The differences between Orion and Lyra result in a slightly different sound but they are more alike than different. The Lyras cabinet is slightly quieter which yields slightly better resolution. Not night and day. The Lyra is taller so it presents a taller soundstage. The Lyras cabinet has a larger volume and it has more driver surface area so it plays a little “bigger”. The Orions tweeter and midrange are larger and play lower than the smaller Lyra drivers. The crossovers are set lower so this changes the sound some. Each is optimized for its drivers and cabinet. The biggest obvious differences are the dual 6 inch mids vs a single 7 and dual 10s vs single 13. The dual 6s give more midrange presence. The Orions 13 inch woofer is a thing of beauty. I love it. I personally prefer it to the 2 10s. My hope is that when Rockport makes its next statement speaker it has multiple 13s.
Rockport Technologies Introduces Orion Loudspeaker
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The Lyra has an extra midrange and is a 3 1/2 way speaker, that in and of itself will make for a significant difference in sonics irrespective of a stiffer cabinet.
Also, and to be frank, a 3 - way is a 3 - way, meaning each driver is handling a large portion of the frequency range averaging 3+ octaves per driver. All things being equal, it will never be as effortless, dynamic and be able to scale like a 4+ way. That's what the Arrakis did, Vivid Spirit, Magico M7 / 9, big Wilsons, etc. It's physics.
I was simply responding to you assertions about the drivers. The Lyra is superior to the Arrakis in every way according to the people who designed and built them. There are certainly advantages to larger cabinet volumes and to driver surface areas, There are also advantages to having fewer crossovers. Every time you cut the signal you have to reconstruct it. It all depends upon what you are after. I mentioned the Lyras double mids but they do it in really interesting way which I personally like. I can tell you with certainty (because they told me) that Rockport views 4 way designs as a compromise. They will do it when they can do it with minimum compromise and maximum return. In their case this would be a larger more complex speaker designed specifically to create a large scale soundstage for large scale recordings in a large room. I don’t think they would feel this would be superior for acoustic jazz in a moderate size room because of its inherent compromises. It would be, however, quite awesome in its own way. I’m not against 4 way speakers. I’m just giving you Rockports perspective
Agree the Lyra is a more evolved with further clarity and driver coherence than the Arrakis.
Also, in today's age of xo design, 3 to 4 way matters little to zero. And I'm not sure what you mean by reconstructing the signal, the drivers are filtered via an XO in parallel, there's no reconstructing, it's forever deconstructed electrically and reconstructed as mechanical waves post - transducers. Maybe you can clarify?
Finally, you're saying Rockport views 4 - way designs as a compromise, yet they already built the Arrakis so I don't follow.
Also, in today's age of xo design, 3 to 4 way matters little to zero. And I'm not sure what you mean by reconstructing the signal, the drivers are filtered via an XO in parallel, there's no reconstructing, it's forever deconstructed electrically and reconstructed as mechanical waves post - transducers. Maybe you can clarify?
Finally, you're saying Rockport views 4 - way designs as a compromise, yet they already built the Arrakis so I don't follow.
They came to this conclusion from having built the Arrakis and then building the Lyra. The “compromise” isn’t a deal killer. It’s just an impediment to investing in and making a large multi driver speaker that they can honestly say is better than the Lyra in every way. When they do it it will be worth it. I don’t have a time frame but I know it’s on their mind.
Totally agree but if you did have such a room and listen to large scale full orchestra and similar then you would need larger speakers to maximize the soundstage. I recently got back from listening to XVX with dual subsonics driven by Gryphon Apex Monis and Mephisto monos in a purpose built 22x35 room. The scale was off the charts! Unfortunately you can’t undo the scale when listening to small format acoustic jazz. 8 foot Ella etc. The effect, however, was breathtaking
Reference Analog
Fleetwood Sound Owners Group
Thanks to everyone who helped make this years SWAF 2025 a success. We had a great time. Hope you all were able to attend.
Jeff's Rockport Orion room at SWAF was easily my favorite at the show, those are fantastic speakers. Letting us play some Tool on them was the highlight of the show for me.
The rest of the Reference Analog rooms upstairs were also fantastic, including the Rockport Lynx and YG Ascent rooms!
The rest of the Reference Analog rooms upstairs were also fantastic, including the Rockport Lynx and YG Ascent rooms!
Reference Analog
Fleetwood Sound Owners Group
I have been known to crank Tool on my Orions from time to time. Fun fun fun!
Guys, how would you see Orion or Lyra in a 5.8 x 6.8 x 2.75m room (19 x 22.6 x 9ft) ? Right now I have Usher Be-10 which is similar in size to Orion and sits 224cm (7.35ft) from front of speakers to front wall, 264cm (8.66ft) between each other, 155cm (5.08ft) to side walls (room a bit wide). Listener sits 293cm(9.61ft) to each of the speakers and 210cm(6.89ft) to rear wall. Room has large GIK bass traps (6") on corners behind speakers + tritraps on the cloor to front wall (behind the audio gear) + traps in the back corners and 1st reflection points on side walls + on the rear wall. No diffusion yet but will be added on the ceiling and perhaps rear wall.
PS : Usher Be-10 is a good speaker for its age but lacks bass impact and mating a 3" beryllium dome midrange with a 10" woofer leads to a lack of mid-bass presence/impact also. The mid-range is fast on upper mid-bass but I think the gap is too large between the 2 drivers. Most high-end speakers use 6-7" for midranges/midbass that meet 2-3 woofers of 9-10" or more.
PS : Usher Be-10 is a good speaker for its age but lacks bass impact and mating a 3" beryllium dome midrange with a 10" woofer leads to a lack of mid-bass presence/impact also. The mid-range is fast on upper mid-bass but I think the gap is too large between the 2 drivers. Most high-end speakers use 6-7" for midranges/midbass that meet 2-3 woofers of 9-10" or more.
The Usher BE-10 (I had the Be-20DMD) has 1: 5" midrange. I noticed no loss of mid - bass, albeit I had 2 woofers not one. If you are lacking mid - bass I'd measure your room to identify the ~100 - ~300Hz mid - bass suckout.
Also, I don't believe most high - end speakers employ 2-3 woofers, I'd argue most include1 and for upsell models 2. 3 or above is if the woofers are commonly quite small and <= 6".
That is a great size room!
I'm puzzled – – why is there even any question whether Orion or Lyra would work great in that room?
Reference Analog
Fleetwood Sound Owners Group
This would be my room. Forgot to mention the entrance is open (no door) and has aprox 2 x 2 m (upper right on the pic), so the living room actually communicates with a 16sqm hall (I've put a thick curtain there to at least block the highs from bouncing out/in the room). All windows also have these thick curtains (left wall and rear wall)
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No concern, I am more curious to find out which would fit better to that space, considering the open entrance in the room which may affect the way a speaker pressurizes the room. Usher Be-10 is ok-ish but I feel it could be a lot better with higher end gear.
I had the BE 20 DMD and in my room the dual 10" woofers were too much. The speakers were quite imposing once I pulled them 5' away from the front wall to smooth out the bass, but midbass was quite good with those. I'll play 'Come back baby' off the EC "Reptile" album to get a quick listen for a speakers midrange balance and most speakers don't really let us hear the baritone voice in the chorus. The Ushers and a pair of Vienna Acoustics both did a really nice job with midrange balance.
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