Rocket by Onix: Best speaker for the money EVER?  

I knew someone would do it.

1) Problem is no ones heard them yet, AFAIK.

2) does this mean the www.audioenvy.com site will have a sister site called extremeaudioenvy. :p

3) when is mark or someone else from ********** going to say something about these. *argg* want more info.

Those are some *nice* looking speakers....

When are we going to get some stands for these, or are you going to simply use one of THESE:

http://www.**********/diva_m1_stands.html

http://www.**********/diva_stands.html

And what about something for placing that monster center? It looks pretty heavy-duty! How high up off of the ground should it be placed; is on the ground okay or must it be toed up, or what? I am wondering about the preferred positioning of such a monster...

Also! Who is going to do the first shootout of a Rocket RS250 vs. Polk LSi9? :) :) They both use the same tweeter, and cost *fairly* similar prices... but i daresay it looks like the Polk is gonna get whooped, lol....

I think in one of the specs it says you don't need stands. The bottom of each speaker has a built in flotation/hover device, which is why they decided to name these speakers.... "Rocket".

Hummm.... It's not April yet.

Any one want to buy some DIVAS:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Harley

Built in hover/flotation devices? Like the hoverboard in Back to the Future? Cool! so *THAT'S* what those round white things are! :D :D

One thing I'm really interested in finding out about the Rocket's is the sweet spot. How large is it? Or is it like the Diva's, which I find to be on the small side.

Might as well go ahead and paste this thread to the top -- it's bound to be a doozy!

You have no idea. :) :D :)

Well since the Divas were reportadly as good as the B&W 802s, I bet that since B&W brought out the 800 sig, that these sound as good as those?

TIC (I couldn't resist)

I guess I can "out" myself as a Rocket beta tester as well. My Diva's aren't going away, I like them too much and they're very happy in my bedroom/office HT but the Rockets are a step upward.

I performed extensive A/B testing with a switchbox over a period of two weeks or more and the first thing we (my assistant and I) noticed between the 6.1's and the 750's is a pretty substantial increase in "slam" or dynamics up to 150-200 Hz or so. The mid-range qualities are similar but there is a bit more clarity, and the tweeter is simply fantastic. Very smooth, articulate, and dynamic without a trace of harshness. The above is also true with the 4.1 vs. the 550 and the C-3 vs. the RSC-200. (This thing is a KILLER.) I had no 2.1's to compare the bookshelf models with but they sound wonderful and mate with the floorstanders very well.

Kudos to Mark Schifter and his design team, they've hit a bullseye here.

So how about the timber matching with existing Diva line?

I'm just wondering if the RS750 are shilded or not. The Diva 6.1s aren't and that is the only complaint I have against them.

From the website:

"Be forewarned, though, that although the RSC200 is magnetically shielded, it should not be placed directly on top of your television due to its sheer size and weight. Indeed, the RSC200 is a serious center channel speaker that measures a full foot high and over two feet wide and weighs nearly as much as the RS550 tower!"

Just curious how flexible anyone thinks we'll be able to be here. If it is indeed magnetically shielded, I would think that some RPTVs could support it. I think this center looks wonderful, but I don't have any other option at all in my living room with an Elite 53" than to put it on top of the television.

And are those towers shielded or not? *Crossing my fingers*

Only the center channel Rockets are shielded. I have the RSC-200 on an 18" stand in front of my RPTV, but I also tried it on top (and tilted downward) with a board I cut to fit the top of the TV. No offense to Dennis Erskine ;) but I like the sound better with it below the screen and tilted upward.

Had my divas for 50 days, this sucks big time if the new speaker line is far superior. I cannot equate this to a new product line like a receiver. You are usually well informed that when a new model is coming out, it usually does not just appear. They had to know about this 50 days ago yet I was never given an option of waiting and trying a new line out. This is bogus!

Jeez... I just got off the phone with Steve at AV123 and I am thinking about returning my 6.1/C3/R3 package for the RS750/RSC200/RSS300 package, as I am still within the 30 day trial. I just found out my roommate finally got tired of the boxes from the Divas sitting in our hallway and broke them down and threw them out an hour ago!!! Now how do I ship them back? Anyone in the NY, NJ want to buy a 6.1/C3/R3 package for cheap?

Interesting point - damned if you do, damned if you don't...heh.

I'll admit, I *was* a bit bummed to find that my Divas were now "out-of-date" ... but that was just my initial gut instinct reaction (the newer/better/faster syndrome that many of us suffer from ;) ).

I'm still quite happy with my Diva pkg - they still give me much joy ... and heck, I guess overnight it's suddenly become a collector's item, eh?

However, I completely understand the point of view of those folks who bought sometime in the last month or so ... if I had done so, I'd probably be not a little peeved too.

Granted what happened to Outlaw sucks, but when making a decision between no information and full disclosure, I think the best choice for people (and companies) is the latter.

Just my .02

- Ali

P.S.> AV123 - I know this is sounding like a broken record, but can you offer some more specific guidance on a possible Rocket sub release? (1 month? 3?) I'm itching to get a sub soon (and the HSU/SVS are out, I fear) ... I'd be willing to wait another month or two for your sub, but if it's longer than that I may as well go another route in the next week or two.

Worst case would be I get a sub next week, only to find out the Rocket release is a couple of weeks later ... doh! Wanna avoid that :)

P.P.S.> BTW, out of curiosity, will the Rockets be made in China as well?

Same place, same wood. But it's be nice if av123 confirmed this on the "main" thread.... In fact, it'd be great if they just went through and answered the Diva FAQ for the Rocket FAQ... (coming to www.audioenvy.com/rocket)

BTW, the URL WORKS! Great job!

Steve,

I would rather have the choice and deal with the consiquences! You see the same debates going on when studios do not announce the issue of a bare bones DVD when they have a special edition in the works.

This MAY turn out to be a good thing if the Divas are a better product than the new Rockets. I had heard that the top mounted tweater was one of the main reasons for the performance of the Divas. Not having that MAY make the Rockets a step back. Only time will tell.

Bottom line for me is I want the choice. When I bought my RXV-1000 I knew the 1200 was on its way, I was able to make my own decision.

LOL... well, it was there, and I was really impressed that anything was there at all (even if it was light compared to the Diva FAQ). It did confirm what I couldn't tell from the pictures on the rocket site... the rockets are not biamp-able.

Good consumer,
If you check out most of the higher end speakers, you'll notice they are all getting away from the biwire/biamp capability, a useless fad that has thankfully run it's course. At best, it has no benefit other than to line the pockets of cable manufacturers, and at worst it screws up the phasing. I'm really glad Rocket designers didn't succumb to this hype.

Goodconsumer-

BTW - your username seems to be speaking for itself, as you 'seem' to be the only one, so far, who is actually looking closely at the data provided in the web site. My gosh this thing is packed full of info. I really like the presentation with the 'grill on / off' via cursor movement.

But where are all the techno-geeks and there questions?

The four driver array in the RS 750 seems to be like packing from a 5-1/4" all the way thru a 10-1/2" multiple drivers in about a 6"+ wide front baffle. A rough calculation puts the RS 750 at about 65% volume of the 6.1 Diva. BTW, 2 @ 8" is 'roughly' like an 11-1/4".

Two additional words speak extremely highly of this new design "Dick Pierce".

Minuteman- Ditto

Well, I have no opinion on the biamping/biwire capability, since I've never done it myself. I can with the Diva 6.1's, but haven't tried. I was... noting it, 'cause I was trying to figure it out from the pictures. In the main av123 product support thread, I made two "observation" posts. I wanted to say the Rockets weren't biampable, but couldn't say for sure. That's where my main interest was.

It is interesting to hear that "most of the higher end speakers.... are all getting away from the biwire/biamp capability". I still want to experiment with biwiring, but that will have to come after a blind wiring experiment.

Well I've done it...package 2 is on the way! (Package 2 is the RS750s, the RSC200, and the RSS300s). I was actually getting close to ordering the Divas last week, and if these Rockets improve on the Divas for just a little more money, then I have a feeling I am going to be very pleased.

So in about a week from now I'll let you all know what I think, and I'll also post some higher resolution pictures than the web site offers.

Only thing is, the receiver that is driving them is just a Denon 3801, and I'm wondering if it will have enough power to get the speakers sounding where they should. Anyone think I should investigate, if nothing else for now, a 2-channel amp to drive the mains until I can afford a pre/pro down the line? Or will the 3801 suffice? Right now it is driving PSB Image speakers.

I'll also need a sub, and I am really thinking of getting a Sunfire True Subwoofer to go along with the Rockets. I love the sound of the True Subs and I think it would match nicely. It should also last me way down the line in case I ever do want to upgrade the Rockets ($10,000+ would be my next step).

Joe,
Congratulations. You may be the first to take the plunge, or blast off as it were. As long as you are considering a sub, I would take a look at the Hsu VTF 2 or 3 that AV123 also carries. They are considerably less money than the Sunfire, and should outperform it. The VTF 2 couldn't be much bigger than the Sunfire either. I'm very interested in hearing your reaction to the speakers, so let us know when you get a chance to listen to them. From the looks of it, the 3801 should drive them to ear bleeding levels with no distortion.

So I'm pretty tempted to pull the trigger on these speakers. I figure that if I don't like I'll just send them back, it's about the same as what it would cost me to fly to somewhere where I can actually hear the other speakers I'm interested in. My question is to the folks who beta tested the Rockets. I'm deciding whether I should go with the 550 or the 750 for the mains. If you guys have any insight or if there is a drastic difference between the two let me know. Just to let you guys know the Revel M20, Vandersteen 2ce signature, Snell K.5mkII and the B&W 805 are the other speakers still on my shopping list (I'm also intrigued by the new Meadowlark Swift, but I've have no way to audition it).

Thanks,

Matt

Matt, the 750, 200 & 150 are my favorites at least with the first run. If you can stretch for that bit extra the 750's are well worth it. Joe is getting himself heck of a package.

PF

I ordered the rockets, the RS750s, the RSC200, and the RSS300s as well as two VTF-3's early yesterday morning. While I had not yet heard the DIva's, had auditioned the Monitors, Paradigms, M & K's and NHT revolution as well as Boston Acoustics . All reference lines...Steve as ussual has been incredibly helpful and I will have the speakers Monday. Anxious to set these babies up. Received my denon 5803 a week or so ago along with the panasonic RP91. Have been playing with the receiver as I kept dragging speakers in and out of the house. WHich was under "face lift" construction to accomodate all the new equipment. New monitor arrives Friday (Sony WEGA40XB700) and should finally have everything set up by Monday - late. So many late evenings in the past few weeks. SHould anyone want to be bored with tales on wiring , running crown molding in a house with no attic, please feel free to ask:)

Thanks to everyone on the board who assisted with all the information so that we could finally make some decisions! I worked with several etailers and hands down customer service has to go to av123. Steve, Sean and the whole crew there are just incredible. If the speakers sound anywhere near as good as they look or rival the customer service, the combination IMHO would be unbeatable.

I also want to mention Phil at 6ave electronics who was very helpful in finalizing the rest of the package. The TV, receiver, Speaker switcher and all that "other Stuff"....Some slight mix ups in shipping all of which were resolved with incredible speed and beyond my expectations. I would receomend them as well for those that want competative pricing, especially on Denon brands.

Well...until Monday...

Thanks AGain to all who pateintly answered my myriads of questions over the past month...
Therese