Arrakis 2

treitz3

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Quote :GRYPHON boss Flemming E.Rasmussen is listening, and Flemming, said: "This is the best sound I never heard before"

never should be ever i suspect
Hello, andromedaaudio. I think he got what he was saying correct. The way he said it, at least to me, means more than if he were to just say "ever". Personally, I always look forward to what he expressed, for these moments are rare or IME far and few between.
 

LL21

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Hello, andromedaaudio. I think he got what he was saying correct. The way he said it, at least to me, means more than if he were to just say "ever". Personally, I always look forward to what he expressed, for these moments are rare or IME far and few between.

When i read Flemming's quote, i thought he was saying there was no sound...just music. So therefore, it was the best sound he NEVER heard (because he was hearing ONLY music).
 

AudioExplorations

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Apr 5, 2012
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"This is the best sound I never heard before"

I interpreted it as he had never before heard a better sound, i.e. it went above and beyond all of his past references.

The wife/gf is definitely the cherry on the sundae! :cool:
 

LL21

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as in the Boulder amp thread...another example of the owner/founder flying over to see a customer who spends 6 figures on equipment...the cost of the ticket is well worth it in the context of building a relationship with such a customer...and getting repeat business... this buyer had 2 sets of Colosseum monos and has already upgraded one set to the mephisto monos...and still has another set to go...

I KNNEEEEW IT!!!!!!!!! The second set is now Mephisto!
 

trponhunter

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Apr 30, 2012
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One of the things that is really amazing about the Arrakis versus other large speakers is they way they can disappear. Due to attention being paid to diffraction and keeping the tweeter at approximately ear level when listening (rather than elevated above the listening position as so many large sytems do ), the Arrakis basically can focus as well as a small mini. It is an utter first time experience for me when hearing them - all other large ambitious designs never get in the ball park in the focusing department by comparison. Also, this truly is a full range speaker - no excuses about the room etc.... they go effortlessly deep and without big bass bumps. After spending time not only listening to it, but seeing how it is built and understanding its design parameters , I find Arrakis is in a totally different league then alot of it's better known competitors at similar prices.
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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One of the things that is really amazing about the Arrakis versus other large speakers is they way they can disappear. Due to attention being paid to diffraction and keeping the tweeter at approximately ear level when listening (rather than elevated above the listening position as so many large sytems do ), the Arrakis basically can focus as well as a small mini. It is an utter first time experience for me when hearing them - all other large ambitious designs never get in the ball park in the focusing department by comparison. Also, this truly is a full range speaker - no excuses about the room etc.... they go effortlessly deep and without big bass bumps. After spending time not only listening to it, but seeing how it is built and understanding its design parameters , I find Arrakis is in a totally different league then alot of it's better known competitors at similar prices.

Have you heard the 2 different Arrakis? original vs the newer one? If so, how are they different?
thanks!
 

LL21

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I preferred the look of the 4 Colosseum's, but I bet the sound of this system is unbeaten anywhere in the world.

Inclined to agree it would be hard to beat (for my ears)...depending on the source and preamp. I have heard other Rockport speakers, know the Colosseum very well now and have long enjoyed Transparent Audio. Plus, there is a very well known synergy between Gryphon and Rockport which Andy Payor himself endorses as evident on the Rockport site. The room certainly has the size and height for speakers this size. would love to hear.
 

trponhunter

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Have you heard the 2 different Arrakis? original vs the newer one? If so, how are they different?
thanks!

Never heard the series 1 Arrakis, but I've spent lots of tiime with Aleaxadria's and WAMM's and lived with Infinty IRS for awhile. Very different league of completenss in the Arrakis.
 

Rocco I.

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Apr 26, 2012
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Amazing.
 

LL21

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Never heard the series 1 Arrakis, but I've spent lots of tiime with Aleaxadria's and WAMM's and lived with Infinty IRS for awhile. Very different league of completenss in the Arrakis.

Yep...that is what i thought you would say.. i will continue to keep my eyes out for a pair.
 

NorthStar

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Feb 8, 2011
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One of the things that is really amazing about the Arrakis versus other large speakers is they way they can disappear. Due to attention being paid to diffraction and keeping the tweeter at approximately ear level when listening (rather than elevated above the listening position as so many large sytems do ), the Arrakis basically can focus as well as a small mini. It is an utter first time experience for me when hearing them - all other large ambitious designs never get in the ball park in the focusing department by comparison. Also, this truly is a full range speaker - no excuses about the room etc.... they go effortlessly deep and without big bass bumps. After spending time not only listening to it, but seeing how it is built and understanding its design parameters , I find Arrakis is in a totally different league then alot of it's better known competitors at similar prices.

Interesting. ...From what I can see in the pictures, the tweeter seems to be higher than at ear level. ...From sitting in that listening chair, couch. Do you know it's exact height, from the floor, with spikes and all.

But then, at the distance they are from the main listener, does it truly matter?

Just couple observations ...
 

mep

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Interesting. ...From what I can see in the pictures, the tweeter seems to be higher than at ear level. ...From sitting in that listening chair, couch. Do you know it's exact height, from the floor, with spikes and all.

But then, at the distance they are from the main listener, does it truly matter?

Just couple observations ...

I don't even know how you made that observation. Did you triangulate the distance from the tweeter to where someone's ears would be if they were sitting in the listening chair? It looks about right to my pair of calibrated eyeballs.
 

LL21

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The speaker is 81" tall...so the tweeter is roughly 43 inches or 3 foot 7" from the floor. FWIW.
 

trponhunter

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FWIW - if you can afford a used Arrakis, then you can afford a new Altair - which is half of an Arrakis. Actually a new Altair would have the new berrylium tweeter, as opposed to a series 1 Arrakis. If you didn't realizr it - look at and Altair then an Arrakis and you'll see it is actually half of an Arrakis - same cabinet construction, drivers - just less of them.
 

NorthStar

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I don't even know how you made that observation. Did you triangulate the distance from the tweeter to where someone's ears would be if they were sitting in the listening chair? It looks about right to my pair of calibrated eyeballs.

Yes, I did my best to approximate the height of the tweeter by only looking at the pictures.
...Triangulation; sounds fine. :b {I was very good at 'perspective' (point of origin) at ART school.}

The speaker is 81" tall...so the tweeter is roughly 43 inches or 3 foot 7" from the floor. FWIW.

Amazing! Because my guess was between 42" and 44". :b ...Seriously.

* By the way, at home, in my own room, sitting on my own loveseat (two-sitter);
my ears are 32" from the floor, and the tweeters from my mains are at 33 1/3" height exactly.

*** But here, because the main listener is sitting much farther than me (only 9 feet in my room),
it's OK to have the tweeters higher. And from what I can calculate of a normal height person (6 feet or so), and the chair present in that room; I evaluate the ears height at roughly 38" from the floor. ...A couple of inches more or less (from 36" to 40" at the very max.).
 
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LL21

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FWIW - if you can afford a used Arrakis, then you can afford a new Altair - which is half of an Arrakis. Actually a new Altair would have the new berrylium tweeter, as opposed to a series 1 Arrakis. If you didn't realizr it - look at and Altair then an Arrakis and you'll see it is actually half of an Arrakis - same cabinet construction, drivers - just less of them.

True...though i have seen Arrakis second hand for much less than new Altair...it went in 3 weeks. Plus, i am not sure which might be better. I do care about purity of tonality...but i love effortlessness...hence why i like my X1s.
 

trponhunter

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There seems to be a good bit of discussion about the tweeter height. In my mind, it's not that the tweeter needs to be exactly at your ear height, but it isn't significantly over your seated ear height. Think about a great imaging pair of mini monitors, you would never put them on stands so the tweeter was as high as some other large speakers - the tweeter would always be around your ear height. Same thing goes here - I have heard the Arrakis back to back with other Rockprt speakers in the same room at the same time, and the Arrakis is just as specific as the smaller, less complex designs. Just as specific in terms of focus, but quieter, more resolved - simply better and more dynamic and full range. Whenever I have listened to other manufacturers simpler designs versus their larger one - the smaller, simpler ones will always out focus the bigger ones. If you listen carefully, and are not swayed by the price or dynamics, I have found that you always pay a price. In my experience, the Arrakis is the only super speaker that can equal the minis in focusing powers, and have all the advantage of being bigger. I think a part of it is that the tweeter is closer to ear height (along with serious attention being paid to cabinet diffraction via the large, sweepingcurved baffles - something you cannot do if you build a cabinet out of any type of sheet stock). To me, that is what makes it totally unique - you pay no penalty for the extension and dynamics.

It never made any sense to me to have a tweeter 2 feet above your listening height, forcing you to "look up" to the soundstage. As I mentioned earlier, no one would ever put a mini monitor that high and expect it to be better - so why in a big speaker? Just my experience, of course.
 

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