Small floor standing speaker shootout... (1 Viewer)

[Kevin_Breeze]

Geez, he couldnt have put aside one pair to send for testing :frowning: Wasn't he the one who suggested this over a month ago?? What am I missing?? Come on Jon, we want to see how those beauties perform!

Craig, you are still going to post your thoughts about the Rocket 750's vs the 550's though right?

 

[Jon Lane]

Okay, okay; just a quick message. I'm up to my ears in paperwork but will have some interesting news (at the least) for you shortly.

Craig, feel free to email concerning our demo plans.

Back to the mines...

 

[Jon Lane]

Incidentally, the Rosewoods are as popular as always. It's true the Faux Black Cherry models have expanded our business, but demand for the classic Rosewood models continues as always.

 

[BradZ]

Craig,

i'm not asking for scores, or which is better, but what are your thoughts comparing the Rocket 250mkIIs and 100mkII center with a front comprised of Ascend 340 mains and center? Obviously we all have different ears and tastes, and I don't want this to devolve like before, but how would you compare the two set-ups for dialog, detail, mid-bass, treble, etc. You may also want to compare them to the ELT CSEs since you've got those around too. Assume low bass will be covered by a quality subwoofer - any of the HSU, SVS, or Onix subs you have lying around should suffice.

Again, let me state that I'm not asking Craig to declare a winner, just to compare and contrast what he feels each speaker does best and how they might appeal to people looking for different things from an HT set-up.

If you don't feel like opening that particular can of worms, I'll understand, but I know many of us out here appreciate the work you've done and enjoy reading your reviews. I've said before that I purchased a piece of equipment that you rated second best in a shootout because your comments led me to believe that your number 2 would be my favorite. I enjoy the positives that you find in every product you review.

 

[Mark LS]

Good Day Rob...

On average, we receive a container every 8 to 10 working days... (for our brands and business, NOT counting our OEM)... During the months of November, December and January we have "booked" a dozen 40 foot high cube monsters... (for the USA alone)...

We have no plans for our own "cargo company"...

As for "marketing", we spend less today on monthly advertizing than vitually all of our (Internet Direct) competitors... and WAY LESS than when we started selling direct some 5 plus years ago. We DO however spend lots of time/money/energy on our End Users by promoting things like GTG's etc. around the USA...

We WILL (however) have some VERY exciting news to report about the opening of Rocket Canada next month. You folks up in Canada are about to receive some extrordinary service and pricing advantages vis-a-vis our partnership we expect to unveil this weekend... Going to great for sure for all of our friends "Up North" --- you'll see...

(I guess we're not quiet after all... )...

All the best...

mls

 

[Craig Chase]

Gents (and ladies ?) ... I just got off the phone with Jon, and he really is VERY busy. Keeping up with demand is challenging enough right now, without worrying about this intrepid reviewer. (another internet direct value showing success) He also mentioned he is working on some new stuff...

Perhaps we will re-visit this after a month or two.

I will be posting some thoughts on the 750's Vs. 550's ...

Brad - Ascend makes a quality product. For the sake of peace in the forums, I will leave it there...

 

[David Bikeman]

"We DO however spend lots of time/money/energy on our End Users by promoting things like GTG's etc. around the USA... "

Reminds me of the old adage, "We're wasting half our advertising budget. If we could only figure out which half?"
Mark does not waste a dime on marketing/advertising. He has a great sales force that he calls "End Users." They welcome new member 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Problems get solved so fast it's hard to remember there was a problem sometimes. I am in awe of Mark Schifter. When the business hall of fame goes up, he'll be in the First Class.

David

 

[Craig Chase]

That was pretty good stuff, David.

And Frank has me convinced to also try some of the risers...

 

[Mark LS]

OMG David...

Thank you... that was really very very kind.

Our friends are (in fact) spreading the word for us. We all enjoy the family feel, and the rewards from taking care of our friends the way we (as people) like to be taken care of. You ARE our Honoured Friends...

The Colorado Get Together was awesome... Everyone had a ball... Next year we are hopeful for 300 to 400 attendees and we have already selected the hotel to accomodate us all... I'm also going to invite several "competitors" to come and show their wares as well...

Invitations will go to our friends at SVS, Ascend, Swan's, ACI, BG, VMPS, GR Research, Epiphany, Genesis etc. etc. All in the name of good friends / good sound... and mutual respect and admiration. We'll also invite some local companys to see if they want to come and enjoy. Perhaps the fine folks from Ayre Acoustics, Boulder, Avalon etc. would like to join. We'll also invite a few video display companies to put their best foot forward as well.

My aim is to promote ALL of us, and introduce these companies and products to our loyal following, and hopefully many new people we would like to invite... No other method to our (my) madness... I expect av123 to give away in excess of 20K dollars in merchandise alone... Exposure never hurts...

I believe that the best way to "market" is to let the products do the talking through peer and professional review, as well as practical use. Let the End User make the best "informed decision" he or she can make --- but being armed with all of the facts, etc. is the ONLY way to go. I have some cool ideas for next year's event I can't chat about as yet... but hopefully soon enough...

Thanks again for your humbling comments...

Wishing you all the very best...

mls

 

[Craig Chase]

Next Year's Colorado GTG looks REALLY good ! ... I think the least expensive part will be the travel... the most expensive will be all the gear we buy !

 

[frank manrique]

Mark,

So Avalon is still in business? Good to hear that...

Btw, if you happen to see Mr. Patel next time you visit their facilities say hi for me (we hosted a meeting featuring Avalon speakers in Ontario, California, several years ago, so is possible that he might remember such a memorable occasion since it took place at a high-end audio salon, long since defunct, that was located right across from the Cardas manufacturing "plant" before George Cardas, who also hosted one of our meetings at his then residence in Ontario along with VTL, originally a British enterprise that moved their business to the US back in the 80s and which was well known within the audiophile comunity for their vacuum tube audio components, moved his business out of California (to the state of Washington, I think)...

-THTS

"...hi, my name is Frank...and am an SVS bassaholic..."

 

[Jon Lane]

True enough, Craig. We'll keep you all posted.

Incidentally, here's something written by a customer (a Ph.D'd scientist) that we found quite gratifying. We're pleased that the $899-$1299 Swan 6.1 is held in such high esteem: Relative sonic character of the Swan 6.1.

 

[Craig Chase]

Jon - I saw that thread on AVS. It was a pretty good read... no blind testing, though with that large a list, blind testing would have taken months...

Overall, a really well thought out process.

 

[BradJudy]

More importantly, the Axiom and Rocket scores appear to be based on 'forum posts' rather than actual listening. Seems more appropriate to leave them off than to include them based on speculation.

 

[Craig Chase]

BradJudy.... You are right, I had not even noticed the Rockets and Axioms on the chart until you pointed them out... THAT was not proper, with no auditioning, for sure.

 

[Craig Chase]

Tomorrow should be interesting. I have a friend coming over that owns the Def-Tech 7000's ... and is pretty convinced they are the best speakers ever made.

They cost $5000 per pair... vs. $2800 for the 250's and Maestro...

Should be interesting.

 

[Craig Chase]

The gent I mentioned on the Def Techs just left, and to put it simply, he was totally blown away. The 250's had better imaging, more detail, and he was raving about them after the audition. He also has experience with Martin-Logans, and thought the 250's were in that league for quality in sound reproduction.

He is also going putting the Def Techs on the market. I would call that a very serious endorsement.

I had asked him for permission to post his thoughts before doing so.... and his answer was an enthusiastic yes.

 

[Nhan_H]

Wow. Nice, Craig.

I had a gentleman coming over for a demo of my self-modified 550.2 (I installed the new x-over boards). He's been to Hillcrest Hifi to demo some really expensive Logans, as well as some in the mid-price (whatever that is), and Polks. He was thoroughly impressed with the 550.2/200/250.1/UFW10 combo. At one point during the BMG DVD video demo (with Venus Hum), he simply leaned back, laughed, and stated that this really blew away what he's been demoing so far

 

[Craig Chase]

Nhan - What differences have you noticed with the upgrades in your 550's ?

 

[Nhan_H]

I really haven't had time to sit down and re-evaluate after I did the upgrade. Doing a comparison using one speaker only was not very easy, due to placement, etc. My yamaha receiver was going nuts with different left/right speakers, and I had to adjust the balance (which was quite skewed) during the test. I gave up after a while. Initially after both speakers were upgraded, I couldn't really tell that much of a difference between the old and new. Like I said, I didn't have much time to do any serious listening (really busy month for me). Initially, I sorta preferred version 1, but after re-tweaking the speakers, I'm beginning to appreciate them more.

The soundstage/imaging seem to be the same, but I noticed that the mids are slightly stronger and more defined with v2. I wish I had more time to dedicate to listening for comparison (especially with a fading audio memory), so that I could be more articulate in my description.

However, I'm really happy with the upgrade, especially with the learning experience. I had my doubts whether I could get the job done or not. But I'm glad I did it. This experience just gives me a greater appreciation for the AV123 guys when they were offering upgrades for the 750.2s.

Also, after having to terminate a spare SP-200 speaker wire that a friend gave me, I'd definitely pay to have the AV123 guys terminate them with some bananas for me. That job alone took me about 1.5 hours to do.

Anyways, I hope I'll have more dedicated time for some critical listening at the end of the month.