fault. Having said that there is one area where I had hoped for more and that is overall dynamic punch.

The Aquilas are perfectly capable of playing loud and able to do so without breaking up or sounding congested. Keep turning up the volume and the output will level out a bit and the amp will start sounding stressed. Dynamic transients within the music are presented correctly, but heavy swings don't have the punch that I was hoping for. The best way to put it is that Wilson MAXXs can present dynamic swings and play loud better than the Aquilas. Had I not been familiar with what Wilsons can do I likely wouldn't have identified this point.

Furthermore, my dealer's main showroom is large (probably 20 x 35) and I'm sure that the Aquilas were slightly overwhelmed by the volume of the space.

I mentioned this to my dealer and he quickly agreed. He brought up the same point to Andrew Payor who responded that this was a trade-off in the design that becomes apparent in larger spaces. In order to present more dynamic punch more drivers (and driver surface area) are needed, but he was unable to accomplish this at the Aquila's price point without having a negative impact on driver integration. His feeling was that overall driver integration was more important than being the last word in dynamics. I have to say that I agree here as I'd much rather have the overall presentation of the Aquilas over the punch in the gut effect of the MAXXs.

In further conversation my dealer and I came to the conclusion that the dynamics likely wouldn't be an issue in my room as it's significantly smaller than his main showroom (about 1/3 the size).

Next Steps

On Friday I asked my dealer to check on lead time for a pair of Aquilas should they pass the test on Saturday. I was told that Payor was so sure that I'd love the Aquilas that he already had a pair started and was aiming to have them shipped at the end of next week. We had a good laugh that Andy was pretty sure of himself, eh? Well, he was absolutely correct and on the plus side I don't have a 4 week wait to get them!!

mep said:

I hate to say this, but I could find lots of reasons not to like a speaker that costs $45K, has 3 drivers per side, and is made from MDF. To top it off, you were disappointed by their lack of punch. Any speaker that sells for that kind of cabbage shouldn't have to make any excuses on why it can't play loud in a large room and why it lacks punch. $45K should buy you all the drivers you need for "more dynamic punch."

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Design of any component is all about trade-offs and this is true at any price point. To me, when compared to the Wilson MAXX3, this pair of Aquilas which were 4 days out of the shipping crates didn't produce the same punch in the gut. I know that part of this is due to physics and the fact that the Aquilas have a smaller driver surface area than the MAXX3s.

I have to admit that when I originally wrote my (excessively long) post I realized that I had very little negative to say about the Aquilas. Given that I know that there's no such thing as a perfect component I had to find something to pick on and added the final section about dynamics. Perhaps I over-stated the issue.

Long ago when I had a pair of Wilsons in a very small room the bass drum in an orchestral crescendo would hit me in the chest with a visceral punch. This was a fun effect, but having been to numerous live performances in large and small venues I know that it's not accurate. When I say that the Aquilas are missing a "punch" in their dynamic response I'm talking about that feel-it-in-the-gut response. My dealer and I both commented on the same issue as we were both used to the Wilson presentation. The Rockport's dynamic response in the ways which are important to music reproduction is beyond reproach. My apologies for not being more clear in my original post.

mep said:

The only thing that really matters here at the end of the day is that you are happy with your purchase and it sounds like you are. Does "involving" mean the speakers make you want to keep listening to music or does it mean something else?

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I would use the same term as lasercd did. In my case it meant that I could have sat there all day and well into the night listening to music. I just couldn't get enough.

In many ways I found it a difficult speaker to audition and describe as they just sucked me into an experience at which point it become very hard to be objective. My brain was too busy groovin'

mep said:

Well, it's a shame that you felt the need to find something to pick on if you truly felt there were no issues.

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I was just trying to avoid one of those reviews in which everything is stated as being absolutely perfect. This is the one flaw that I found and although minor I couldn't deny that it was there. Given that the Wilson would likely be an an audition list along with these I felt it important to mention this difference.

microstrip said:

BTW, I read you listened to the Aquilas using a completely different amplifier at the demo - are not you afraid they sound very different with your VTLs?

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I was a little concerned about differences, but I compared the citadels and VTLs using Wilson W/P 8s some time ago. At that time I identified the things that I didn't like about the Citadels and was pleasantly surprised to find that those qualities were present in this system in exactly the same form. In other words the Aquilas showed all of the positive and negative qualities of the upstream components. Had I not been so familiar with the amps I would have been more concerned.

I had considered bringing my VTLs up for the demo, but they are incredibly cumbersome and I was concerned about damage to the amps and / or my back.

lloydelee21 said:

Bear in mind the Citadels are old amps...see an excerpt i found from John Atkinson'd equipment measurements in Stereophile 2002: "The distortion stays at around the same level until the amplifier is delivering a few tens of watts, at which point it starts to gently climb, without the usual sharp "knee" in the trace. While high-power transients will be accompanied by highish levels of distortion, these will disappear as soon as the transients are over. In this respect, the Theta Citadel behaves more like a traditional tube amplifier."

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I've never liked the behavior of the Citadels very much at all. I've found that when pushed they develop a midrange glare that just can't be ignored. I've heard this every time I've auditioned using the Citadels regardless of other associated components. In the past I swapped out the amps for a couple of Rowland 501s, 9Tis, as well as VTL MB-450s and the glare went away.

They just don't seem to break-up as gracefully as the others do nor do they seem to have the current reserves of some of the others. I'm not a fan, but my dealer likes them and there were no other options at the time.

Fortunately I knew what I was getting into. On the upside, I could definitely hear the same glare when playing certain recordings (The Sibelieus Violin Concerto was one), but it didn't cause the same fatigue that I've experienced with other speakers.

in any event, the key is you have the opportunity to bring home an amazing set of speakers which seem to play great music for you...and that's what counts in the end. enjoy.

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So very true... I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to own a component as remarkable as the Aquilas.