Rockport Orions with a subwoofer?

[Cincy2]

This was true in my case. When I had my M3's, the room created a huge base suck-out at around 60Hz. Moving things around either screwed up the trebles or made the bass worse. The subs were rolled off at around 75Hz and filled the hole nicely. The improvement was not insignificant.

Eric

BTW, I agree with your estimate of the difficulty integrating bass with the system. My subs (originally Magico's were integrated remotely by the Magico engineers in Israel by playing test tones and monitoring the response via computer.

 

[joey_v]

What headphone was it?

 

[JiminGa]

I agree. You really do need to know what you’re doing. Cincy, I’d give Josh, Jon and Andy a call and really pick their brains about the Orions and subwoofers. They have no skin in the game and they definitely want you to be a happy customer.

 

[Cincy2]

What headphone was it?

I used several. My favorites were the Abyss AB 1266 with a dCS Line solid state amp.

 

[joey_v]

How do you find the m3 versus the 802?

 

[Cincy2]

How do you find the m3 versus the 802?

I've been a rabid audiophile for thirty years. The M3s were the best speaker I have had in my system since I started down the rabbit hole. They need a good source as do any high end speaker but they have you everything you could want in space, articulation, accuracy, speed, coherence, soundstage etc. The 802D4's are a very competent value play but don't measure up to the M3's. Given their price difference, this is to be expected. Someone without a serious addiction to "What's Best" could easily live with them for a lifetime.

 

[joey_v]

I've been a rabid audiophile for thirty years. The M3s were the best speaker I have had in my system since I started down the rabbit hole. They need a good source as do any high end speaker but they have you everything you could want in space, articulation, accuracy, speed, coherence, soundstage etc. The 802D4's are a very competent value play but don't measure up to the M3's. Given their price difference, this is to be expected. Someone without a serious addiction to "What's Best" could easily live with them for a lifetime.

Thx man!
I bet you’ll enjoy the Orion even more than the m3

 

[JiminGa]

Cincy, you will have had 2 of the best speakers out there! You are in a unique position to compare the strengths of these two great efforts. When you’ve had time I’m sure a lot of us would love to hear your thoughts. I k ow there’s a significant price difference but the DNA of each company will come through. Each maker has its camp of enthusiasts. Very few cross over. You are so lucky.

 

[joey_v]

He is among the lucky few

 

[Cincy2]

Cincy, you will have had 2 of the best speakers out there! You are in a unique position to compare the strengths of these two great efforts. When you’ve had time I’m sure a lot of us would love to hear your thoughts. I k ow there’s a significant price difference but the DNA of each company will come through. Each maker has its camp of enthusiasts. Very few cross over. You are so lucky.

It will be my pleasure to offer you my thoughts on all 3, the Orions, the Magico M3's and the D4's. We are staged and ready for the swap on Tuesday next week. I will spend the weekend listening to the 802D4's so I have them fresh in my mind. I will never forget the Magico M3s. The Orions are in the house.

 

[joey_v]

Awesome!
Did you also have 802d2? How is that compared to 802d4?

 

[Cincy2]

Awesome!
Did you also have 802d2? How is that compared to 802d4?

No. I had two pairs prior years ago, 800's and 801's before the diamond tweeters were introduced. Both were fabulous speakers.

 

[joey_v]

No. I had two pairs prior years ago, 800's and 801's before the diamond tweeters were introduced. Both were fabulous speakers.

Please post pics of the install!

 

[joey_v]

Did you end up getting rid of the subs Eric?

 

[Cincy2]

Joey

Yes. I believe the Vicoustic room treatments cleaned up the bass modes eliminating the need for it.

Eric

 

[JiminGa]

Wise move Cincy. If you haven’t heard Orion it’s hard to describe how good the bass is. Judicious use of room treatments and fanatical attention to set up will get you great results without the downsides of subs unless your room is very problematic or you just love to feel the house shake

 

[Cincy2]

Wadax Reference Dac and Server arrive

I'm in the fourth quarter of my "game" so there was some pressure to find what pleased me and then to enjoy it as long as I can. Thx Eric

www.whatsbestforum.com

I'm done.

 

[JiminGa]

I saw on the Wadax thread!!! Beautiful and intelligent at the same time.

 

[Vinylshadow]

100%, 1000% you will be doing your Orions no favors by adding those subs. You are comparing subs with 7 and 8 inch woofers to the most precise 13 inch driver on the planet. The Orions midrange driver has extraordinarily low distortion as well. I know all of the arguments for subs. I’ve read the papers and the book chapters about smoothing/evening bass response. I used subs for 20 years. Right now when I listen to my Orions it’s the purist expression of recorded sound I can imagine. I encourage your experimentation. I have no doubt that there is a track here and there that would sound extra cool with subs but you just bought the cleanest purist speaker I know of. Let it sing! My dealer flew 3 guys in on a Wednesday and they left Saturday afternoon spending 3 days making sure everything was dialed in perfectly. They shipped boxes of set up gear to make sure it would be perfect. They “shot the grade” across the tweeters and midranges so they were exactly at the same height. Definitely spike them even if on hardwood this makes an audible difference. They spent hours shifting less than 1 mm at a time. 3 people listening as well as measuring for minute differences. It’s that level of tuning that will allow you to hear all your speaker is capable of but will also make it impossible NOT to hear the subs when engaged. I know I’m over the top but you are in for something special.

Your thoughts are so valuable and timely as I'm currently debating between the Lyra and Orion. Before reading the WBF Orion/Lyra threads, I thought it would be an easier choice for the Lyra, although the bigger drivers of the Orion was an attraction for sure. But you have given me so much to consider. As well as you choosing the Orion when you could have chosen the Lyra. You love bass. I love midrange and highs.
My room has a lot of cubic feet(12' Deep/36' long/24' high with drop down ceilings left and right beyond where the speakers would be. So 6,000 cu ft?).
The kicker is, the Rockport speaker fronts will be 8' away from my listening position/ears due to a wall where the left rear corner of the right speaker will be very near to. Closer than ideal but there is so much air to fill in the room. I've got 2-3 months to consider this but I just hope the speakers being only 8' away is far enough away for hearing proper imaging etc....Thank you!

 

[JiminGa]

You’re not going to go wrong with either choice. To quote someone who knows “the Lyra measures better in every way but I personally like the Orion”. If you have the money you need to go listen for yourself. From mid bass up the Lyra is unparalleled in my opinion. Your love of midrange and the proximity to the speakers may nudge you to the Lyra. They have two 6 inch midranges which roll off at different frequencies which gives real presence and seamless integration to the mid band. You will love either choice.