My speaker search update: Onix Rockets

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
You'll be looking at the Audience line, probably in the bookshelves for your price range, so the 42 or 52. Simple box form, so nothing too new or flashy...but the sound will be very different than most other speakers you've heard. Incredible detail, their Esotar tweeter technology is just phenomenal...and imaging, ooooooh the imaging.

BUT, it's pretty different and if you're concentrating on home theater moreso than music, it won't have the in-your-face presense as the other companies. But remember, any speaker that will do music WELL will do movies well, but not vice versa.

Hmmm.... looks like the Audience line is 4ohms nominal... I think 6ohm would be safe for me, but 4ohm is going to be too much stress on my receiver. I e-mailed AV123 about their 4ohm center and they said that it only got that low at well under 100hz, which hopefully would be past the point where I would have it crossed over so it wouldn't end up playing the low stuff as loudly and I'd probably be ok.
I'm afraid that if I had a whole system based off 4ohm speakers I'd be in trouble.

 

[isasir]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: isasir
I own a pair of Ascend Acoustics CBM-170s as my fronts, and their older center channel speaker as my center. I also bought a HSU VTF-2 sub as well. My rears used to be Klipsch Quintets, but those broke, so I just picked up a cheaper pair off of Amazon.

I love my Ascends though. Absolutely amazing.

Awesome. Did you compare them to anything else before keeping them?

Well I went in and heard some Paradigms, but didn't like how blatantly the store owner was trying to push for the higher priced items.

I did tons of Google searches for "best bang for buck speakers" and finally came across the Ascends and their crazy rating on audioreview. THe fact that they were $299+free shipping at the time sealed the deal for me. That was about 2 years ago. It's funny that the same speakers are MORE expensive now.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: isasir

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: isasir
I own a pair of Ascend Acoustics CBM-170s as my fronts, and their older center channel speaker as my center. I also bought a HSU VTF-2 sub as well. My rears used to be Klipsch Quintets, but those broke, so I just picked up a cheaper pair off of Amazon.

I love my Ascends though. Absolutely amazing.

Awesome. Did you compare them to anything else before keeping them?

Well I went in and heard some Paradigms, but didn't like how blatantly the store owner was trying to push for the higher priced items.

I did tons of Google searches for "best bang for buck speakers" and finally came across the Ascends and their crazy rating on audioreview. THe fact that they were $299+free shipping at the time sealed the deal for me. That was about 2 years ago. It's funny that the same speakers are MORE expensive now.

Do you use the set for Music or Movies mainly? Are you bothered by the Center and surrounds not matching? Ever considered getting a full Ascend set to match?

I plan to go into a Paradigm dealer and let the guy show me the reference series

As I mentioned above, I've read that the Paradigm Studio Series will give me a general idea of the characteristics of the Ascends. Did you listen to the Studio Series while at the Paradigm dealer? Any opinions on the similarities to Ascend?

The guy at AV123 told me that Paradigm would be a good starting point for the sound of the Rocket 550s also. He said he personally liked the 550s and 750s better than even the Studio 100s ($2300/pair), so we'll see
He also told me to check out Monitor Audio for their sound characteristics. There are four dealers for them in my area and I've been to two of them already so I'll be sure to check them out

 

[Raiden256]

Good job on the audition -- have you set up a date for it yet? I like that you'll have a chance to see the woodwork of these in person; pictures just never do them justice.

I haven't heard the 550's, but you'll be impressed by Bigfoot (the RSC200), I promise! That thing packs one hell of a wallup.

:thumbsup:

 

[EvilYoda]

From what I remember of Monitor Audio when I auditioned them years ago, they're pretty power hungry, so you might want to keep an eye on that. Make sure to use similar electronics when possible at a dealership.

Sucks to hear that you had a bad experience at a Paradigm dealership...but most of them have this little standup that shows Paradigms as having won an award for the last 15 years straight for best bang for the buck speakers, as voted on by dealers, conducted by a 3rd party survey. Then again, hard to compare Ascend and Axiom to that since they're direct-sale only

Focal-JMlab just put out a new series, the Profile series...preeeeetty. I might drop by my local dealer and give them a listen, since I've been dying to listen to the Electra 907 Be.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Raiden256
Good job on the audition -- have you set up a date for it yet? I like that you'll have a chance to see the woodwork of these in person; pictures just never do them justice.

I haven't heard the 550's, but you'll be impressed by Bigfoot (the RSC200), I promise! That thing packs one hell of a wallup.

:thumbsup:

I actually haven't heard back yet from the one guy in my area with the 550s, but I only sent out the request yesterday.

I keep reading about how great the centers are from the rockets, Ascend, and Swan. For someone like me who is going to use them mainly for HT it's great news.

I've noticed a distinct lack of people going out of their way to say that the Axiom center is amazing. I keep reading now the M22ti's are a great deal, but I've hardly seen the center mentioned.

Did you hear any other companies in this price range? Any comments on why you chose Rockets over the others?

Thanks

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
From what I remember of Monitor Audio when I auditioned them years ago, they're pretty power hungry, so you might want to keep an eye on that. Make sure to use similar electronics when possible at a dealership.

Sucks to hear that you had a bad experience at a Paradigm dealership...but most of them have this little standup that shows Paradigms as having won an award for the last 15 years straight for best bang for the buck speakers, as voted on by dealers, conducted by a 3rd party survey. Then again, hard to compare Ascend and Axiom to that since they're direct-sale only

Focal-JMlab just put out a new series, the Profile series...preeeeetty. I might drop by my local dealer and give them a listen, since I've been dying to listen to the Electra 907 Be.

Thanks for the info.

I have a feeling I'm going to be getting internet direct over anything I can find at a local shop. The only drawback seems to be not being able to hear most of them at a dealer, but ideally you'd want them in your home with your own equipment for the demo anyway. The in home demo period makes perfect sense to me.

I'll see if there are any local dealers for Focals. What would be in my budget?

 

[Raiden256]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Raiden256
Good job on the audition -- have you set up a date for it yet? I like that you'll have a chance to see the woodwork of these in person; pictures just never do them justice.

I haven't heard the 550's, but you'll be impressed by Bigfoot (the RSC200), I promise! That thing packs one hell of a wallup.

:thumbsup:

I actually haven't heard back yet from the one guy in my area with the 550s, but I only sent out the request yesterday.

I keep reading about how great the centers are from the rockets, Ascend, and Swan. For someone like me who is going to use them mainly for HT it's great news.

I've noticed a distinct lack of people going out of their way to say that the Axiom center is amazing. I keep reading now the M22ti's are a great deal, but I've hardly seen the center mentioned.

Did you hear any other companies in this price range? Any comments on why you chose Rockets over the others?

Thanks

If you will post over in the AV123.com forum saying that your looking for an audition in the Milwaukee area, you'll probably have better luck. From what people are saying, AudioEnvy has been acting up lately, so the guy may not have gotten the email or something.

I'll be honest -- I didn't hear a whole lot of speakers before buying these. Just listened to some Klipsch, which were too harsh for me, and some Definitive Tech, which didn't impress me either. When I bought my speakers I was really new in the HT world, but I did about 8 months worth of research at AVSforum, Home Theater Spot, and the other online forums.

I started before the Rocket line was even introduced...at the time, AV123 was selling Swan Diva speakers with their own customizations, and everyone was raving about their perfomance and price point. There were two main threads on AVS about them, and I believe the first one is like the longest thread in AVS history or something. Anyway, I followed these and other posts on the message boards closely, and was just plain impressed by the level of interaction, open mindedness, and willing to go the extra mile for customer service that Mark Schifter (CEO of AV123) evidenced in his many posts. I'm huge on customer service, so this was a big deal to me, especially given that I'm the most anal bastard you've ever met.

Right as I was about to decide to purchase, AV123 had to stop selling the Swan Divas because of a lawsuit that another company (B&W I think?) had brought for copyright infringement against their top-mounted tweeter. Rather than fight it, AV123 introduced their own distinct line -- Rockets. I delayed a bit, but initial reviews were quite good, and I was actually able to audition them at someone's house near me. I was impressed both acoustically and aesthetically, so I made the jump and placed my order. I have to say I was nervous as hell spending that much $$ with an internet-direct company, but it's been worth it. These are great speakers -- powerful yet not aggressive, HUGE soundstage but very detailed, and beautiful to look at.

One of the 300's arrived with a small scratch on it. Being the anal bastard that I am, I called Sean (my sales rep) and asked him about it. He immediately offered me the choice of a generous credit or free replacement of the pair. I chose the latter, and he arranged free overnight shipping and pickup of the originals.

I couldn't be happier with my choice. Check out the forums at AV123 and you'll find lots of people like me. Obviously not an unbiased bunch, so keep doing your homework, but that's my recommendation.

Good luck!

 

[isasir]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: isasir

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: isasir
I own a pair of Ascend Acoustics CBM-170s as my fronts, and their older center channel speaker as my center. I also bought a HSU VTF-2 sub as well. My rears used to be Klipsch Quintets, but those broke, so I just picked up a cheaper pair off of Amazon.

I love my Ascends though. Absolutely amazing.

Awesome. Did you compare them to anything else before keeping them?

Well I went in and heard some Paradigms, but didn't like how blatantly the store owner was trying to push for the higher priced items.

I did tons of Google searches for "best bang for buck speakers" and finally came across the Ascends and their crazy rating on audioreview. THe fact that they were $299+free shipping at the time sealed the deal for me. That was about 2 years ago. It's funny that the same speakers are MORE expensive now.

Do you use the set for Music or Movies mainly? Are you bothered by the Center and surrounds not matching? Ever considered getting a full Ascend set to match?

I plan to go into a Paradigm dealer and let the guy show me the reference series

As I mentioned above, I've read that the Paradigm Studio Series will give me a general idea of the characteristics of the Ascends. Did you listen to the Studio Series while at the Paradigm dealer? Any opinions on the similarities to Ascend?

The guy at AV123 told me that Paradigm would be a good starting point for the sound of the Rocket 550s also. He said he personally liked the 550s and 750s better than even the Studio 100s ($2300/pair), so we'll see
He also told me to check out Monitor Audio for their sound characteristics. There are four dealers for them in my area and I've been to two of them already so I'll be sure to check them out

I mainly use it for movies (maybe 75% of the time). Lack of matching doesn't bother me, since my rears are just there for surround sound and (IMO) don't do all that much. I wanted smaller wall-mountable speakers for my rears. If Ascend sold these types of speakers, then I'd buy them.

I honestly don't remember what the Paradigms sounded like, and didn't use that as a guide to get the Ascends. I moreso figured that all the positive reviews, from audiophiles and casual listeners alike, must be a good sign.

 

[dug777]

Get a Bose set?

 

[afrost]

Hey there, I live in Madison WI and would be happy to give you an audition. I have two setups. One is Onix Rocket sig750s, RSC200, and 300s for surround. The other is a two channel setup of Onix Reference 1 speakers. I don't think you have to worry about the impedance of the RSC200....I was running it with a Denon 3803 without any problems for two years. The RSC200 is an amazing center channel. Let me know if you are interested.

If you come check em out maybe I'll have my AN8/Venice setup by then and you can give me some OCing tips

 

[markd]

I'm in Milwuakee with Rocket 550s and 200. If I was the one you sent an Audioenvy request to yesterday, I just replied.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: markd
I'm in Milwuakee with Rocket 550s and 200. If I was the one you sent an Audioenvy request to yesterday, I just replied.

Awesome. I e-mailed you back .

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Raiden256

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Raiden256
Good job on the audition -- have you set up a date for it yet? I like that you'll have a chance to see the woodwork of these in person; pictures just never do them justice.

I haven't heard the 550's, but you'll be impressed by Bigfoot (the RSC200), I promise! That thing packs one hell of a wallup.

:thumbsup:

I actually haven't heard back yet from the one guy in my area with the 550s, but I only sent out the request yesterday.

I keep reading about how great the centers are from the rockets, Ascend, and Swan. For someone like me who is going to use them mainly for HT it's great news.

I've noticed a distinct lack of people going out of their way to say that the Axiom center is amazing. I keep reading now the M22ti's are a great deal, but I've hardly seen the center mentioned.

Did you hear any other companies in this price range? Any comments on why you chose Rockets over the others?

Thanks

If you will post over in the AV123.com forum saying that your looking for an audition in the Milwaukee area, you'll probably have better luck. From what people are saying, AudioEnvy has been acting up lately, so the guy may not have gotten the email or something.

I'll be honest -- I didn't hear a whole lot of speakers before buying these. Just listened to some Klipsch, which were too harsh for me, and some Definitive Tech, which didn't impress me either. When I bought my speakers I was really new in the HT world, but I did about 8 months worth of research at AVSforum, Home Theater Spot, and the other online forums.

I started before the Rocket line was even introduced...at the time, AV123 was selling Swan Diva speakers with their own customizations, and everyone was raving about their perfomance and price point. There were two main threads on AVS about them, and I believe the first one is like the longest thread in AVS history or something. Anyway, I followed these and other posts on the message boards closely, and was just plain impressed by the level of interaction, open mindedness, and willing to go the extra mile for customer service that Mark Schifter (CEO of AV123) evidenced in his many posts. I'm huge on customer service, so this was a big deal to me, especially given that I'm the most anal bastard you've ever met.

Right as I was about to decide to purchase, AV123 had to stop selling the Swan Divas because of a lawsuit that another company (B&W I think?) had brought for copyright infringement against their top-mounted tweeter. Rather than fight it, AV123 introduced their own distinct line -- Rockets. I delayed a bit, but initial reviews were quite good, and I was actually able to audition them at someone's house near me. I was impressed both acoustically and aesthetically, so I made the jump and placed my order. I have to say I was nervous as hell spending that much $$ with an internet-direct company, but it's been worth it. These are great speakers -- powerful yet not aggressive, HUGE soundstage but very detailed, and beautiful to look at.

One of the 300's arrived with a small scratch on it. Being the anal bastard that I am, I called Sean (my sales rep) and asked him about it. He immediately offered me the choice of a generous credit or free replacement of the pair. I chose the latter, and he arranged free overnight shipping and pickup of the originals.

I couldn't be happier with my choice. Check out the forums at AV123 and you'll find lots of people like me. Obviously not an unbiased bunch, so keep doing your homework, but that's my recommendation.

Good luck!

Thanks for forwarding my request, I got a reply from markd (duh, you can see that hehe)

I was unaware of AV123's past, that's really interesting.

This is a huge purchase for me too. Up until this point, I still haven't spent more than $1000 on anything at one time. Thanks for the info on rockets. The 550s are such a good deal now, it seems hard to pass up. I'm probably going to end up waiting a couple weeks (if not significantly longer) to actually buy, so I have a lot of time to think it over.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: isasir

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: isasir

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: isasir
I own a pair of Ascend Acoustics CBM-170s as my fronts, and their older center channel speaker as my center. I also bought a HSU VTF-2 sub as well. My rears used to be Klipsch Quintets, but those broke, so I just picked up a cheaper pair off of Amazon.

I love my Ascends though. Absolutely amazing.

Awesome. Did you compare them to anything else before keeping them?

Well I went in and heard some Paradigms, but didn't like how blatantly the store owner was trying to push for the higher priced items.

I did tons of Google searches for "best bang for buck speakers" and finally came across the Ascends and their crazy rating on audioreview. THe fact that they were $299+free shipping at the time sealed the deal for me. That was about 2 years ago. It's funny that the same speakers are MORE expensive now.

Do you use the set for Music or Movies mainly? Are you bothered by the Center and surrounds not matching? Ever considered getting a full Ascend set to match?

I plan to go into a Paradigm dealer and let the guy show me the reference series

As I mentioned above, I've read that the Paradigm Studio Series will give me a general idea of the characteristics of the Ascends. Did you listen to the Studio Series while at the Paradigm dealer? Any opinions on the similarities to Ascend?

The guy at AV123 told me that Paradigm would be a good starting point for the sound of the Rocket 550s also. He said he personally liked the 550s and 750s better than even the Studio 100s ($2300/pair), so we'll see
He also told me to check out Monitor Audio for their sound characteristics. There are four dealers for them in my area and I've been to two of them already so I'll be sure to check them out

I mainly use it for movies (maybe 75% of the time). Lack of matching doesn't bother me, since my rears are just there for surround sound and (IMO) don't do all that much. I wanted smaller wall-mountable speakers for my rears. If Ascend sold these types of speakers, then I'd buy them.

I honestly don't remember what the Paradigms sounded like, and didn't use that as a guide to get the Ascends. I moreso figured that all the positive reviews, from audiophiles and casual listeners alike, must be a good sign.

Yeah, Ascends sure have a lot of great reviews behind them. I also might want to mount my rear speakers someday and have been thinking that if I get an Ascend set, I might get the wall mountable HTM-200s as my rears with 340s and 170s for front/surrounds. (They aren't really small though heh)

Reading how detailed the Ascend speakers are, it makes me think that they would make a really excellent center, but as I've said before, I've also read excellent things about the Swan and Rocket centers too. Too many great options :frown:

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: dug777
Get a Bose set?

Quiet, you

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: afrost
Hey there, I live in Madison WI and would be happy to give you an audition. I have two setups. One is Onix Rocket sig750s, RSC200, and 300s for surround. The other is a two channel setup of Onix Reference 1 speakers. I don't think you have to worry about the impedance of the RSC200....I was running it with a Denon 3803 without any problems for two years. The RSC200 is an amazing center channel. Let me know if you are interested.

If you come check em out maybe I'll have my AN8/Venice setup by then and you can give me some OCing tips

I haven't overclocked since I killed my 2100+ tbredB @ 2700+ after a year of use. I'm a stock guy now

I'm glad to hear I have an option in Madison too. If for some reason I don't end up getting any speakers during the summer and am back at school when I make my purchase, I would most definately be interested in an audition.

Could you e-mail me at spmclaughlin@gmail.com so I have your e-mail to get in touch with you later on if I want a demo?

Thanks so much!

 

[markd]

fyi, there are others in milwaukee with rockets besides me. not everyone may be registered at audioenvy though and i've heard that they are having problems getting emails out lately (someone at av123 was surprised that i had even received your audition request). anyway, there is already a thread that was started regarding your request here and you may want to make an appearance over there. i know of an ELT 5.1 set in milwaukee (i sold it to him when i upgraded , and there are 750s and ref 1's or 2's (can't remember). there may be more but i know those for sure. the ELTs were actually a damn fine setup but i wanted a little more since my listening is more than 50% music. the cherry finish was a beautiful stain too imho (too bad they stopped those). anywho, i look forward to seeing you soon.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: markd
fyi, there are others in milwaukee with rockets besides me. not everyone may be registered at audioenvy though and i've heard that they are having problems getting emails out lately (someone at av123 was surprised that i had even received your audition request). anyway, there is already a thread that was started regarding your request here and you may want to make an appearance over there. i know of an ELT 5.1 set in milwaukee (i sold it to him when i upgraded , and there are 750s and ref 1's or 2's (can't remember). there may be more but i know those for sure. the ELTs were actually a damn fine setup but i wanted a little more since my listening is more than 50% music. the cherry finish was a beautiful stain too imho (too bad they stopped those). anywho, i look forward to seeing you soon.

My account is awaiting activation

Oh, there we go.

Thread that raiden256 made for me :heart:

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Update: I'm leaning pretty heavily towards Onix rockets or Ascend Acoustics now.

I might be going in today (Sunday) to do an audition of a rockets setup with an RSC200 center and RS550 MKII mains.

I made a comment in the AV123 thread about this, but I thought I'd mention it here: I was shocked when I saw a picture of the size of the 200 center. I guess I wasn't really paying attention when I looked at the dimensions and weight of the thing. Here's the pic that really hit home, considering I have a receiver that looks just like the one under the speaker on that stand.

Specs on the center:
Dimensions: 12" H x 10.5" D x 25 7/16" W
Weight: 46 lbs (21 kg); ship weight = 54 lbs

Now I know why everyone was calling it "bigfoot" :Q

From what I've read, this is one of the best centers you can get in the pricerange of $600... which should be a big performance jump considering my current 7.0 speaker set was about $450 shipped .

 

[EvilYoda]

You know that it doesn't matter what you settle on...the upgrade bug will be with you from then on and you'll want more and more. I'm broke right now and i STILL dream of how I can improve from a $10K system to something better...not exactly the most prudent idea a 23 year-old can have.

But whatever makes you happy

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
You know that it doesn't matter what you settle on...the upgrade bug will be with you from then on and you'll want more and more. I'm broke right now and i STILL dream of how I can improve from a $10K system to something better...not exactly the most prudent idea a 23 year-old can have.

But whatever makes you happy

Don't tell me about the upgrade bug

In addition to a new powersupply/motherboard/processor/ram/videocard/soundcard, I've upgraded my tv twice, replaced my subwoofer, and added bass shakers since August.

Hopefully with this purchase, I'll be eliminating the last thing I have in my system that I can call cheap with a straight face. In the past I've said "this will be the last thing I'll want for a while", but I've always had something in my mind ready for the next upgrade. Right now I can't think of anything I want to add to my system besides this.

Oh crap... I lied... I want a new DVD player that actually loads disks without having to turn it on, eject the tray, place the disc in, turn off the player, and turn it back on... then pray that it works.

I know you're right though. I'm sure a year from now I'll be wanting to add something else. That would probably be quite the stretch to find something that needs improving though...

Oh well... at least I'm not throwing as much money away as somebody that buys a $3000 computer and has it lose half its value in a year... and as I've tried to justify this to myself: I have about $5000 extra for myself for having not had to pay for car insurance for the past 5 years (or any other car related expenses... like a car).

 

[RollWave]

I have Polk LSis all around and let me say that the Ring Radiator tweet is the sweetest sounding highs in the price range. Definitely check out the Rockets that have them and if you're willing to look into used speakers the LSis are going rather cheap lately. Definitely worth your time. Also, have you considered aperion audio at all? Their customer service is excellent and they offer a true 30 trial, they pay shipping both ways!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Well, I went out and listened to Mark's rocket set. They were very nice and looked spectacular.

Thinking about this more though... considering shipping and some stands, the 5.0 rocket set would end up costing me about $2000 probably. That's a few hundred more than I'd like to spend on this.

I think I might stick with Ascend Acoustics set and get something going from them for cheaper. If they sound as good as the rockets (which I've read they do), then I should be very happy with them. With my sub, I'm not worried at all about the Ascend's lack of bass. I'm also not going to have to worry about the 6ohm and 4ohm speakers from rocket.

rnp614, thanks for the Aperion Audio suggestion. I looked at them earlier and I don't remember what it was, but they just didn't seem to be as appealing as the other brands I was looking at.

I think it might have been that I already had a multitude of great options to chose from already.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Update yet again....

Packages I'm considering:

3.0 sets:

Ascend Acoustics
340 center
340 mains
three stands
shipping

= about $1040

Rockets
200 center
550 mains
no stands
shipping

= about $1270

5.0 sets:

Ascend Acoustics
340 center
340 mains
340 surrounds
5 stands
shipping

= about $1690

340 center
340 mains
170 surrounds
3 stands
shipping

= about $1340

Rockets
200 center
550 mains
550 surrounds
no stands
shipping

= about $1890

200 center
550 mains
150 surrounds
no stands
shipping

= about $1750


7.0 sets:

Ascend Acoustics
340 center
340 mains
170 surrounds
170 rears
3 stands
shipping

= about $1585