I recently upgraded to a pair of Rockport Avior IIs. I spent a long afternoon listening to them before purchasing them. What struck me was the detailed but smooth midrange - vocals were almost spooky. If I closed my eyes, it sounded like the singer was in the room with me. Bass lived up to its billing, too. After hearing a Ray Brown Trio song, I started queuing up every bass heavy cut I could think of. It was not about quantity (plenty of that) but about how incredibly articulate it was. The best I have heard. All the other audiophile stuff - soundstage, speed, dynamics, were all there. It’s really well balanced, with no real weak spots. One more thing - you can listen to average non-audiophile recording and still enjoy them. You can tell the recording isn’t the greatest, but still enjoy the music. That was a key to me.
I have listened to some of the big Wilson’s, but they were not my cup of tea. It seamed like there might be ten super-audiophile recordings that you could just listen to and relax. Everything else I heard seemed to be reproduced with a focus on the flaws of the recording. Just my take, obviously lots of folks love them.
I haven’t been able to hear Magicos, as there are no dealers near me.
About the only complaint I can think of is that the Aviors revealed a weak spot in my system that I had to fix to get what I heard at my dealer. I had previously skimped a bit on power cables. I didn’t think they made a big difference. The Rockports immediately revealed that I was wrong. My dealer loaned me I the same ones on their demo system and the magic I heard previously was back. Fortunately the power cables were only moderately expensive by current standards and I was able to trade my cable in for their full value.
I think these are likely my ‘forever’ speakers. I may tinker with the rest of my system, but the Rockports are here to stay.
I have listened to some of the big Wilson’s, but they were not my cup of tea. It seamed like there might be ten super-audiophile recordings that you could just listen to and relax. Everything else I heard seemed to be reproduced with a focus on the flaws of the recording. Just my take, obviously lots of folks love them.
I haven’t been able to hear Magicos, as there are no dealers near me.
About the only complaint I can think of is that the Aviors revealed a weak spot in my system that I had to fix to get what I heard at my dealer. I had previously skimped a bit on power cables. I didn’t think they made a big difference. The Rockports immediately revealed that I was wrong. My dealer loaned me I the same ones on their demo system and the magic I heard previously was back. Fortunately the power cables were only moderately expensive by current standards and I was able to trade my cable in for their full value.
I think these are likely my ‘forever’ speakers. I may tinker with the rest of my system, but the Rockports are here to stay.