Rockport auquila

hr2

New Member
Apr 2, 2011
17
0
0
First of all, greetings to you all.
I write from Italy, I wanted to ask you a question.
I would be very interested In These splendid speaker, But I have a small
doubt ..... my audio amplifier Vitus SS101 and grateful for driving
Rockport?
Also I was thinking of the Gryphon Colosseum stereo sound to me But Vitus
like a lot, and I would not change it.
What do you advise me to do?
Thanks to all and sorry for my bad Inglese.
 

DaveyF

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2010
6,129
181
458
La Jolla, Calif USA
Hi hr2, It is VERY difficult to answer your question with the amount of information you have given us. For instance, what is the size of your room, what kind of music will you be likely to play...therefore how loud and dynamic must the system get, other associated gear to be used etc? Nonetheless, one other thought, would be for you to contact Andy Payor at Rockport and get his opinion on the combo that you are proposing. I'm sure he would have some very helpful information on the pairing.
 
Last edited:

AMP

Member
Feb 27, 2011
299
2
16
Hi hr2, It is VERY difficult to answer your question with the amount of information you have given us. For instance, what is the size of your room, what kind of music will you be likely to play...therefore how loud and dynamic must the system get, other associated gear to be used etc? Nonetheless, one other thought, would be for you to contact Andy Pyor at Rockport and get his opinion on the combo that you are proposing. I'm sure he would have some very helpful information on the pairing.

Agree on both counts.

First off, Andy Payor is one of the most helpful designers that I've ever met in the business. In talking with him on several occasions it's become clear that his primary concern is making sure that customers are happy with his products. If something simply won't work he'll be absolutely honest about that fact and will likely offer some alternatives. It's worth calling him for some input.

Second, I just took delivery of my Aquilas less than a week ago. My normal amplifiers are VTL MB-450s and they are an excellent match for the Aquilas. As I'm trying to accelerate the break-in process I want to run signal through the speakers 24x7, but don't want to leave the tube amps running while I'm away from home. I've been hooking up an Esoteric RZ-1 integrated for those times. It's rated at 100 watts per channel and generally has no trouble making music in my smallish room (11x17x8). I've been doing my critical listening with the VTLs, but on several occasions I've gone into the room with the RZ-1 connected and not come out for 30 minutes as I just got sucked into the music. I will say that at high volumes the RZ-1 does have trouble with big dynamic swings, but it's never given me the impression that it's being over-worked.

Finally, the Aquilas are one of the most amazing speakers I've ever heard. I purchased mine after a short audition and have absolutely no regrets. If you have the opportunity to own a pair then you are indeed very lucky.
 

hr2

New Member
Apr 2, 2011
17
0
0
Thank you all for the answers.
My listening room is about 50 square meters ..... mostly of music listening
jezz.
These days I have heard many speakers, focal
maestro, contrivas tide, Burmester B100, time to Avalon, a magical Q5.
But my wife is literally in love with the beauty of the speakers
Rockport.
In Italy Rockport speakers are not imported, and very Difficult
These listen to speakers.
Of all heard These speakers, only the focal maestro I tried with my
amp Vitus SS101, the fabulous sound Was, But The seller Was not enough room
small, I read your review of the Rockport Altair
my amp, But I Seem to Altair more efficient and
driving easier.
Then I got a little 'afraid to take a speaker ever heard, I read That
great speaker and I have only to elaborate on this.
I do not know what to do.
Thank you all.
 

hr2

New Member
Apr 2, 2011
17
0
0
Thank you, Steve ...... Mine Was Only a joke ....

I wanted to ask you why not talk much about vitus audio on the forum?
There someone who HAD experience with SS101?
It Could rockport drive the Aquila?

Excuse me Mr. Steve yet.
Hello Ciro.
 

Randall Smith

New Member
May 30, 2010
166
0
0
NC
Hi Ciro,

You emailed me a few months ago asking the same question. I sent back a detailed response which basically said, "yes, the Vitus is more than capable." You also emailed Jeff Fritz, who actually owned the Vitus amp you are asking about. He used it with a pair of Rockport Altair's. He gave you the same answer. "yes, it will drive the amp." Your amp will drive any Rockport speaker to ridiculously loud levels. Your amp will push those speakers, and almost any other speaker, wonderfully.

Hope this helps.

http://www.ultraaudio.com/index.php...ir-and-vitus-audio&catid=32:letters&Itemid=47
 

hr2

New Member
Apr 2, 2011
17
0
0
thanks Mr. Randall Smith ....... remember your answer, the problem that are not imported in Italy rockport, yesterday I got to listen to but aims for a short time, I try to take much information as possible .... rockport .. the speakers are very expensive I would not make mistakes .
Thanks again ciro.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
Hi HR2,

I own the Gryphon Antileon and also have heard Rockports. Unfortunately, i have never heard vitus. I can say this...i have spoken with Jeff Fritz myself before about a few things and read many, many of his reviews. He is exceedingly thorough and has very high standards. I also have spoken with dealers who have compared Gryphon to Vitus (like Jeff). My impressions are as follows:

1. You already know that Gryphon and Rockport are an exceptional match, which the creator of Rockport (Andy Payor) often uses.
2. The "voice" of the Vitus shares some similarities with Gryphon...Class A SS, sweet tonality and substantial power.
3. The Vitus is also well regarded for its incredible power and ability to drive difficult loads and very, very large speakers (Jeff used them to run his Alexandrias and felt quite comfortable with their power capabilities...that says a lot to me.)
In summary, i would not be surprised if you were very happy with Vitus and Rockport if you (also) like Gryphon and Rockport which is highly recommended by the creator of Rockport himself. Hope that is helpful. i have sympathy for your situation...buying very expensive equipment that is not imported into your country is very difficult. it helps to ask the same question 3-5 times just to make sure, sure, sure (as possible) without hearing for yourself.

I bought my Gryphon (second hand) without hearing it...trust me. That was an extremely difficult decision to make and it took me months of speaking with many, many people before i did it. In the end, i was "confident" and purchased it. And i have enjoyed my Gryphon every day. (I run them on Wilson X-1/Grand Slamms.) Good luck and please keep us posted.
 

AMP

Member
Feb 27, 2011
299
2
16
I completely understand that you are hesitant to purchase the speakers without having a local distributor and means of audition. As it looks like your questions about amplification have been addressed I can only add the following information.

If you liked what you heard in the short audition of the Aquila you will probably be very happy with a pair in your listening room. I found that the Aquilas are a very neutral and very "true" speaker. You need not worry about any engineering tricks which make them sound amazing for the first 30 minutes and fatiguing after that.

Having recently auditioned and purchased a pair of Aquilas I can say that this is the best money I've ever spent on any piece of audio gear. They have been the most rewarding audio investment that I've ever made.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
Completely agree with your comments, AMP. The Rockport i heard had exceptional "trueness"/natural tonality while at the same time, generating all the substantial detail. instrument separation and tremendous power that comes with superbly built, heavy speakers. We have all heard high-detail speakers that throw something impressive at you for 20 minutes...and if you listen too much longer, you start looking for the door, or switching tracks or fiddling in your seat or getting up to change something, or checking your blackberry (which frankly i do all the time no matter what).
 

AMP

Member
Feb 27, 2011
299
2
16
Completely agree with your comments, AMP. The Rockport i heard had exceptional "trueness"/natural tonality while at the same time, generating all the substantial detail. instrument separation and tremendous power that comes with superbly built, heavy speakers. We have all heard high-detail speakers that throw something impressive at you for 20 minutes...and if you listen too much longer, you start looking for the door, or switching tracks or fiddling in your seat or getting up to change something, or checking your blackberry (which frankly i do all the time no matter what).

My biggest problem in trying to get the Rockports dialed-in is the fact that I can't stop listening to whatever disc I'm using for evaluation. Yesterday was the day to set the final position (primarily toe-in) so I cued up the track that I planned to use as a reference. Sat down and before I knew it had listened to the whole disc (speakers didn't move... hell, I didn't move). I put it back on the reference track and adjusted toe a little bit and had the same problem... listened to the whole disc again. Took a while to force myself to make adjustments and after a few realized that the Aquilas were best in the original position and decided that they had found their home.

There's no such thing as a short session with these speakers. If I sit down at 10pm to listen to one disc I now know that I'll be lucky to get out by 1am! I have never EVER had this "issue" in the past.
 

hr2

New Member
Apr 2, 2011
17
0
0
Thank you all for your replies.
In these days I continued to listen to speakers, I dwelt on focal maestro .... great speaker, very different from its predecessors ... much more neutral and less on the high shot.
Does anyone ever compared to rockport aquila and focal maestro??
Thanks again to everyone.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
Hi Hr2,

i have not heard the Focal Maestro...from what i have read, my first question would be whether it has the power/dynamic/bass capability of the Aquila. i do not know...but it is a question to ask.
 

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