Speaker Hunt

[Al M.]

Your logic is hard to fault. Right now I fancy a change in speakers having used the Aidas for several years. That might mean a temporary mismatch with amps nice changing both simultaneously might be difficult to budget for. I agree amps are much easier to change.

But you may very well get a different speaker, sound wise, with a different amp. Especially when you go from potentially under powered to appropriately driven. And your wife will still approve of your new old speakers.

 

[howiebrou]

I had a short audition with the Rockport Cygnus today. Wow. Love the sound. Not thin, not too analytical, nice and robust but detailed as well. Unfortunately there is no Lyra to listen to. Folks with experience with Rockport please feel to chip in. I like it when a pair of speakers just ‘clicks’ when you hear them.

 

[microstrip]

(...) Right now I fancy a change in speakers having used the Aidas for several years. That might mean a temporary mismatch with amps nice changing both simultaneously might be difficult to budget for. I agree amps are much easier to change.

The Aida's are not easy to replace once we get used to the excellent treble that blends perfectly with the middle frequencies of the speaker. The tweeter completely disappears - we never perceive the treble per se, but all the information is there and voices have an electrostatic resemblance. I moved from the Aida to Wilson X2 in part because it was an easier load and after two months understood I had to upgrade to the XLF.

 

[sujay]

I had a short audition with the Rockport Cygnus today. Wow. Love the sound. Not thin, not too analytical, nice and robust but detailed as well. Unfortunately there is no Lyra to listen to. Folks with experience with Rockport please feel to chip in. I like it when a pair of speakers just ‘clicks’ when you hear them.

Of course I am biased. I love the sound and coherence of the Rockport Avior which I currently use. For me, a move to another box speaker just doesn’t make so much sense. I heard the YG Sonja 2.2 and indeed they had better resolution than the Avior and offered more scale but I like the Avior’s bass more and they disappear better and image as well. I guess the Cygnus will be better than the Avior in these respects.

 

[howiebrou]

The Aida's are not easy to replace once we get used to the excellent treble that blends perfectly with the middle frequencies of the speaker. The tweeter completely disappears - we never perceive the treble per se, but all the information is there and voices have an electrostatic resemblance. I moved from the Aida to Wilson X2 in part because it was an easier load and after two months understood I had to upgrade to the XLF.

That’s a very expensive 2 months!

 

[Rhapsody]

The Rockports are excellent speakers. I also think in your size Room your existing amps would sound very very good. Of course they would sound different if you gave them more power but my experience with 50 watt set on the Rockport is that they can be very very good.

 

[KeithR]

I had a short audition with the Rockport Cygnus today. Wow. Love the sound. Not thin, not too analytical, nice and robust but detailed as well. Unfortunately there is no Lyra to listen to. Folks with experience with Rockport please feel to chip in. I like it when a pair of speakers just ‘clicks’ when you hear them.

The Rockport has very nice tonality, but is not tube friendly. That's why I didn't recommend it. If you want to go big SS, great option.

ps. my "dream speaker" thread has comments on most of these brands, but not the top of the line models (I heard the Altair 2 for instance)

 

[howiebrou]

The Rockports are excellent speakers. I also think in your size Room your existing amps would sound very very good. Of course they would sound different if you gave them more power but my experience with 50 watt set on the Rockport is that they can be very very good.

That’s good to know!

 

[howiebrou]

The Rockport has very nice tonality, but is not tube friendly. That's why I didn't recommend it. If you want to go big SS, great option.

ps. my "dream speaker" thread has comments on most of these brands, but not the top of the line models (I heard the Altair 2 for instance)

I’ll check out the thread thanks.

 

[Rhapsody]

Keith,
Your experience and my experience with the Rockport is very different.

My experience has only been with the 50 W Absolare on the Altair at Kerem's home in Istanbul and at 5+ different shows.

The Kagura is stronger(to me) especially in the bass.

Depends on the size of your Room how loud you play and what music you play.... And of course your personal preference.

I would say that to realize the true potential of the Rockports more power would be more appropriate, BUT I heard some pretty fascinating sound with the 50 Watt SET Absolare amps at Kerem's place especially.

Not at all saying that Howiebrau would like it, just saying it would be fun if he could hear the Rockport's with his amps and then see what he would think.

 

[howiebrou]

Keith,
Your experience and my experience with the Rockport is very different.

My experience has only been with the 50 W Absolare on the Altair at Kerem's home in Istanbul and at 5+ different shows.

The Kagura is stronger(to me) especially in the bass.

Depends on the size of your Room how loud you play and what music you play.... And of course your personal preference.

I would say that to realize the true potential of the Rockports more power would be more appropriate, BUT I heard some pretty fascinating sound with the 50 Watt SET Absolare amps at Kerem's place especially.

Not at all saying that Howiebrau would like it, just saying it would be fun if he could hear the Rockport's with his amps and then see what he would think.

That makes two of us. Home demos are hard to arrange and I'm not sure I can find anyone with a pair of Lyras at all, let alone to bring home.

 

[Rhapsody]

Yes that's a tough one, and risky.

 

[GSOphile]

That makes two of us. Home demos are hard to arrange and I'm not sure I can find anyone with a pair of Lyras at all, let alone to bring home.

cmarin has Lyras.

 

[SuperDave]

I have the Avior 1 paired with SS amp and tubed pre. I love the sound, very dynamic and natural to my ears. My Texas dealer has Lyras in his room if you're near.

Dave

 

[howiebrou]

I have the Avior 1 paired with SS amp and tubed pre. I love the sound, very dynamic and natural to my ears. My Texas dealer has Lyras in his room if you're near.

Dave

I'm about 13,000km from Texas, but you never know!

 

[christoph]

I'm about 13,000km from Texas, but you never know!

 

[howiebrou]

Yesterday i had the chance to listen to the Rockport Cygnus at length. This was my first proper audition of Rockport speakers. I have to say the appeal to me in spades. They are not an analytical speaker at all. Full bodied, warm, engrossing and captivating are words I would use to describe the sound. If the Lyra sound like the Cygnus, just better, then it is definitely a contender.

 

[bazelio]

If you want explosive dynamic sound with 50 watts, then jBL DD 67000 is a strong candidate.

I recommend you to audition it by bring your amplifier to the shop.

I had almost bought it 12 years ago but with small room at that time, I chose Lansche 4.1.

This past weekend, I compared Lansche 5.2 to Marten Bird 2 speakers. These speakers are roughly the same size, although the Lansches have 80 pounds on the Birds. Moving 180 pound speakers with only two people was doable, although back-breaking.

It was an interesting comparison. The room was pretty good size and the Martens with 2 x 9" bass drivers struggled to keep up with the Lansche single 10" driver. Martens sounded boomy and uncontrolled in the bass. Their boom and bloom overpowered the mids and obscured midrange detail. Comparatively, the Lansches sounded tighter and well controlled in the bass if not slightly lean. Both feature bass reflex cabinets but the port tuning is clearly different. I feel the Marten port should be tuned a bit higher in frequency. On the treble side, the Lansche plasma tweeter sounded pure with perhaps a tinge of brightness, but a bit laid back in comparison to the Marten. The Marten diamond tweeter at times sounded slightly more detailed and dynamic, a good thing. At other times it tended to sound a bit hard and edgy. But I could live with that. In terms of detail, the diamond tweeter beat the plasma for me. Treble timber differed as well, and I thought the Lansche was preferable in this area. Overall, the Lansche sounded quicker, cleaner and more precise while, to me, still retaining sufficient body. The Marten sounded slower, thicker, and warmer with its prominent bass overhang. In terms of integration, I felt the plasma tweeter, paper mid, and aluminum woofer in the Lansche sounded just fine together. The results were interesting and unexpected to me.

Pics or it didn't happen...

 

[thomask]

This past weekend, I compared Lansche 5.2 to Marten Bird 2 speakers. These speakers are roughly the same size, although the Lansches have 80 pounds on the Birds. Moving 180 pound speakers with only two people was doable, although back-breaking.

It was an interesting comparison. The room was pretty good size and the Martens with 2 x 9" bass drivers struggled to keep up with the Lansche single 10" driver. Martens sounded boomy and uncontrolled in the bass. Their boom and bloom overpowered the mids and obscured midrange detail. Comparatively, the Lansches sounded tighter and well controlled in the bass if not slightly lean. Both feature bass reflex cabinets but the port tuning is clearly different. I feel the Marten port should be tuned a bit higher in frequency. On the treble side, the Lansche plasma tweeter sounded pure with perhaps a tinge of brightness, but a bit laid back in comparison to the Marten. The Marten diamond tweeter at times sounded slightly more detailed and dynamic, a good thing. At other times it tended to sound a bit hard and edgy. But I could live with that. In terms of detail, the diamond tweeter beat the plasma for me. Treble timber differed as well, and I thought the Lansche was preferable in this area. Overall, the Lansche sounded quicker, cleaner and more precise while, to me, still retaining sufficient body. The Marten sounded slower, thicker, and warmer with its prominent bass overhang. In terms of integration, I felt the plasma tweeter, paper mid, and aluminum woofer in the Lansche sounded just fine together. The results were interesting and unexpected to me.

Pics or it didn't happen...

Thanks a lot for your detailed report.

I will keep my Lansche4.1 for my life with pristine treble.


Diamond tweeter may give more details but as you discovered, plasma tweeter sounds more pure.

In the future, I may add WE vintage horn speakers when I can afford.

WE vintage horn system has natural dynamics unmatched by any modern high end speaker.


No high end modern speaker can match my combination of Lansche 4.1 and SET tube amp with vocal music.

Both Elvisi Preslesy and Eva Cassidy appear to sing in front of me through my system.

 

[egidius]

Actually i have been told that if i change the amps to some powerhouses, they would transform the Aidas. The cost would actually be about the same for changing amps vs speakers. Things to ponder....

I had two suggestions, that have been partly mentioned elsewhere:

Why don‘t you try something like Pap Trio Voxativ (which I have and love) or Pap Trio Horn, don‘t hesitate because they seem cheap..

Or: Get Yourself the Berning Quadrature Z‘ (Disclosure: I own nearly all of Berning electronics, currently selling exactly those, too much power for the Pap, which will remain..)
I have heard it: They turn Aidas into different speakers!