2nd thoughts?

[Soundman]

If your meaning to Clean and Crisp is a speaker who's tweeter is forward, or described as bright. Then the Rockets are not that. They are neutral. Midrange was very smooth. Detail and clarity are excellent.

After reading all your Rocket posts, Mazer, you got me all excited about them again! They should be here by the end of the month! Can't wait. Hey, remember when you first started talking to me about some new speakers. I started out with the SVS budget speakers, then leaned toward the Ascends, then Axioms (Axiom's didn't work for me ), and now here I am getting the Rocket 850's. Upgraditus is so contagious.

 

[mazersteven]

After reading all your Rocket posts, Mazer, you got me all excited about them again! They should be here by the end of the month! Can't wait. Hey, remember when you first started talking to me about some new speakers. I started out with the SVS budget speakers, then leaned toward the Ascends, then Axioms (Axiom's didn't work for me ), and now here I am getting the Rocket 850's. Upgraditus is so contagious.

A salesguy could retire from just you. LOL

 

[gus6464]

After reading all your Rocket posts, Mazer, you got me all excited about them again! They should be here by the end of the month! Can't wait. Hey, remember when you first started talking to me about some new speakers. I started out with the SVS budget speakers, then leaned toward the Ascends, then Axioms (Axiom's didn't work for me ), and now here I am getting the Rocket 850's. Upgraditus is so contagious.

Soundman you should just get a pair of these and be done with it.

 

[Davemcc]

In another forum someone from Salk Sound, I believe it was John Salk himself, was vigorously defending ID's. He had very good arguments, but when I told him that usually they didn't know a thing about shipping, that they only paid freight to the user but not back if they don't like them, that they lacked international sales knowledge (including AK, HI, APO/FPO, US Territories) and heavily relied on the domestic (48 States) market, and in their case the website was very difficult to get sales information; he never answered back. Actually their website is very poor for an ID company who's main business is internet sales.

Salk is somewhat of a breed apart in the audio world. He's more about custom build, craftsmanship and the relationships that go along with that. He doesn't really keep any inventory in stock. If you just want to plug your cc number into the browser and have speakers delivered next week without ever having to pick up the phone and talk to somebody, you are not likely a Salk customer to begin with. It's low volume, high quality and personal.

The issue of whether Salk will pay for return shipping following an in-home demo is entirely moot. The last I heard, no Salk speaker has ever been returned following an in-home demo, ever.

 

[Guangui]

You can audition the Rocket RS250 MKII

Quote from AV123--RISK FREE TRIAL!
Worried you won’t love the speakers unless you have the chance to hear them first? No problem! Order a pair of RS250MkII speakers and spend a month with them in your own home. If after 30 days you don’t love them, we will pay the shipping charges back to us, credit your original form of payment for the speakers AND the outbound shipping! (UPS GROUND only) This means the demo is no risk to you!


This way you can get an idea of the Rocket sound before purchasing. Also on the AV123 forum there are members all over the place willing to let you audition in their homes.

My experience dealing with AV123 was very good, and the salesperson that helped me was from PR, and understood my point about freight to PR, and he agreed to allow me take care of shipping arrangements. With one of my regular freight carriers, instead of Yellow, I would have been able to shave couple of $100's from shipping. I didn't buy from them due to the fact that they didn't have stock, and I couldn't wait until the end of January.

What I did notice was that after their 50% off sale (freight not included) they jacked up their pricing, but now freight was included. Still they called it a sale, and if you took in consideration freight charges price was close to their 50% off sale. So, basically their 50% off sale was more a marketing thing than a pricing issue. But, this are marketing strategies that companies use to boost sales, and I will not hold that against them. Also, 50% off pre-sale that is great, the buyer thinks he got a great deal, AV123 doesn't have to inventory much, so their cost of doing business goes down dramatically. It is a win/win situation for consumer and AV123.

 

[Guangui]

Actually I do, I spent around 2 years and almost over 1,000 hours reading before buying. But without hearing it first hand, I am not sure if it meets my taste since many reviews believe that the Rockets tend to be warm or netrual. I tend to like my sound clean and crisp. Just second guessing, may be the Swans, Axioms or other more forward speaker might be a better fit for me.

YES, I own a pair of white van speakers I bought many years ago and currently being powered by my Onkyo 805. Are these the best speakers ever? No....its doable until the Rockets comes in.

By your description of volume levels, sound tastes, etc. I would say that a set of Monitor Audio Silver, Energy, PSB Image, or even Klipsch would have done the trick, and at around the same price of those Rockets, which is a good speaker. Plus, you could have audition, maybe you did.

I have not auditioned Rockets, and someone here advises they are perfect for your sound tastes, but from what I have read apparently they really shine at higher volume levels than what your preference is. So, you will definitely have to audition and come to a conclusion yourself. They will definitely be 100 times better than those "WV" speakers you have right now.

 

[Guangui]

Salk is somewhat of a breed apart in the audio world. He's more about custom build, craftsmanship and the relationships that go along with that. He doesn't really keep any inventory in stock. If you just want to plug your cc number into the browser and have speakers delivered next week without ever having to pick up the phone and talk to somebody, you are not likely a Salk customer to begin with. It's low volume, high quality and personal.

The issue of whether Salk will pay for return shipping following an in-home demo is entirely moot. The last I heard, no Salk speaker has ever been returned following an in-home demo, ever.

That I can understand, and if it works for Salk, great. I guess I have to respect them for keeping to their business model, and in the process sacrificing revenue for quality, so rare these days.

 

[fmw]

Auditioning speakers in a dealer showroom is actually pretty silly when you think about it. The room acoustics are far more important than the speakers in terms of the overall sound presentation of an audio system. Auditioned speakers will sound different at home every time. $50 or so isn't worth it to audition speakers where it actually matters?

 

[Soundman]

Soundman you should just get a pair of these and be done with it.

Gus, I wish, but I can't really afford those right now. Plus, I really couldn't fit those in my living room. However, one day when I build a dedicated home theatre, I'll take a look. They do look awesome!

 

[Soundman]

My experience dealing with AV123 was very good, and the salesperson that helped me was from PR, and understood my point about freight to PR, and he agreed to allow me take care of shipping arrangements. With one of my regular freight carriers, instead of Yellow, I would have been able to shave couple of $100's from shipping. I didn't buy from them due to the fact that they didn't have stock, and I couldn't wait until the end of January.

What I did notice was that after their 50% off sale (freight not included) they jacked up their pricing, but now freight was included. Still they called it a sale, and if you took in consideration freight charges price was close to their 50% off sale. So, basically their 50% off sale was more a marketing thing than a pricing issue. But, this are marketing strategies that companies use to boost sales, and I will not hold that against them. Also, 50% off pre-sale that is great, the buyer thinks he got a great deal, AV123 doesn't have to inventory much, so their cost of doing business goes down dramatically. It is a win/win situation for consumer and AV123.

Good point. Both sales are still a really good deal compared to the regular price. Up until recently, you couldn't get Rockets for these prices. My order actually ended up being cheaper with the shipping (during the last sale), then the current sale. But shipping is different for every order.

 

[Soundman]

Auditioning speakers in a dealer showroom is actually pretty silly when you think about it. The room acoustics are far more important than the speakers in terms of the overall sound presentation of an audio system. Auditioned speakers will sound different at home every time. $50 or so isn't worth it to audition speakers where it actually matters?

Agreed!

 

[Soundman]

A salesguy could retire from just you. LOL

Maybe so, but i've been on the quest for audio Nirvana for a while now. I know this may not exist. But been trying to get as close as I can. Thanks for all your help over the past several months, Mazer....Uh, actually I think it's been longer then that. Go figure

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I would encourage you to treat your room regardless of the speaker you end up with. The Axioms may have even worked out for you in a well treated room. I have always liked my Paradigms but there were times that certain music would hurt my ears. I ordered two acoustic panels and got to try them out for about an hour before the wife made me pack them up and send them back secondary to the look and quality of them. I thought I heard a difference but didnt get enough time to really decide. 2 weeks ago I started making some DYI panels on the cheap so I could seriously eval the SQ difference. I have 4" panels behind the speakers and 2'' panels at the first reflection point. The highs are very tame now and the bass is tighter than it has ever been. This has been my biggest upgrade on SQ to date and I have ~12 bucks into each panel. This cost will go up slightly because I am going to frame them with the Ready Acoustic frames but all in all, I will still just have about 48 bucks into each panel.

Maybe so, but i've been on the quest for audio Nirvana for a while now. I know this may not exist. But been trying to get as close as I can. Thanks for all your help over the past several months, Mazer....Uh, actually I think it's been longer then that. Go figure

 

[Soundman]

I would encourage you to treat your room regardless of the speaker you end up with. The Axioms may have even worked out for you in a well treated room. I have always liked my Paradigms but there were times that certain music would hurt my ears. I ordered two acoustic panels and got to try them out for about an hour before the wife made me pack them up and send them back secondary to the look and quality of them. I thought I heard a difference but didnt get enough time to really decide. 2 weeks ago I started making some DYI panels on the cheap so I could seriously eval the SQ difference. I have 4" panels behind the speakers and 2'' panels at the first reflection point. The highs are very tame now and the bass is tighter than it has ever been. This has been my biggest upgrade on SQ to date and I have ~12 bucks into each panel. This cost will go up slightly because I am going to frame them with the Ready Acoustic frames but all in all, I will still just have about 48 bucks into each panel.

Great information Greg! Up untill now I have been auditioning speakers, but it is true that I haven't treated the room. I started out by trying to get an idea of the type of sound each of these speaker companies offer. I have had plans on treatments, but to me that part has been difficult because the placement of the speakers depended on which speaker I ended up going with. And of course different placement will create a different reflection point. Honestly, I'm not very good at this part of it. Every room is different and I'm definitely not an expert in this area. Of course I'm sure the Axioms would have sounded better if the room was treated, but the main reason I didn't go with them was just b/c they tended to emphasize the higher frequencies more then the other brands and I didn't feel like the center channel was as good. Since, I'm going mainly movies with this setup, the center channel is very important to me. That's why I'm now going with "Bigfoot". Anyway, when one of my tweeters blew on the Axiom M60's, that was pretty much it. I decided to try out some other brands. I hope no one takes this the wrong way. I'm not disrespecting Axiom. I still think they are a great company. I've just preferred the sound of some of the others I've tried. Anyway, thanks for the good info, Greg. Maybe you can give me some pointers on room treatments? I'd appreciate it.

 

[Soundman]

Great information Greg! Up untill now I have been auditioning speakers, but it is true that I haven't treated the room. I started out by trying to get an idea of the type of sound each of these speaker companies offer. I have had plans on treatments, but to me that part has been difficult because the placement of the speakers depended on which speaker I ended up going with. And of course different placement will create a different reflection point. Honestly, I'm not very good at this part of it. Every room is different and I'm definitely not an expert in this area. Of course I'm sure the Axioms would have sounded better if the room was treated, but the main reason I didn't go with them was just b/c they tended to emphasize the higher frequencies more then the other brands and I didn't feel like the center channel was as good. Since, I'm going mainly movies with this setup, the center channel is very important to me. That's why I'm now going with "Bigfoot". Anyway, when one of my tweeters blew on the Axiom M60's, that was pretty much it. I decided to try out some other brands. I hope no one takes this the wrong way. I'm not disrespecting Axiom. I still think they are a great company. I've just preferred the sound of some of the others I've tried. Anyway, thanks for the good info, Greg. Maybe you can give me some pointers on room treatments? I'd appreciate it.

Wait a sec....Did I just Hijack this thread!?!?!?! Sorry, Calnbs

 

[mazersteven]

Maybe so, but i've been on the quest for audio Nirvana for a while now. I know this may not exist. But been trying to get as close as I can.

There are a lot of people just like you looking for that Audio Nirvana. Sometimes I think that they are looking for it so hard, that they just don't take the time to sit, and listen. These forums can be a bad thing too. Sometimes getting to much information, and reading all the hype can cause unnecessary up-grades.

If you just sit, and listen to your system. You just might find that you already have Audio Nirvana.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I always hijack threads and turn them into meaningless babble.

I have heard that the bigfoot is one of the best centers out there. The studio series centers from Paradigm are also very good. I just hate ID stuff so I dont even consider it. I have a great local dealer who takes very good care of me. I would hate to imagine the trouble I would have to go through with a ID dealer when I tear up stuff. I just drive to my dealer, he rolls his eyes at me, goes to the back and hands me a new version of whatever I broke

I am no expert on room acoustics but I know people who are

Wait a sec....Did I just Hijack this thread!?!?!?! Sorry, Calnbs

 

[Soundman]

There are a lot of people just like you looking for that Audio Nirvana. Sometimes I think that they are looking for it so hard, that they just don't take the time to sit, and listen. These forums can be a bad thing too. Sometimes getting to much information, and reading all the hype can cause unnecessary up-grades.

If you just sit, and listen to your system. You just might find that you already have Audio Nirvana.

Good point, Mazer. I know what you're saying. When my Rocket's get here I'll definitely be doing some critical listening. I'll try not to be too critical though and give it some time. Hey, if they sound as good as they look, I think I'm looking at a winner. BTW, nice pic. ...oh, and I'll try not to let my upgraditus get the better of me. I'll be in the poor house soon. Seriously though, good point.

 

[Soundman]

I always hijack threads and turn them into meaningless babble.

I have heard that the bigfoot is one of the best centers out there. The studio series centers from Paradigm are also very good. I just hate ID stuff so I dont even consider it. I have a great local dealer who takes very good care of me. I would hate to imagine the trouble I would have to go through with a ID dealer when I tear up stuff. I just drive to my dealer, he rolls his eyes at me, goes to the back and hands me a new version of whatever I broke

I am no expert on room acoustics but I know people who are

Hey Greg, it's nice that you have a good relationship with a local dealer. That's really nice that you can get that service locally. Consider yourself blessed. Some of us don't have that luxury, so that's why ID's are here. There aren't any good dealers where I live and going through the few I have would be more hassle then the ID approach, b/c I would have to drive so far to get there. Anyway, about the room treatment question, can you point me to someone who can help me with that?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

bpape, Savant, avaserfi or WmAx