Rockport Technologies announces new owner

spiritofmusic

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Mik, purely from visuals, Japanese artisanship and it's sheer rareity in Europe, I'm absolutely intrigued by the Spec.

From it's labour intensive/labour of love laminated Finnish Birch ply plinth, to it's 16" diameter oversized Gunmetal platter, to it's generously specced motor using string drive, and I believe magnetic bearing, it looks like a fantastic proposition.

Can you say any more about it?
 

108CY

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May 4, 2013
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108CY

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someone who really knows motors and what can be sourced now would have to comment. i have no clue. it seems not reasonable to assume that somehow great motors can no longer be built as well as they once could. but maybe not. a lost art?[/QUOTE]

The subject of motors is a complex matter as the differences are vast the way they are contolled is subject in its self, majority of units are just standard of the shelf maxon motors there are now some rather large and interesting designs coming from china. Units like the large manger unit you had in the system 11 were way ahead of its time and would be tottaly uneconomical today also very hard to control due to its sheer size. The system 111 motor from what I know it costs today would be tottally out of the question. As far as belt drives go I always tend to like large AC motors but are a thing of scarcity and not so easy to control. They just seem to flow in a way that is tottaly effortless.
 

microstrip

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(...) Does the AF0 and AS2000 run their NOS modded motors because they're the best, or because a ground-up new design would truly be prohibitive?

Why should they invest in a new ground-up design if they could locate some motors that matched their specifications?

A turntable project is a very complex entity and many factors are interdependent - I have no doubt that some aspects of the bearing design are connected to the motor characteristics.
 
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108CY

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Why should they invest in a new ground-up design if they could locate some motors that matched their specifications?

A turntable project is a very complex entity and many factors are interdependent - I have no doubt that some aspects of the bearing design are connected to the motor characteristics.

I agree it would not be worth for such a small market, i have played around with modifying shafts etc and its rather complex and opens its own can of worms where does one start and one would have to throw an aweful lot of money into just prototyping.


The problem is there is limited choices out there
 

spiritofmusic

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Oh, I have no opinion either way. It's Mik's contention that one reason a new Sirius will not appear is the inability to source or develop a motor as good or superior to that on the III.

Yet the AF0 and AS2000 are using the old motor (albeit heavilly modded).
 

microstrip

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(...) As far as belt drives go I always tend to like large AC motors but are a thing of scarcity and not so easy to control. They just seem to flow in a way that is tottaly effortless.

There are hundreds of such great motors floating around in european tape recorders stored in garages. Most probably it is how the famous turntables manufacturers got their stock ... :)
 
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108CY

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There are hundreds of such great motors floating around in european tape recorders stored in garages. Most probably it is how the famous turntables manufacturers got their stock ... :)

True sadly not many are as adventurous to use some of the large AC tape recorder motors some of them are stunning but usually take alot to drive properly. I like some of those motors they sound totally effortless.
 
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bonzo75

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Feb 26, 2014
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To correct the record, the Fremer review you cite is from 2007 and is about the Monaco version 1, not the 1.5.

Thanks for correcting
 

amadeus

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The price is similar once you buy the base, also is costlier to actually purchase due to the way its sold the japanese makers have not yest figured out how audio distribution works so margins are tight which actually makes it a good buy. The cs post is unusual as it does not have a conventional air bearing it utilises a a conventional inverted bearing, and floats the platter on air the the tolerances of the sub assembley and the platter surface have to be seen its a typical of the wall japanese design. The Vyger is great its a lovely deck to own its a bit darker sounding and has a bit more character the cs port is quite stunning in the way it just flows and has this incredibly quick yet smooth and natural while not giving the impression of false weight. The bass is lightning fast and deep. The rockports remain technological marvals that there are differences between system 111,s so its not easy to comment and they are more like tools I have spent many years trying to understand them. I still love the vyger and its a wonderful turntable it has a highly musical sound and and especially does well on classical. Who would want to own one turntable. The cs port is far most musically enjoyable than the AF one premium the airforce one is pushes images forward and exagerates frequencies.
Did you hear the CS Port side by side whit AF1P ?
 

Elliot G.

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www.bendingwaveusa.com

Elliot G.

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www.bendingwaveusa.com

meet Josh Clark !
 

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