Hope that heavy speaker didn't fall over on him!
I just realized that my Alexia's are actually taller by an inch or so. They look taller...
So I bought I pair of Rockports...
- Thread starter jfrech
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Hope that heavy speaker didn't fall over on him!
I just realized that my Alexia's are actually taller by an inch or so. They look taller...
I am mesmerized...seriously a beautiful speaker only bested when you close your eyes and listen vs look. My dealer spent a few hours today on dial in. He is coming back a few more times this week. We want to let them settle down some (although they have really relaxed throughout and extended some in bottom end...about 27 hours playing time). I do think Andy put a few hours on them also at the factory (helping speed things up for me). Really the speed of a electrostat, the transparency of the best ribbons....just amazing resolution but with warmth, naturalness, and a incredible precision on timing.
I do not miss the height of the Wilson's so far...I was wondering if the having the drivers elevated in a line source array vs more of a point source would be a step back...somehow the Rockports pull the illusion of height of incredibly well...I can only guess it's the differing dispersion of the Rockport drivers and how the cabinet shapes reduce defractions...The Rockports just seem to disappear as sound producers...and in width and depth....
The bottom end is awesome. Holy cow that 15 inch side firing woofer has resolution, speed and it digs down low low...totally integrating with everything else
latest pic...you'll see the tape...room blueprints...teflon furniture sliders to move the speakers around...this right speaker is with in a few inches on where the Maxx 3 was. The left is way different...about 14 inches further left and a few inches back... again still more tuning to go...
The left speaker isn't catching the light right for this photo...will have to try diff flash options...
Hope that heavy speaker didn't fall over on him!
I just realized that my Alexia's are actually taller by an inch or so. They look taller...
;-) that was funny....these speakers aren't to tall...but deep...so a narrow baffle...the photo is a bit misleading on their size because most is in the depth...and omg heavy. I assume the Alexia's have the casters so moving around isn't so bad during set up...I'll miss my Wilson's not a single complaint at all...really well made and great sound...was sad to see em go...
Congrats...clearly a winner. When you have more time, some comparisons to your old Maxx 3s would be appreciated since its rare for most of us to have that chance...particularly in a system that we know really well. So your observations will make interesting reading.
Why not a XLF? I loved them.
I'll never have anything bad to say about Wilson's...I owned 4 pair over the years (WP 6, WP 8, Maxx 2's and 3's) and adored each model. The Rockports just do some things differently and the Altair is 1/2 the price of the XLF...I haven't heard the XLF's but have heard the X2.2 extensively...the thing that keeps coming to mind on the differences with the Rockports is transparency (which i realized in my demo's before purchase) but in my room now I can add openness. Again, this isn't saying one is bad...just these Rockports excel in these two areas...and this is with 36 hours of breakin and not dialed in properly just yet. I expect some more improvements...
I'm happy your enjoying the Rockports...but shouldn't a speaker that cost 30K more sound better? Can't the same thing be said when comparing more expensive speakers within the same company. I guess I need to go listen to the Aviors, because I wouldn't classify the Mira 2s as more open or transparent as similarity priced speakers that I've heard.
Hi yes, they should, but they don't always...the Aviors are very much worth a listen....and better than the Mira 2's...
Agree, Jfrech. In fact, I would suggest the question is do the Altairs compete well with speakers that cost a lot more?
Didn't Andy Payor say in an interview that the Aviors were better than the Mira 2's?
Hi not sure..but the Avior's are a higher class of speaker, more expensive and higher quality than the Mira 2's...the Atria's are the Mira 2 replacement (a smaller version of the Avior it looks like to me)
http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/ind...ews&Itemid=121
The Avior replaced the Ankaa, which was at a similar price point. The Atria (which really is a scaled-down Avior) replaced the Mira II. Having heard both the Mira II and the Avior I can say without a doubt that the Avior is a significant step above.
The Alya exists at a similar price point to the Avior, but lacks the large cabinet and bass drivers. It's intended for much smaller rooms.
The Aquila was discontinued due to production and pricing constraints (cabinet costs increased significantly), but it used to live between the Avior and the Altair.
LLoyd,
Bizarre question to ask to someone just getting a new pair of speakers ...
IMHO "compete well" makes a very undefined question and as far as I know, except if the speaker costing a lot more is a poor design or something that does not please your particular preferences, no speaker can compete in all aspects with speakers that cost a lot more.That makes sense now...the Mira Grand was a larger speaker system at the time...
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...uiKUY3uHM6qqAGktYG4AQ&ved=0CDcQ9QEwAQ&dur=802
Yes and no...Cost is purely a function of the seller's cost basis plus his markup. A pair of SF Strads costs about GBP30K in UK but USD$50K in the US. A pair of Wilson Sashas cost about $30K in the US and GBP30K in the UK. All relating to F/X and import duty...all real costs but nothing relating to the quality of the sound. So Sashas and Strads are competitors in price in the UK...but Strads are nearly 2x as good as the Sasha in the States? Obviously not.
Then there is dealer markup which may be slightly different from brand to brand or distributor to distributor.
That said, i do agree the market is reasonably efficient...and long-term manufacturers are not stupid...they charge what they think they can get...and typically that is based on quality and its competitive set.
But because of market inefficiencies, some products are better value in my opinion (repeat: imho) and i am just wondering if JFrech feels that way about his Altairs.
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