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New member Username: Axlrose19802002Post Number: 20 Registered: 12-2003 | alright, i'm really sceptical on these but really excited at the same time. sounds like a great way to start my first home theater setup. can anyone give my first hand experience listening to the rocket speakers? i'm thinking of getting the 150 bookshelfs and the smaller center channel to start with. by information from this forum in general, i'm also thinking about getting either the denon 1804 or the yamaha 5660 or preferably the marantz sr4400 if i could find a good deal. thanks in advance. |
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New member Username: David_rPost Number: 18 Registered: 12-2003 | thought this might be interesting..... Bookshelf Shootout Completed with a CLEAR Winner Well, our shootout is over, and after all of the listening was done, there was one clear winner. Just to refresh everyone's memory, here are the contestants: Aperion Audio 522D-LR HTD Level III Bookshelf Ascend Acoustics CMB-170 Onix Rocket 150 Without getting into too much boring detail, I will just briefly give the characteristics for each speaker. However, please note, these are only the opinions of a group of us here. The application for these speakers is entirely for music, in a VERY small space. Here is the equipment we used for all listening: Parasound Stereo Pre H/K 45W x 2 amp (can be bridged to 100W x 2) NAD CD Player For more information about our application, and our goals for the speakers, please this previous thread: Speaker Selection Post OK, here are some brief opinions about each speaker pair (only our opinions, YMMV): HTD Level III's: What can I say about these. These speakers do a pretty good job of just about everything, but they are spectacular with nothing. They are very unobtrusive speakers, but they did not have even close to the level of clarity we needed. For home theater they might be good, but they are clearly out-classed in this group for two-channel performance. So, they take home the fourth-place ribbon. Ascend Acoustics CMB-170: These speakers are great for monitors (very clear, very neutral high-end, ample low-end). However, I especially found them to be somewhat closed-in, and wayyyy too laid-back. When you close your eyes, it sounds like sound is coming from a small box, and it felt like I could localize the speakers with my eyes closed. They are good speakers, but we found them to just be too boring. These speakers are the polar opposite of fatiguing. To the Ascend's goes the third-place ribbon. Aperion Audio 522D-LR : Now, I must say that out of the group we had listening here, I liked these more than just about everyone else. These speakers have a "slap you in the face and insult your mother" high-end, but I did not find it to be overly-bright. The high-end, was just overly-present. These speakers roll-off VERY early in the bass, so there was hardly any low-end at all to them. With such an in-your-face high-end, these speakers would probably be considerably more palatable with a more present low-end. These speakers are incredibly clear in the high-end, but we all found them clear to a fault. I found myself concentrating on individual instruments, rather than the music as a whole. They just had way too much of a good thing, with their high-end, and most everyone here found them anywhere from really annoying, to fatiguing. So, they walk away with the second-place ribbon because I believe that they are an acquired taste. Even though the high-end was a little over-the-top for my tastes, I found myself missing the clarity a little when I switched speakers. Also, the ordering experience was absolutely world-class with Aperion. The service and support are nothing less than outstanding, and I actually find myself feeling guilty about returning the speakers. Yes, the purchasing experience with them was THAT good. Onix Rocket 150's: What can I say, these arrived last (I had them delayed a bit before shipping as to not be juggling too many speakers at once), and COMPLETELY stole the show. Before hearing the Rockets, we were planning on keeping both the Aperion's (for clarity and their high-frequency abilities) and the Ascends (for their MUCH better bass response, and more ear-friendly sound). However, the Rockets came and had the best parts of both. Their high-end is crystal-clear, the bass goes SUPER-LOW (which is incredible considering the size of the woofer). As for comparison, I would say that the Ascend's would start to really run out of gas at about 50-60 Hz, while the Rockets sounded like they were diving into the 40's (maybe even the upper 30's). We were all astonished by the Rockets bass performance. Also, their imaging and soundstage are absolutely incredible. I found them impossible to localize with my eyes closed, and they even had rally good performance in MUCH bigger rooms. They also seemed to not have any placement issues at all (they just seemed to sound great everywhere). So, all of the other speakers are going back (after being totally whipped by the Rockets). I cannot believe what great speakers these are. These have turned into the fourth-grade class bunny around here. Different people take turns taking them home over the weekend. In a word, they are exceptional. This is a pretty strong sentiment, especially considering the more-than-able speakers they were being compared against. Our next step will be getting a pair of the Rocket 250's in here in the next few months. If the 150's are THIS good, I can only imagine what the 250's are like (not to mention the other speakers in the line). I will definitely post again when we get them in here. If anyone has any specific questions, I would be more than happy to answer them. I tried to keep this brief, but if anyone wants anymore detail, I am more than happy to share more about each speaker pair. After trying out four good, but VERY different speakers, the bottom-line is that this is a VERY good time to be into this hobby. Each and every one of these speakers easily outpaced retail speakers costing 1.5x-3x as much, in my opinion. This subset of the audio industry is still in its infancy, and I think the price/performance mold most of us are used to at the retail level is going to be (and in some cases already is) to be turned on its head. Anyway, this was great fun to compare these speakers, and please let me know if anyone has any questions. __________________ Regards, John Coleman Cobalt Cable - True Premium Cables http://www.cobaltcable.com Toll-Free: (877) 6-COBALT Last edited by jcoleman on 10-05-2002 |
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New member Username: David_rPost Number: 23 Registered: 12-2003 | mathew: You can get a marantz 5300 for $399 at cambridgesoundworks.com I would go that route verses the 5400 for the same or more money. Never heard the rockets but they can be had for $200 these days. Reviews seem overall positive. |