My new Rocket UFW-10 arrived right on schedule yesterday, My first impressions are:
[Speakers: Paradigm Mini Monitors V2.]
1. Wow! is this thing beautiful or what!
2. While the UFW-10 going in the upstairs den but I first hooked it up to the main system on the first floor. Three Paradigm Studio 20s as LRC, BA surrounds, six year old Hsu VTF-2 sub. It's in a large area. I set the sound level and first played some cuts from Eagles HFO and then the opening sequence from U571. Bearing in mind that I had not dialed in the UFW-10 the old Hsu was better than the UFW-10 in both music and the movie. That being said, I have had a long time to dial in the Hsu. And while it maybe ugly and old VTF2 is one terrific sub IMO.
3. I carried the UFW-10 to the upstairs den and while it's smaller than the Hsu it's also heavier. I placed it on a side wall. I hooked it up to the 2.1 system and threw the crummy old Paradigm PDR8 out the window. I have long disliked the PDR8. In the past I have always set my sound levels by ear but this time I used a Radio Shack analog sound meter. Based on the meter reading the set sub level ended up too high. I may need work on my sound meter skills. (I using a tripod, I set the weighting to "C", slow mode,range to 80 and since the first speaker went to 4dbs I adjusted the other speaker and the to UFW-10 to 4db as well. Comments welcomed.
4. As I mentioned above the sub was too hot so I readjusted down it by ear.
5. I first played BB and Eric on Riding With The King. Some cuts sounded great, but on others the bass was a bit boomy. Since by this time it was late I needed a quieter test CD so I played Carol King's Tapestry. The bass on Smack Water Jack was great and the rest was fine, but there was not too much bass content in Tapestry.
In summary it's not quiet a "wow" factor yet, but neither was the Hsu when I first got it. So, for now I need to work on integrating the UFW-10 into my music only 2.1 system. The first step will be finding the best location.
Thats it for now.