Official AV123/Onix Owners Thread: TECHNICAL TALK ONLY - Page 7

Hi sterankoman. Can you point me to the photos that you find to be poor quality?

They looks great on the six monitors I tested them on. I used a high quality jpeg compression too...

Thanks,

Sean

Hi Sean,

Sorry for the late reply. The picture that you have posted of the x-cs looks better than the same picture of the same speaker that I'm looking at right now on the AV123 website. In your picture the grain stands out nicely and the finish has a nice satin quality to it. Those qualities do not come across in the x series pictures IMHO.

Maybe it's my monitor. The beautiful grain that I have seen on many pictures on the AV123 forum just doesn't come across on the x series pictures. Those pictures are dark and lifeless on my monitor. I have been looking thru the x series pictures right now and still see them as dark and uninspiring.

Anyway, my observations of the pictures on your website are really irrelevent because I have read about how fast you guys are selling them sight unseen well before you guys had pictures.

Anyone interested in your loudspeakers can certainly find many beautiful pictures on the AV123 forum that have been posted by MLS and other owners.

If I wasn't up to my eyeballs in loudspeakers already I would be inline to buy a pair of your Palisander finished towers.

Thanks for the reply! I just want to make sure everyone else sees what I do!


The photo above is the same as on the site... I am guessing you are just looking at the smaller version of it... is that correct? If so, the resolution limitation is due to the backend of the website. The main product pages cannot exceet that size (which is why on each page I link to the high res versions). It is moot however as we are getting ready to launch an all-new website with no such resolution limitations. I've imposed a cap at 1024x1024 & 100K but that should be plenty large

If all the photos are dark to you, it likely is your monitor (sorry!). All photos are checked on a professionally calibrated monitor before going out. It is a common problem unfortunately. If we lighten them up, we get complaints that the photos are washed out heh

Thanks for the note. I hope they look better to you on the new site

Sean

I'm a day away from making a final decision on speakers for a 2.0 system as a surprise gift for my brother. But I want to ask the onix-heads a question on the speakers sensitivity. Without providing mathmatical replies.....Has anyone had a problem with the less-than-average 87db rating of the X-SLS towers?

The planned AVR for the X-SLS pair will be a yamaha 661. which is rated 90wpc at 8ohms. Guessing (3000 miles away) at their Living/Dining Room size I recall it to be about 15ft x 20ft x 9ft - listening/watching area is 1/2 of the room. There shouldn't be any need for them have the output at Reference level (they have a 1 yr old) still I thought I'd ask if anyone thought they were a bit shy on output or other side effects of the low effiency. Music will be Rock and Pop. Having a hard time finding floorstanders which meet the cost/quality/size combo that the X-SLS provide (only the Boston VR2 fall into that range).

thanks, ed

I was just notified that I have two large packages in my front entry way! I think I am feeling a little sick and must go home early! I was hoping the 450's wouldn't be delivered to later in the day since now I have to wait 6 hours to see my new babies knowing they are already waiting for me!

You are looking a bit pale....why dont you go home and "rest"?

You should be fine Ed however I would recommend a subwoofer to go along with...

Sean

Well, I have my new RS450's hooked up and they sound fantastic! I have them paired up with a HSU VTF3 MK3 and I am very impressed by music and HT! Next on my list is an RSC200 and a pair of RSS300's. I'll have to watch for more B-stock deals. So far, I got my RS450's for $525/$94 shipping and the HSU 3.3 for $560/$100 shipping. I doubt this setup can be beat for $1300.

Great! Enjoy them and remember that we like to see pictures of the new setups. :-)

Thanks! Will post up pics once I get back home. On vacation in Florida at the moment but will be back on Sunday. (I am missing my new system badly but the beach isn't bad either )

Hehe when I get new gear everything else gets canceled!

I'm on board. I couldn't resist the Santa Schifter sale and bought a pair of Rocket 450s, the HSC200 bigfoot and since I was one of the first 25 orders, I got a pair of the Reference .5's thrown in. I'm picking them up this afternoon.

Very excited.

How will the Ref .5s peform as surrounds paired with the Rockets? I just didn't have the budget to get the Rocket surrounds. If the .5s don't pair well, I'll deal with them for a while and upgrade them later - probably using them as a living room 2 channel setup.

Driftinj, I have a similar setup as yours (760/200/Ref 0.5) and I like the 0.5s as surrounds just fine. Truthfully though, I don't really consider it a priority to have matching surrounds, since unless you listen to a lot of multichannel music, there really isn't that much information coming out of them at any given time -- certainly not enough to noticeably clash with my fronts, anyway.

Besides, in your case, the price is definitely right!

ive been hearing about these speakers for quite some time here on the forums but never really looked into them very much...im going to be purchasing some new speakers sometime soon...ive been looking at the paradigm monitor series as well as the studio series...i really like the sound of the studio series but they are pretty expensive and dont know if i want to go into bankruptcy quite yet.

i know there no way to audition these speakers anywhere...and i know this question has been asked a billion times on this forum but to what would you guys compare them to? i currently own Polk Rti6 bookshelfs with a CSi3 center and FXi5 surrounds...oh ya and i was looking at purchasing the rocket rs760 floorstanders and the matching center and upgrading my surrounds at a later date

I'm sure there are av123 owners in the San Diego area... you can create a new thread on the av123 speaker forum asking for a local audition.

Sorry if this has been asked before ---
I just saw the x-statik and was impressed. How would that speaker stand up against the mini-strata? I would love to use the mini-strata in my HT - 90% 2.35 format movies. Not as much music ---

Is the mini-strata a good selection for HT? What is the recommended center speaker?

Should I consider rocket instead of the strata?

theater is 12x21x8' fully acoustically treated. Yamaha 2095 receiver 5.1
103" w 2.35 DIY curved screen

For you owners, I have a question. I know it sounds rather extreme...(and dumb if I get robbed) but would rockets work well in a 17x12 dorm room (12x9 HT area)? Basically, I wanted to buy some tower speakers (Polk R50) for my projector setup, but they're out of stock and I can't find em anywhere for a decent price. So I looked at the next Polk line up, and that runs from 140-200 depending on whether or not they're on sale. That means for a pair, it's gonna cost me at least 300, but prolly more for a pair.

I saw that the Rocket RS450 is selling for $499.99 (before shipping), and it just made me wonder if I should rather save my money and buy something that will not only be amazing, but last.

I'm only considering this, as I realize there are other tower alternatives to my original R50 idea, without needing to upgrade to 500 dollar speakers. I just wanna lay all my options out in front of me before I make a decision.

The X-Statik and Strata Mini are kinda intended for different things. Here's what Mark Schifter had to say about them:

"Strata --- Intimate 2-channel (but some are using it for HT to my surprise"

"X-Series --- extreme value product - great value for money at all price-points - nice finish"

A pair of Strata Minis should be superior to a pair of X-statiks when compared head to head. For the price difference, they should be.

But, if HT is your focus, I think the X-Statiks would be more suitable than the Strata, and I doubt you'd be disappointed in them. For one thing, they have a dedicated center channel speaker (X-Voce), and surrounds(X-Omni, or X-LS). With the Strata, I believe some are using the Onix Ref center, and Ref 1s for surrounds.

Frankly, for HT, I'd go with the Rockets. The RSC200 "Bigfoot" center channel speaker is the best I've ever heard, and the center carries the heavy HT load. However, I'm a Rocket owner and you should factor that bias into my advice.

Anyone looking at the X series speakers from AV123 might want to slide over the the website. MLS is moving out all the old stock of X series speakers before the newer higher priced models come in. Looks like some awsome deals here. I need another pair of speakers like.......you know the saying, but these sure do look tempting.

How long do you want to wait?
I have a full set of Paradigm Monitor 11's, 390cc and 390 ADP rears that I've had for a few months. I just ordered a full set of Rocket 850 sigs, 450's and 200center for a shoot out in my living room.

I've also auditioned Rockets locally (but not on my equipment). Maybe I can answer some questions or if you wait, I should have a write up on my opinions and a full set of one of the two speakers to sell

definately let me know what you think...it will be about a month or more until i purchase anything...i would assume your gonna post your findings in this thread.

im really leaning toward the studio series from paradigm now...but a comparison to the monitor series would be awesome! from what you heard of the rockets at this audition how did they sound in comparison to the monitors? i know it wasnt in your room or on your equipment but you probly have a decent idea of how they would compare to your current set up, at least i hope u do...hehe.

its going to take a lot of convincing to get me to buy something i cant listen to before i buy them...if for some reason i didnt like the rockets the shipping cost back to av123 would be about $400 or so...and i dont really feel like going to some guys house for an audition of the rockets...i might get kidnapped!!!

Well, lets just say that I don't think its the Monitors that will be staying

Don't get me wrong, even at this level of speakers you are breaking into the area of diminishing returns so its not like one slaughters the other, but the Rockets are definately more in line with the Studio line than the Monitor line.

And with current sale at AV123, plus the fit and finish of them, its almost a slaughter. Shipping is less than 400 dollars, mine was in the 200's and thats "tax" at most if you buy a full set of Studio's. Plus the support from Rocket is crazy including the founder talking straight to you not to mention the free set of speakers also they are giving away.

To sum it up, the "Santa Sale" for the Rockets is probably one of the best value's out there right now, you'd be crazy NOT to audition them. Once you see them in person, even the Studio line doesnt look as good (IMO)

The monitor line is great value, I can "FEEL" the sound, whoever gets mine will be getting a great deal on good speakers (assuming they lose the A/B test) but really the rockets, especially in person with the Piano gloss and wood finish just put them on a whole other level. They sound good too

I officially own a pair of Rocket RS850 Signature's and a RSC200 "Bigfoot" center channel. What an amazing set of speakers (850's) for the price! I'll be posting a review of the 850's after I get them properly setup and integrated and once I spend some serious time with them.

What kind of center is that on the bottom left?

Looks like a Swans Diva C3 center speaker.


Within the next month or so, I'll be getting a pair of the X-LS speakers, and I am very much looking forward to it (sort of a birthday present from my wife, lucky me ). So soon, I will be able to join the happy ranks of AV123 customers. I must say, I have been extremely impressed by the customer service already shown to me just in talking with the staff.

I know the "new and improved" version of the X-LS is coming out in the next few months, but there's also that price increase and, well, there's something a little romantic about loving a relatively inexpensive, great-looking pair of speakers. I can't wait!

Lol @ the 'I love Hooters' sticker.

lol at the VCR.

My guess is this one: Swan C3P

Do any of your tower speakers come in that same piano black, other than the x-mtm? Or any black, ebony, etc...?