It's been over twenty years; but- I owned a Rocket 88 and tried to get enough SPL to satisfy, with my Maggie MG12/QRs, actively bi-amped (w/Dahlquist DQ-LP1), at 200Hz, in a relatively small room. I'm a realistic SPL listener; so- it wasn't the amps' fault, that it couldn't fully sate my cravings. HOWEVER; I enjoyed the presentation enough; I bought two Cary SLM-100s, which I've since owned, modded and loved, MUCH. I tried them with a pair of 1.7i Maggies and realized; I was destined to either go SS, or- ditch the planars. If I'd had the 95dB/2.83V, open-baffle, speakers I now own, then: the Rocket would probably been a keeper. Don't know if that helped any, but- I've been celebrating, so........ HAPPY LISTENING!
Experience with Cary CAD 808, "Rocket 88"
So, I'm building a new (older gear) kit around a Sonic Frontiers SFL-1 line-stage and a soon to be rebuilt to spec Cary "Rocket 88" 20-30 watt tuber. Pretty excited by the pairing but don't currently have many speaker options that will perform at optimum with these two components. I have some JM Reynaud, Twins MkII that should be great but also know my Focal, Profile 908 and Linn, Keilidh are not a fit as they're both a bit power hungry. Can anyone report on what they've played with this amp successfully? If you had this combo of pre/power in your kit I'd be interested in knowing how you felt they meshed together. Have a smaller music specific room with standard 8' ceilings and 36'Lx22'W dimensions. Room is well furnished but has great acoustics. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. - B