What amplifiers work best with Rockports? What have you heard?

andromedaaudio

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Absolutely, I am extremely happy with them...and only a major, major change could entice me to switch. Why? Any suggestions? ;)
I was just wondering and thought you might have an arrakis by now lol.
But i virtually never see them for sale anyway.
I do like the way you built your system, you have respect for older designs and upgrade slowly / carefully.
 
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LL21

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I was just wondering and thought you might have an arrakis by now lol.
But i virtually never see them for sale anyway.
I do like the way you built your system, you have respect for older designs and upgrade slowly / carefully.
Hi...there is a pair on LA on sale, and i have reached out to the dealer. The timing is not great as i explained to Ron when he was here for a visit. However, i like to keep tabs on these as they come up, because someday will be the right day. I had a 60 DVD player i was using as a source for YEARS, and then over the course of 8 years moved up to Zanden 4-box digital after first getting an older version of the Zanden DAC.

I would like to ensure that any move from X1 is a dramatic improvement. Dramatic is of course relative but the $60 DVD to Zanden 4-box is certainly a good example of how i try to make my moves count. The amps have not been so dramatic...from CJ MV60 to Antileon to Colosseum to Mephisto...but always 2nd hand at deep discounts. I imagine the speaker upgrade should be somewhere in between.
 
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andromedaaudio

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Construction wise its looks very nice., promising.
I never heard one however, the brand is represented here in Holland but its more of private business.
I will most likely go to the munich show this year and will hear rockports .
Also gryphon vitus and a lot more.
I might be opening a brick and mortar store my self in the future.
 

LL21

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Do post when you have heard them!
 

LL21

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Sure,but I doubt it will change my tube preference
Actually, i was referring to the Rockports. Do let me know when you hear them, particularly the Lyras.
 

andromedaaudio

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Off course .
I ll try to give an honest opinion.
But sometimes its not so easy to judge a product in showconditions .
But on the other hand you gotta start somewhere.
 

LL21

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Off course .
I ll try to give an honest opinion.
But sometimes its not so easy to judge a product in showconditions .
But on the other hand you gotta start somewhere.
Absolutely understand. Thank you.
 

andromedaaudio

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Absolutely understand. Thank you.
I was checking out soundstage on you tube and they had a special on rockport .
It turns out rockport has been sold and Andy payor is now technical director.
Regarding the lyra sure it would be interesting to hear what those cast aluminium enclosures (also not a cheap.solution with dampening in between) contribute to the sound( or better said not contribute) off course.
The lyra is now their top of the line whether it would be able to compete in overall bandwith with your bigger X 1 which is a larger / more membrane surface design, I doubt it.
It will probably sound a bit cleaner then the arrakis or your X 1, but to me there are more things important in a design.
I think with for example a single boulder 2060 the amp would control the arrakis without problem( big gryphon)
Your tubed CJ gat as a pre should work fine.
But designs like the arrakis are cost no object designs meaning the designer goes all out and choose not to be limited much by production costs.
Thats what makes it interesting also because you might never see such a design again from rockport now.
It costs a lot to design and make
And how much are gonna be sold ,....probably not much .

Ps i always compare speaker to speaker without subs, you know im not a fan
 
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LL21

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I was checking out soundstage on you tube and they had a special on rockport .
It turns out rockport has been sold and Andy payor is now technical director.
Regarding the lyra sure it would be interesting to hear what those moulded enclosures with dampening in between contribute to the sound( or better said not contribute) off course.
The lyra is now their top of the line whether it would be able to compete with your X 1 which is a larger / more membrane surface design, I doubt it.
It will probably sound a bit cleaner then the arrakis or your X 1, but to me there are more things important in a design.
I think with for example a single boulder 2060 the amp would control the arrakis without problem( big gryphon)
Your tubed CJ gat as a pre should work fine.
But designs like the arrakis are cost no object designs meaning the designer goes all out and choose not to be limited much by production costs.
Thats what makes it interesting also because you might never see such a design again from rockport now.
It costs a lot to design and make
And how much are gonna be sold ,....probably not much .

Ps i always compare speaker to speaker without subs, you know im not a fan

Thank you. I hear everything you say and for my own tastes...entirely agree. I think the Arrakis is my favorite speaker I have heard to date...and I cannot imagine taking the Lyra over the Arrakis, other than for reasons of room...in which case i would keep the X1s anyway despite the Lyra likely having (i would guess) far better nuance, lower noise floor, seamlessness, coherence, etc...but for the cost, would likely stay where i am or go for a 2nd hand XLF which still costs less particularly with trade-in of X1 back to dealer.
 

andromedaaudio

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Plus on a high eff design like X 1, XLF and off course my own design ( high eff , high impedance X over)
One can almost buy any amp they want and have a good pairing and save money as well
But high eff is off course not a measure of quality in itself .
Heard enough horn designs at shows lol,....... sorry bonzo
 
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LL21

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Plus on a high eff design like X 1, XLF and off course my own design .
One can almost buy any amp they want and have a good pairing and save money as well
But high eff is off course not a measure of quality in itself .
Heard enough horn designs at shows lol,....... sorry bonzo
Yes, it allowed me to consider many amps including the iconic Lamms...but with long-term Rockport in mind as an option (if not staying within the Wilson family which remains a possibility), the Gryphon gives me the ability to go either way without changing the amp.
 

Colekat

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Not long ago I spend an afternoon at Rockport with a customer that Andy built a custom one off pair of Arrakis for . During final audition , the speakers were sourced with a Vivaldi stack and Doshi 180s did the amplification . At the end of the room a pair of Precision mono blocks static . I asked him what he preferred and he said he has had many different Amps in house , including many of the amps mentioned in this thread … and it all depends , but I really like these Doshi Amps I have here now … there was some customizing done to his taste .
 
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Colekat

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By the way … Those custom Arrakis are fed with Ypsilon DAC and Preamp with 4 Hyperion's . Sound is fantastic .
 
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LL21

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By the way … Those custom Arrakis are fed with Ypsilon DAC and Preamp with 4 Hyperion's . Sound is fantastic .
Fantastic to know...thanks for posting...interesting to read about the mighty Arrakis. My favorite speaker if time/effort not to mention space and cost are unlimited.
 

arnies

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Fantastic to know...thanks for posting...interesting to read about the mighty Arrakis. My favorite speaker if time/effort not to mention space and cost are unlimited.
HI Lloyd, if I ever decide to sell my Arrakis I will let you know. And they do sound amazing with the CH Precision electronics - both the CH M1.1 amps and now with the CH M10 amps.
 

LL21

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HI Lloyd, if I ever decide to sell my Arrakis I will let you know. And they do sound amazing with the CH Precision electronics - both the CH M1.1 amps and now with the CH M10 amps.
Thank you. As you know we thought long and hard about the pair Shadi was selling in LA around 2 years ago, and we just could not make all the logistics work in the room. We went the XLF route which works extremely well and refined the system in tandem with them which has worked out extremely well. But the Arrakis still remains the long-term favorite.
 

RSFN

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I have a pair of Cygnus myself. I have heard them with SS : Dartzeel and Soulution ( both great but for me the dart 108 was even better ) and Tubes : Kondo and Doshi ( Doshi worked perfectly and Kondo did not had the juice ). I ended up trading my long time favorite ( dart 108 ) for the doshi monos evolution and I am very happy with them.
 
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LL21

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Congrats, RSFN...an enormous fan of Rockports having heard the Merak Sheritan IIs, the Altair IIs and the Arrakis. And everytime remarkably consistently and extremely quality at every price point and level...just more extreme version of the identical voice/character.

I have heard Rockport with Electrocomopaniet (Nemos), VTL Siegfrieds IIs and Soulutions 5-series. Always a great sound in every instance.

What led you to the Doshis over the most excellent Dartzeels and Soulutions?
 

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