Wilson Alexx V vs Rockport Orion

[JiminGa]

I used to own Wilson Benesch Chimeras (their flagship at the time) and everything you say is true. I moved on to Rockport after many enjoyable years

 

[heihei]

Interesting - can you articulate the differences?

 

[JiminGa]

To me the Rockports sound more like real music than the WB. They move air and couple to the room more naturally. The coherence of all 7 inch drivers is outweighed by the feel and weight of real musicians coming from the Orions and the Cygnus I had before them. They also hit a lot harder. I love WB but even with the Torus it’s a compromise. Listen to Orion or Lyra yourself and make your own judgement. What I think or your dealer thinks is not important. I would not use subs with either Orion or Lyra it will muddle things up. Like WB Rockport designs and makes their own drivers. They claim their new drivers have the lowest distortion they have ever measured and they collect drivers from other manufacturers. The enclosures of Orion and Lyra are more inert than WB. Watch videos on their construction. There is nothing slow about them. Lyra has a springier mid/upper bass than Orion which might appeal to you. In the end you have to listen for yourself.

 

[Philb7777]

To me the Rockports sound more like real music than the WB. They move air and couple to the room more naturally. The coherence of all 7 inch drivers is outweighed by the feel and weight of real musicians coming from the Orions and the Cygnus I had before them. They also hit a lot harder. I love WB but even with the Torus it’s a compromise. Listen to Orion or Lyra yourself and make your own judgement. What I think or your dealer thinks is not important. I would not use subs with either Orion or Lyra it will muddle things up. Like WB Rockport designs and makes their own drivers. They claim their new drivers have the lowest distortion they have ever measured and they collect drivers from other manufacturers. The enclosures of Orion and Lyra are more inert than WB. Watch videos on their construction. There is nothing slow about them. Lyra has a springier mid/upper bass than Orion which might appeal to you. In the end you have to listen for yourself.

Hi - I’ve owned Cygnus for over 5 years and am considering upgrading to Orions. From your previous post it appears you’ve taken the same path I’m considering: Moving from Cygnus to Orions. Would you please elaborate on the differences between the two loudspeakers in your system? Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[JiminGa]

The difference (obviously) comes from the new enclosure and the new drivers. The enclosure is significantly quieter which has 2 effects. Less cabinet noise and that leads to the ability to hear leading and trailing edges of notes that would otherwise be obscured by it. This allows you to hear all that the driver is capable of. This you will interpret as more detail and a more lifelike presentation. The new drivers like all of Andy’s drivers have the lowest distortion in the market. The design idea was to create the best 3 driver 3 way full range speaker in the world. To do this he needed surface area and the largest distortion free woofer he could make. He came up with the amazing 13 inch woofer which is the best I’ve ever heard. To reach down to this he needed a larger 7 inch mid and to reach down to this he needed a larger 1.25 inch tweeter. This is the first tweeter that they fully designed in house. All of this changes the crossover points allowing each driver to operate optimally. The cabinet design allows for a huge amount of volume to devoted to the woofer leading to the best mid/lower bass I know of. The midrange has its own dedicated chamber making this possible. Orion is better in all meaningful parameters but at a very high price. The Cygnus is the best value at Rockport and is a great speaker.

 

[Philb7777]

Thanks so much for the info. I was wondering about the 13 inch bass driver compared. to the two 10 inch Cygnus bass drivers. Very helpful information. Thanks again!

Phil

 

[Audiohertz2]

No its absolutely no problem , consider your self lucky if your able to hear above 15 -16 khz .
Tweeters going up to 30 40 100 khz is merely a marketing issue.

Off course to give a better perspective you need to have the " min 3 db " number at for example 16 or 20 khz .
The show conditions in which they were placed weren t optimal , difficult to say

Measure the THD of tweeters going out to 40K vs one rolling off at 17K , here in lies the tale , as to everything in Audio no one measurement or advantage tells the full story , but everything has it’s accumulative effect..!


Regards

 

[caesar]

I find Rockports more organic and natural sounding. Wilsons, on the other hand, sound very hifi to me: there’s your dynamics . Theres your soundstage depth. Here’s your pin point imaging. There’s your singer in Tokyo and guitar player in Nashville…

with that said, I think vivid spirits sound more organic and less boxy than either of the 2.

all depends on the experience you are looking for

 

[Audiohertz2]

I find Rockports more organic and natural sounding. Wilsons, on the other hand, sound very hifi to me: there’s your dynamics . Theres your soundstage depth. Here’s your pin point imaging. There’s your singer in Tokyo and guitar player in Nashville…

with that said, I think vivid spirits sound more organic and less boxy than either of the 2.

all depends on the experience you are looking for

Talking these ..?

https://www.stereophile.com/content/vivid-audio-giya-g1-spirit-loudspeaker

 

[Chpray]

I find Rockports more organic and natural sounding. Wilsons, on the other hand, sound very hifi to me: there’s your dynamics . Theres your soundstage depth. Here’s your pin point imaging. There’s your singer in Tokyo and guitar player in Nashville…

with that said, I think vivid spirits sound more organic and less boxy than either of the 2.

all depends on the experience you are looking for

Vivid is another excellent loudspeaker. Unfortunately, my wife doesn't like the look of it, so I don't think that I can ever get it pass the main entrance, lol.

 

[caesar]

Talking these ..?

https://www.stereophile.com/content/vivid-audio-giya-g1-spirit-loudspeaker

Yes. Dick Dickie is genius. Shame he gets ignored while so much hifi drek gets hyped up

 

[caesar]

Vivid is another excellent loudspeaker. Unfortunately, my wife doesn't like the look of it, so I don't think that I can ever get it pass the main entrance, lol.

Yeah, I understand. More of a man cave thing unless it's a very contemporary home

 

[thomask]

I am not sure where the OP lives but here is an idea. Fly to Toronto. Go to Audio Excellence and listen to the Wilsons then go to American Sound and listen to the rockports. You can also sample some other great speakers while there. I am sure you could negotiate that they would cover the cost of your trip if you buy a pair.

You also get to explore a great city with fantastic food.

I considered attending Toronto Audio show held last month to see my three years old grandson living in Toronto.

It is best to listen to the speakers in well organized showroom.

 

[christoph]

Vivid is another excellent loudspeaker. Unfortunately, my wife doesn't like the look of it, so I don't think that I can ever get it pass the main entrance, lol.

Maybe you could show your wife the movie "Fifth Element" several times, eventually the look (the scene with the blue opera singer) will grow on her

 

[itay123]

I definitely "urge" you to go listen to this mentioned set before you make that or that decision, I was in a similar dilemma with ALEXX on my mind, and others in this price range,
my heart and soul went (in my case) with the CLASSIC in its Third and upgraded version C3 (combined and designed with internal KONDO cross and wiring)

pic below
the "Kaiser Acoustics Classic Brilliant Edition" speakers with a custom massive and Duelund outboard crossover.

Kaiser Acoustics Classic Brilliant Edition speakers – M & S | Ultimate High-Fidelity

www.monoandstereo.com

 

[Chpray]

Maybe you could show your wife the movie "Fifth Element" several times, eventually the look (the scene with the blue opera singer) will grow on her

Haha. Great idea.

 

[Chpray]

I definitely "urge" you to go listen to this mentioned set before you make that or that decision, I was in a similar dilemma with ALEXX on my mind, and others in this price range,
my heart and soul went (in my case) with the CLASSIC in its Third and upgraded version C3 (combined and designed with internal KONDO cross and wiring)

pic below
the "Kaiser Acoustics Classic Brilliant Edition" speakers with a custom massive and Duelund outboard crossover.

Kaiser Acoustics Classic Brilliant Edition speakers – M & S | Ultimate High-Fidelity

www.monoandstereo.com

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Yep, I will check it out.