I had the opportunity to listen to a pair of 850's liked the way they sounded and the bass was nice and tight. I would like to buy a pair but everything I have is black and would like to have the mains be black. I am currently using a older pair of Deftech bp10's along with a MFW-15. I was thinking about trying a direct firing speaker instead of the bi-polar. With the 850's even on sale they are still over $1000 dollars with shipping. Is there a speaker that comes in black that would compare in price and sound as the 850's. These would primarily used for music mostly for 80's hair band music and some harder stuff like Metallica. Any suggestions would be great.

I don't know if Polk is too pedestrian for you but this fits the bill in comparison to the 850's.
http://cgi.ebay.com/RTi-A9-Black-Tower-Loudspeakers-Polk-Audio-pair_W0QQitemZ360118752346QQihZ023QQcategoryZ3276QQcmdZViewI temQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

I don't know if Polk is too pedestrian for you but this fits the bill in comparison to the 850's.
http://cgi.ebay.com/RTi-A9-Black-Tower-Loudspeakers-Polk-Audio-pair_W0QQitemZ360118752346QQihZ023QQcategoryZ3276QQcmdZViewI temQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

Thanks for the link. The price is close to the same, but really haven't heard Polks in years. Sound and performance should be close to the 850's?

I have read reviews that the Rockets compare similar with Paradigm and maybe even to Swan Diva. Can't say for sure....just what I read awhile back.

I have read reviews that the Rockets compare similar with Paradigm and maybe even to Swan Diva. Can't say for sure....just what I read awhile back.

Any model numbers I should check?