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New addition at AV123: Rocket Speakers (1 Viewer)

Allan F

Agent
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Sep 13, 2001
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I noticed the addition of a new line of speakers at AV123. Hmmm. They look oftly familiar.......I just can't place it:). Anyone seen or heard these yet? If you guys in Colorado read this; how do the sonic qualities of this lineup vary from the Diva's?
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Allan
 

Sean D

Stunt Coordinator
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Sep 3, 2001
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181
My guess is that they would sound quite different than the Divas....they use the Vifa XT tweeter. They look sweeeet.
 

Sihan Goi

Second Unit
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Nov 2, 2001
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442
Sheesh, they look like long lost brothers or something. Are they made by the same company or what? If not I'm surprised Swans didn't sue them for some design copyright infringement or something like that...
 

Jeffrey Forner

Screenwriter
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Jun 19, 1999
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1,117
Sheesh, they look like long lost brothers or something. Are they made by the same company or what?
Um... yeah! They were designed by the same people who work at AV123, the company that sells the Divas. If there was a lawsuit, they'd be suing themselves. :)
Personally, I'm perplexed by the introduction of this line. They look a lot like the Divas and they are similarly priced, but use different components. Are these speakers supposed to yield a better sound or something? How are they different than the Divas (aside from the lack of a displaced tweeter)?
It would make more sense if they introduced a line-up that was clearly above (or below) the Divas in price and quality to catch a different market, but these look more like sibling speakers more than anything.
 

Brian Bunge

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Sep 11, 2000
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J. Fo,

I agree, this really makes no sense to me. It's obviously just a Diva clone with a different tweeter. I mean, at least change the cabinets or something! I think this will confuse customers more than anything. I don't doubt that speaker companies sometimes share designs and simply change cosmetics or maybe tweak the crossovers a bit (it happens in every other industry), but I wouldn't sell them through the same distribution network!

Brian
 

Eric_Singer

Agent
Joined
Apr 11, 2002
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43
The new line seems to use metal woofers. I haven't heard anything with the Vifa ring tweeter, but it is possible that AV123 wanted a brighter-sounding line to appeal to those who don't like the sound of the Divas, which as I understand it, are more laid-back. I'd certainly like to hear what someone from AV123 has to say if they're prowling around this forum...

Eric
 

Walt N

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 23, 2001
Messages
417
Anyone notice how Wharfedale, Tannoy, and now AV123 is doing away with speakers with top mounted tweeters? It's not an accident nor a coincidence. See the "Offical Diva by Swans" thread at AVSForum's Audio & Hi-Fi forum for more on this from AV123's Mark Schifter. (page 79)
 

kevitra

Second Unit
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
364
Um, yes it looks like B&W did sue Swan. Read the last 2 pages of the "offical Diva" thread over at AV123. The Diva line is dead. This is their new line.

Quoting Mark:
"While I cannot get into tremendous detail here, this has to do with some possible legal entanglements stemming from potential infringements of “Trade Dress” (mounting the tweeter on top of the cabinet as used by another company), and the use of the actual name, DIVA. These are very serious matters and we find ourselves in a precarious position.
"
 

Dustin B

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Mar 10, 2001
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My only question is why did they cross the XT25 over at 3800hz? You think they'd want to take advantage of a tweeter that has an Fs of 500hz and a frequency response of 1500hz-40,000hz. Especially with metal cone mid/woofs that generally have nasty breakup modes in the higher frequencies.
 

Brian Bunge

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Sep 11, 2000
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Dustin,

I think I've heard some stuff about the tweeter having some issues when crossing over low even with the low Fs. But Thomas and Jon are designing a speaker using this tweeter and one of the Hi-Vi 8" woofers. They seem to like it. Check it out over at HT Guide.

Brian
 

Steve Zimmerman

Second Unit
Joined
Dec 6, 2001
Messages
347
It would make more sense if they introduced a line-up that was clearly above (or below) the Divas in price and quality to catch a different market, but these look more like sibling speakers more than anything.
As one of the Beta testers for the Rocket line, I can assure you that they are superior to Diva in every way except price. I was *really* suprised to see that the regular package price for the Rockets was in the same range as the sale price of the Divas. I guess removing Swans from the equation helped keep the costs down because the drivers, crossovers, and cosmetics are better in an immediately noticeable way.

--Steve
 

SkiingNinja

Second Unit
Joined
Aug 14, 2001
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311
Real Name
Sean Ries
Wow, there are lots of good questions here...Mark will be by in a while to answer everything :)
Regards,
Sean
 

Rich Malloy

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2000
Messages
3,998
I had finally decided to go with the 4.1/C3 setup, and was planning to pull the trigger in August (too many other expenses in July!).

The Rockets look great, but I think I'm priced-out of that particular market (it was difficult justifying the Swans expense to my wife - she'll never go for even more expensive ones).

Ah well, maybe there'll still be a few 4.1's and C3's left in stock in August, but it looks like it may be Axiom for me. Disappointed...
 

Greg Br

Second Unit
Joined
Dec 13, 2001
Messages
437
I just got my divas in May, sure glad this option for a product that would have to have been in production and planning for months was not even mentioned, should it be that far surperior I feel totally jobbed:angry: :angry:
 

DavidRT

Auditioning
Joined
Jul 1, 2002
Messages
4
Guys,
I'm sure of a couple of things here:
One is that the Divas are still as good as they ever were, and may even get to become collectors items. I know I will never sell mine.
Two is that Rocket is a natural and necessary progression.
Three is that Mark Schifter has worked himself into exaustion to bring us this incredible new line, and they ARE all new. After a year in development, the AV123 engineering team has worked for months tirelessly tweaking every last detail of Rocket in order to bring us a product that not only is outstanding in every respect, but at a price point that to me seems impossible.
You guys are gonna love these speakers.
 

Ted Todorov

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2000
Messages
3,706
Ah well, maybe there'll still be a few 4.1's and C3's left in stock in August, but it looks like it may be Axiom for me. Disappointed...
The Perpetual Technologies/AV123 people are claiming that they will still have stock in August. For WAY more info than you could possibly want, check out this.
My Divas keep sounding better and better -- it must be in my head, I know...
Ted
 

felix_suwarno

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 2, 2001
Messages
1,523
grrreaat. now they have speakers with 5.25 inch driver. if i knew about this last month i would have bought the rocket line instead of psb image 1b.
 

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