My Rockport Aquila Saga
Given the general lack of information available on Rockport speakers I thought that a record of my own saga may be of interest to others. I'll continue to add to this post in sections as events unfold.
Background
I've been an audiophile since my pre-teen years and grew up in the home of two music lovers. When my family moved into our "new house" I was 6 years old and absolutely mesmerized by the new "Hi Fi" that came along with it. It's funny that at this point I can't recall many details about myself at that age, but I can tell you all about the stereo (KEF 105s, Audire amp / pre, Rabco table, Onkyo tuner, TEAC open reel). By my current standards it was all higher mid-fi, but at the time it was the most amazing thing in the World. I grew up on Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Wagner, Borodin, and many others. In high school I was the oddball who listened to classical and jazz as opposed to the current popular dreck.
Fast-forward to 2011 and I have a very nice high-end system made up of Vandersteen 5As, VTL MB-450s, VTL TL-7.5, VTL TP-6.5, Wadia S7i, and a Basis 2800 vacuum table. After moving into a new room which, albeit small, elevated the performance of my system to a point that I found that I was wanting more. Much of this was likely due to the fact that I hadn't done much upgrading (save for the CD player) in the last couple of years.
Although I loved the Vandersteens and found them to be a wonderful all-around speaker I found that I was editing my listening habits based on what sounded good. I'd skip over the old RCA and Mercury classical recordings in favor of the Blue Note and Impulse re-issues of small jazz ensembles. I realized that the Vandersteens weren't giving me the dynamic presentation that I was looking for in large-scale orchestral recordings.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that I hadn't done any major upgrades in a while?
At this point I assumed that I would swap the Vandersteen 5As out for a pair of Wilson Sashas and call it done.
The Catalyst
Toward the end of January my dealer and Wilson Audio parted ways. Being fiercely loyal to my dealer meant looking at other options that were available (for both of us). Rockport and Avalon were at the top of his list and the two of us spent the weekend independently researching options. Based on the limited information out there we found that Rockport speakers had a near-universal admiration for sonics and build quality along with unfaltering respect for their designer, Andrew Payor. As my dealer consulted with some of his trusted advisors in the industry and I spent countless hours re-formulating Google searches we both arrived at the conclusion that Rockport would likely be his new premier line and my next pair of speakers.
I spoke with Mr. Payor the following Monday afternoon about my particular needs and some specifics about my room. Although I had assumed that I would purchase a pair of Ankaas it became clear that the Aquilas were a much better fit for what I was looking for and a significant upgrade over what was offered by the Ankaa. Availability also became an issue as Rockport is in the process of re-working the Ankaa so the model is on hiatus.
My dealer ordered a demo pair of Aquilas and scheduled a seminar featuring Rockport, VTL, and Transparent Audio. I told him that once I had a chance to audition the Aquilas I would likely be his first Rockport customer.
More to come.... I was able to audition the Aquilas yesterday and will post impressions as soon as I'm able to collect my thoughts.
Given the general lack of information available on Rockport speakers I thought that a record of my own saga may be of interest to others. I'll continue to add to this post in sections as events unfold.
Background
I've been an audiophile since my pre-teen years and grew up in the home of two music lovers. When my family moved into our "new house" I was 6 years old and absolutely mesmerized by the new "Hi Fi" that came along with it. It's funny that at this point I can't recall many details about myself at that age, but I can tell you all about the stereo (KEF 105s, Audire amp / pre, Rabco table, Onkyo tuner, TEAC open reel). By my current standards it was all higher mid-fi, but at the time it was the most amazing thing in the World. I grew up on Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Wagner, Borodin, and many others. In high school I was the oddball who listened to classical and jazz as opposed to the current popular dreck.
Fast-forward to 2011 and I have a very nice high-end system made up of Vandersteen 5As, VTL MB-450s, VTL TL-7.5, VTL TP-6.5, Wadia S7i, and a Basis 2800 vacuum table. After moving into a new room which, albeit small, elevated the performance of my system to a point that I found that I was wanting more. Much of this was likely due to the fact that I hadn't done much upgrading (save for the CD player) in the last couple of years.
Although I loved the Vandersteens and found them to be a wonderful all-around speaker I found that I was editing my listening habits based on what sounded good. I'd skip over the old RCA and Mercury classical recordings in favor of the Blue Note and Impulse re-issues of small jazz ensembles. I realized that the Vandersteens weren't giving me the dynamic presentation that I was looking for in large-scale orchestral recordings.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that I hadn't done any major upgrades in a while?
At this point I assumed that I would swap the Vandersteen 5As out for a pair of Wilson Sashas and call it done.
The Catalyst
Toward the end of January my dealer and Wilson Audio parted ways. Being fiercely loyal to my dealer meant looking at other options that were available (for both of us). Rockport and Avalon were at the top of his list and the two of us spent the weekend independently researching options. Based on the limited information out there we found that Rockport speakers had a near-universal admiration for sonics and build quality along with unfaltering respect for their designer, Andrew Payor. As my dealer consulted with some of his trusted advisors in the industry and I spent countless hours re-formulating Google searches we both arrived at the conclusion that Rockport would likely be his new premier line and my next pair of speakers.
I spoke with Mr. Payor the following Monday afternoon about my particular needs and some specifics about my room. Although I had assumed that I would purchase a pair of Ankaas it became clear that the Aquilas were a much better fit for what I was looking for and a significant upgrade over what was offered by the Ankaa. Availability also became an issue as Rockport is in the process of re-working the Ankaa so the model is on hiatus.
My dealer ordered a demo pair of Aquilas and scheduled a seminar featuring Rockport, VTL, and Transparent Audio. I told him that once I had a chance to audition the Aquilas I would likely be his first Rockport customer.
More to come.... I was able to audition the Aquilas yesterday and will post impressions as soon as I'm able to collect my thoughts.
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