My Rockport Saga

[Randall Smith]

I reviewed a pair of Ankaa's a few years back and I have helped Jeff set up a pair of X2's, Altair's, Gotham's, and also a pair of Arrakis. All of the speakers were carried up to the second floor of Jeff's house. Its nice if you can have someone set them up for you, but if you can do it yourself and you are trying to do a friend a favor, then no harm no foul.

 

[AMP]

Unpacking and Initial Setup

Uncrating the Aquilas wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. There were a few humorous moments brought on by the sheer absurdity of something this large and heavy being muscled around within the confines of a packed living room... my personal favorite was tilting the speaker back in order to get the dolly under it only to find that I had one foot planted on the concrete floor and the other on a drop cloth. As one foot started to slip I had to make a choice between doing the splits or letting the speaker go.

The crates are assembled with bolts rather than nails or screws so it was simply a matter of removing a seemingly infinite number of 10mm hex head bolts in order to free the top of the crate and one of the sides. The aid of my handy Snap-On 3/8" cordless impact wrench was much appreciated!

With the panels removed the speaker and its packing could be "rolled" out of the crate and onto the floor. Care must be taken so as not to crush toes or any curious pets.

Mistake #1: Crate was too close to the back wall so there was some difficulty in completely separating speaker from crate. If I had about 6 inches behind the crate I could have pushed it free.




In the photo the base of the speaker is furthest away.

Once free of the crate one person needs to lift the bottom half of the speaker while the other removes the foam. Since we were doing this on hard floors we inserted a could of folded up towels under the base of the speaker in order to avoid damaging the finish.

A little less effort is required to remove the top foam and plastic. From there it's pure muscle to tip the speaker upright so that it's resting on its base. These things are really heavy, but the weight wasn't the big concern. I was more worried about the wrap ripping and causing me to lose my grip. Fortunately everything held up and with some effort it was upright and ready to move.

Rockport recommends teflon carpet glides under the base in order to move these, but Andy admitted that hard floors can present a problem. His solution was to use a couple of carpet remnants as runners that the speaker could be slid on. I took a different approach....

Since I'm a geek and had lots of free time on my hands waiting for these to arrive I went looking for the ultimate speaker dolly. A regular 4 wheel furniture dolly would work, but would require the speaker to be tipped quite a ways in order to get the dolly under it. The fear of the speaker sliding off during that stage eliminated that option and I wasn't going to consider dead lifting the speaker onto a dolly.

Instead I found the "Karry King File Dolly" from Raymond Products.

http://www.raymondproducts.com/products.asp?prodID=340

Their site doesn't give very good info on how this works, but I did find some other pictures out on the net. Of course I can't find them now.

Basically it's a dolly specifically designed to move file cabinets. The cabinet is tipped up and this low profile dolly is slid underneath. The location of the wheels allows the dolly platform to tip which requires a minimal amount of movement of the heavy object in order to insert the dolly. Since the front wheels don't swivel the load is stable as the dolly is tipped back down. As a bonus it's vinyl-coated which makes for a good non-slip and non-marring surface.

In other words, it's perfect for moving really heavy speakers.

At this point I tipped the speaker forward and my wife placed the dolly. Aside from nearly singing soprano (see above) this was a completly painless process. Once on the dolly the speaker was easily moved into the listening room.





Speaker #2 generally went without a hitch other than the fact that the crate needed to be moved from the entry way to the living room. The crate is really, really heavy and was a bear to move, but once that was done the unpacking was straightforward.

Once both speakers were in the room I removed the last of the packing and placed them in roughly the same spot that had worked for my Vandersteen 5As. This put the tweeters about 58" from the front wall and 26" from the side walls. I didn't go crazy with measurements and just eyeballed everything. I set a very slight toe-in angle.

Once everything was cabled up I loaded a CD, noted that they sounded nice, and then went to have some dinner. I knew that they weren't going anywhere and at that point I really needed a break.

Around 9:00 I returned and started in with some more serious listening. I didn't want to get all stereo OCD so I listened to some well-known tracks and made some very minor adjustments to positioning. I found that I was able to get them a few inches closer to the side walls and that more aggressive toe-in was needed.

Interestingly enough I found that changing toe-in had a very profound (and positive) effect on sound stage depth as well as 3D image. With slight toe the imaging was very good, but also very flat. With the speakers pointed a a point a few feet behind the listening position the sound stage became very deep and individual instruments gained some meat on their bones. I also noted that as toe increased the bass response became more linear (as if the room effect was being removed from the equation).

I didn't play with positioning much as I was having so much fun listening. All of my initial impressions from the audition held true and I was very pleased to find that the Aquilas weren't overpowering my small room (this was a big concern for me).

Overall everything is better than what I've had before. Tonal balance is very natural. Bass is extremely linear (with measured in-room response down to 20Hz). Sound stage and image are all first rate. Detail retrieval is simply amazing. Easily the best sound that I've ever had in my system. This is espeically encouraging given the fact that the speakers have less than 5 hours on them, aren't spiked, and haven't had their position dialed in. Given that they will only get better with time I'm thrilled.

Didn't get to bed until 2:00AM (with a 5:30 alarm) so they must be doing something right!

Tonight I'm going to need to make the tough choice between catching up on sleep or listening into the wee hours again. Hmm, If I can just make it through the week I can sleep in on Saturday

 

[hr2]

Compliments

 

[AMP]

I've been living with the Aquilas for a few days now and have been trying to accelerate the run-in process by playing music through them constantly during that time. I've spent a lot of that time listening and just can't get enough. I'll look at my watch reading 11:15PM and say, "I have time for another CD." Before I know it, it's 1:00AM and I have to force myself to go to bed.

I was extremely impressed with their performance out of the box, but now that they have about 80 hours on them I'm completely blown away. The bass response is continually improving both in extension and in overall volume (they were a tiny bit lean sounding at first). Mids and highs have opened up considerably along with a corresponding growth in sound stage width and depth.

As they've been breaking in I've found that their overall character hasn't changed, but now individual instruments have more texture and body. Driver integration continues to be outstanding and I've never had an instance where I've felt that any part of the frequency range sounded disjointed.

The best description that I can come up with at this point is a "wall of sound." The sound stage starts a couple of feet in front of the speakers and extends well beyond the front wall. Width is easily wall to wall and on some recordings well beyond those boundaries. Height is the big change for me as I've never had a speaker that could produce a sound stage that was much taller than the speaker. With the Aquilas it's floor to ceiling, but not in a blown up or unnatural way. Instruments and performers appear at a natural height, but there's a sense of hall space all around them... including above them.

It's like I have a wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling window into the performance venue just on the other side of my ottoman.

The real vote of confidence came from my wife (who is not an audiophile at all) when she came into the listening room a couple of nights ago and kicked me out of my chair so she could listen to the disc that was playing. She's never done that before. Last night I opened the listening room door to shut off the lights (music still playing) and got the comment, "Holy s___, THAT sounds incredible! Much better than it did yesterday!"

I simply can't compliment the Aquilas enough.

 

[garylkoh]

Congratulations! Looks like you found the speaker for both you and your wife!!

To accelerate break-in of speakers/electronics/cables - I use the IsoTek disc. Some break-in discs leave a sound, which I don't like. I've found the IsoTek disc not to. It was developed by a reviewer in the UK who simply put together the best of every break-in disc he could find together. It's so good and efficient that Esoteric has licensed the disc and selling it under their brand. You should be able to find it quite easily on-line.

 

[AMP]

To accelerate break-in of speakers/electronics/cables - I use the IsoTek disc. Some break-in discs leave a sound, which I don't like. I've found the IsoTek disc not to. It was developed by a reviewer in the UK who simply put together the best of every break-in disc he could find together. It's so good and efficient that Esoteric has licensed the disc and selling it under their brand. You should be able to find it quite easily on-line.

I considered this and almost picked up a copy, but decided to use music as I was concerned that the soundtrack of a break-in disc played constantly may cause the cats to go a little bit crazier than they already are. I also would rather still hear some music when I'm not in the room actively listening. I just selected my entire jazz collection on the Sonos and hit random play. It's actually been pretty cool as I've found some great stuff that I either forgot about or didn't know that I had.

 

[garylkoh]

I considered this and almost picked up a copy, but decided to use music as I was concerned that the soundtrack of a break-in disc played constantly may cause the cats to go a little bit crazier than they already are.

The first part sounds to me like a "rainstorm in a chip shop", and the sweeps up and down, the swoops would drive me crazy - and I'll bet it'll drive the cats crazier. I'd only use it if I can't hear it.

I also would rather still hear some music when I'm not in the room actively listening. I just selected my entire jazz collection on the Sonos and hit random play. It's actually been pretty cool as I've found some great stuff that I either forgot about or didn't know that I had.

That's a great reason to use music to break in

 

[mep]

Here's what I think about break-in: If something sounds horrible because it's new, it's probably not going to undergo a metamorphosis and like a frog kissed by a princess turn into a King. I get that components can sound better after they have broken in (capacitors form or so we are told, speaker suspensions have to "loosen up" etc.), but they still better sound pretty damn good out of the box because otherwise, you have a problem that will eventually lead you to Ebay or Audiogon.

I'm glad you are really happy with your new speakers and I wish you many good years with them.

 

[AMP]

It's been two weeks since the Aquilas arrived and were setup in my room. Since then I've been working on getting them dialed into the room and broken in. This has actually been a very painless process for me. Quite unusual, indeed!

I'm used to a drawn out iterative process in which the speakers are migrated around the room in small increments until they sound their best. I have little patience for this kind of thing so it ends up being a thoroughly frustrating process. In the case of the Aquilas I eyeballed their placement during the initial setup and then didn't really touch them for several days. During that time they sounded very good, but I did note some issues with the midrange being a bit forward and the soundstage smearing a bit.

I played with fore / aft position and found that moving them back didn't have any major effect on the mids and the soundstage suffered. Given that my room is narrow I didn't have much leeway, but attempted to make some small adjustments. Of all of the changes, toe-in had the most profound effect. Finding a good position was relatively simple and they ended up within an inch of their original position with a moderate amount of toe.

Audiophile OCD set in and I convinced myself that it couldn't have been that easy and spent the next few days stressing over positioning. I moved them all over the place and in every session they ended up right back at the starting position. I couldn't really point to anything that was bad, I just felt like I hadn't done my due diligence. To make matters worse I couldn't stop listening to music (which should have tipped me off in the first place). I'd get through an entire CD before realizing that I still needed to try some more adjustments.

All in all I probably spent 4 - 6 hours of actual time over 10 days focused on placing the speakers. This is a new record for me as it took 3 months to get the Vandersteen 5As into an acceptable setup in my old room.

During the setup I did note a couple of minor anomalies in my room (slap echo in an entryway and behind the listening position). I had always known of their presence, but finally decided to do something about them. I installed a few additional treatments and, much to my surprise, found a vast improvement in sound. The rest of the room is well treated and I never considered these defects to be a big issue. Boy, was I wrong! Mids cleaned up significantly and overall focus became even sharper.

So, there it is. I finally have them placed where I want them with spikes installed (that was fun!). I've spent countless hours re-discovering my CD collection and generally having more fun listening than I've had in years.

The Aquilas have proven to be more than a new component in my system, they are a window into another world!

Should you be in the market for a state of the art speaker then I encourage you to take a close look at the Rockport line. If you're shopping Wilson, Avalon, Hansen, Magico, or any number of other top-end contenders you should make the effort to find a Rockport dealer and take a listen.

 

[LL21]

congrats!!! we have a winner! sounds like you have an amazing system, and it is great to hear about all the trials to get them in situ. enjoy!

 

[JackD201]

Please post the completed pics

 

[David]

Hi AMP,

Have you listen to Rockport + other electronics like Ypsilon Aeliius + pre ... or Vitus (reference or signature series) ... or maybe Aesthetix Atlas + pre ?

With VLT amp (as 450 monos), do you have as good bass as with solid state amplifiers ... from your experiences of course ?
how is the Soundstage too with VTM amps ?

Thanks

David

 

[LL21]

Hi AMP,

Have you listen to Rockport + other electronics like Ypsilon Aeliius + pre ... or Vitus (reference or signature series) ... or maybe Aesthetix Atlas + pre ?

With VLT amp (as 450 monos), do you have as good bass as with solid state amplifiers ... from your experiences of course ?
how is the Soundstage too with VTM amps ?

Thanks

David

Good questions!!! Would love to know as well. Thanks!

 

[A.wayne]

Epilogue ...?

 

[LL21]

Epilogue ...?

more like chapter 3!...lets read some more about your speakers!

 

[AMP]

Epilogue ...?

more like chapter 3!...lets read some more about your speakers!

Wow, it's been almost two years since this all started. I guess an update is in order.

I've lived happily with the Aquila since receipt and even my wife (who loves music, and merely tolerates all things audio) is quite fond of them. As many of you may recall I went through a bit of a crisis over the past summer where in realizing that I hadn't really used the stereo in months started to contemplate selling it. Fortunately, I didn't go very far down that path. In fact I went in the opposite direction and started changing some of the things about the system that I didn't like very much.

For me, in my system, in my room, and with my music the Aquilas are the best speaker I've ever experienced. That is not to say that I think that they are the best speaker in existence (I have heard better), but they are perfect for me in my current situation.

I could go on and on about positive attributes, but it's probably best to sum it up with a simple statement. The Aquila bring music to life in my room. That's the most anyone could ask from any transducer and I'm very fortunate to have found one that does it for me.

No matter how critical I am of their performance I simply can't find any real and demonstrable faults. Sometimes I wish for a little bit more articulation in the midbass but if pressed I likely wouldn't be able to prove that there is a deficiency.

Since having the Aquilas I've had the opportunity to spend some time with the Arrakis in my dealer's system. While the Arrakis are extremely good they don't sound fundamentally different than the Aquilas. All of the sonic attributes are the same between the two and the Arrakis simply improves upon all of the positives present in the Aquila... and what an improvement it is. I've never experienced a speaker that big which can completely disappear and sound so at ease.

I have no real desire to upgrade out of the Aquila and although Andy insists that the Altair would work in my room I can't justify it. The Aquila deliver everything that I want and for the first time I have a component that is absolutely perfect for me. In the future we will move and I will end up with a different room. Should it be larger and cause me to lose some of the low bass slam that I'm getting now I may look at an upgrade, but I won't look at a different speaker line.

For now I'm focused on some changes to my front end (I've churned through a number of amplifiers recently) but think I've come to a partial conclusion there.

 

[LL21]

Wow, it's been almost two years since this all started. I guess an update is in order.

I've lived happily with the Aquila since receipt and even my wife (who loves music, and merely tolerates all things audio) is quite fond of them. As many of you may recall I went through a bit of a crisis over the past summer where in realizing that I hadn't really used the stereo in months started to contemplate selling it. Fortunately, I didn't go very far down that path. In fact I went in the opposite direction and started changing some of the things about the system that I didn't like very much.

For me, in my system, in my room, and with my music the Aquilas are the best speaker I've ever experienced. That is not to say that I think that they are the best speaker in existence (I have heard better), but they are perfect for me in my current situation.

I could go on and on about positive attributes, but it's probably best to sum it up with a simple statement. The Aquila bring music to life in my room. That's the most anyone could ask from any transducer and I'm very fortunate to have found one that does it for me.

No matter how critical I am of their performance I simply can't find any real and demonstrable faults. Sometimes I wish for a little bit more articulation in the midbass but if pressed I likely wouldn't be able to prove that there is a deficiency.

Since having the Aquilas I've had the opportunity to spend some time with the Arrakis in my dealer's system. While the Arrakis are extremely good they don't sound fundamentally different than the Aquilas. All of the sonic attributes are the same between the two and the Arrakis simply improves upon all of the positives present in the Aquila... and what an improvement it is. I've never experienced a speaker that big which can completely disappear and sound so at ease.

I have no real desire to upgrade out of the Aquila and although Andy insists that the Altair would work in my room I can't justify it. The Aquila deliver everything that I want and for the first time I have a component that is absolutely perfect for me. In the future we will move and I will end up with a different room. Should it be larger and cause me to lose some of the low bass slam that I'm getting now I may look at an upgrade, but I won't look at a different speaker line.

For now I'm focused on some changes to my front end (I've churned through a number of amplifiers recently) but think I've come to a partial conclusion there.

Great update!!! Enjoy! I have read many, many great things about Rockports from the Antares to the Merak's, to yours to the Altairs and of course Arrakis. I just happened to speak with Andy for the first time yesterday evening...first class gentleman and truly passionate about audio. And exceedingly down to earth...he did not even introduce himself as Andy Payor until the END of the discussion when i asked for his email and name. Needless to say, the conversion went on a few minutes longer after i discovered that, we chatted about other big speakers in the world.

i may PM you.

 

[jfrech]

Lloydele21: are you thinking about getting a pair of rockports vs your wilsons?

 

[LL21]

Lloydele21: are you thinking about getting a pair of rockports vs your wilsons?

Hey Jfrech...i always plan long-term. i have known that someday i would get Wilson X1s when they were deeply discounted...i made that decision in '05 and it took 5 years for the right pair to come along at the right time/place. I also knew for years i would go with a DAC (rather than 1-box CD player) when people thought i was crazy because the transport/dac thing died out in the '90s...because i wanted the flexibility to play transport, movies and a music server thru it. Hence Zanden.

On Arrakis, based on people whose judgment and ears i trust, and on my own audition of the Merak Sheritan a few years ago...i have this gut instinct that says i might just find the right pair at the right time and do a deal. In fact, this long-term plan has also influenced slightly my choice of electronics...Transparent Reference, CJ and Gryphon are often associated, voiced and shown with Rockport/Wilsons.

Make no mistake...I am in no rush to replace my X1s...they are my favorite speaker that i have had the opportunity to hear without doubt. And i am only going on gut instinct based on reading, talking to a lot of people and hearing the Merak Sheritans (which are much older and smaller)...i hope to hear a pair this spring.

Why do you ask? Are you considering Rockports?

 

[jfrech]

Hi, yes....very much so