BradBellomo

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $500.00 from used b-stock

Summary:
Simply the best speakers I have ever heard. These make me swear I am listening to different recording than I had earlier.

People say these lack warmth and sound bright. I disagree. These are warmer and less bright than Infinity Beta's or anything Sony has. They definitely aren't an overly warm speaker, but are probably on the warmer side of neutral.

While base is amazing for this box size, you really need a sub with these, unless you don't listen to anything below 40Hz.

Strengths:
1. Bass is MUCH tighter than anything I've heard before.

2. Treble is very revealing.

3. Very well balanced, with no obvious flaws.

4. Great build quality.

Weaknesses:
1. Dynamics could be better. They lose a lot below 40db, but this could easily be my receiver.

2. People swear the ref 1.8's sound better.

3. My girlfriend says they sound "better" than my old speakers, but they didn't change her life.

4. Lead to a tendency to stay up late listening when you are already tired and need to work in the morning.

Similar Products Used:
Limited experience with Hi Fidelity speakers, comparing to Beta 360, various cheap Sonys, and in store experience with cheaper speakers.

bkellison

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Price Paid:  $750.00 from av123.com

Summary:
First off I'd like to say that, while I've never owned a really high end pair of speakers, I have owned several that I consider good. These speakers, along with the reference 1.5's, are far and away the best I have ever owned. Build quality is the best I've seen in a speaker anywhere near this price range, the speakers are rock solid. Very clear, crisp sounding highs. Midrange is smooth, and the Bass was more than adequate for music, although serious Bass heads will probably want to add a sub. These do particularly well with acoustic instruments and vocals, but sound good with any type of music, I listen to everything from classical to heavy metal.

Strengths:
Imaging, midrange, tight bass, build quality, great customer service.

Weaknesses:
I wish I'd bought 2 pairs of Reference 1.5's when they were having their closeout sale...

Similar Products Used:
KEF, DCM, Klipsch, Wharfdale, BIC America.

Erukian

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $500.00 from av123.com b-stock sc

Summary:
As i normally do, i'll start with the bass! :) i'd say it's a bit tipped up on the bottom, which makes it easy to not need a sub, but it makes integrating with a sub a lot harder even w/ a 4th order xover. I need to experiment with placement some more before i can be sure though. The mids are the real gems in these baby's. I don't know where these Atohm driver's came from (somewhere in france), but their really-really-really clean and accurate. A bit smoothed over but not to the point of losing realism. The highs are definitely more laid back for me after switching from Klipsch's horn-loaded tweeters for over a couple years -- but the detail is there and in plenty of quantity. I've read some people describe it as a bit bright, i've come to think that a tweeter has to be bright to sound real. A lot of reviews give praise to speakers for being "smooth" but from my own listening, stuff out there (like polk)can sound 'too-smooth' and the ride cymbals just don't sound real. They lose their crisp-ness. These speakers have some of that, but it's pretty hard to top klipsch's crispness. Like i said earlier, everything coming out of the Atohm woofer is sweetness, from the mids to the bass, very tight, clean, accurate and neutral. There's _no_ way for me to bash this sound, it's just beautiful. The speaker itself is a work of art, it feels VERY solid weighing at 24lbs each (it's the 1" MDF mostly). I peeled off the onix logo's (which are stickers) and that left absolutely no cosmetic marks on the beautiful finish. All of the finishes for this speaker are drop-dead gorgeous. I recommend you go on av123.com's forums and ask for a demo near you. While i have yet to hear the Rocket series, i'm very-very impressed with this speaker for the price I got it.

Strengths:
Incredible crossover design in this 2-way system. Bass/mids/highs are very clean/pronounced/detailed. The speaker's soundstage is way too damn big for it's size, i'm still shaking my head when i hear some movies or recordings that have wide spacial queue's, speakers this small aren't supposed to sound this good and big. GREAT bang for your buck, best customer support.

Weaknesses:
none worth noting. -- seriously, their fan-freaking-tastic speakers, your very very stupid if you never listen to these in your life. :P

Similar Products Used:
Klipsch, Polk, Boston Acoustics, Totem, QUAD, Dynaudio mostly.

junebug630

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $900.00 from www.av123.com

Summary:
OK we all read about the hype of certain speakers. I read it all and then took the plunge and bought these speakers from www.av123.com without hearing them first (I know a disaster waiting to happen ... not) what I got instead were a pair of great, great sounding speakers. As small as these guys are, the amount of sound they produce is astounding. The bass is very tight and low enough to fool some into thinking that there is a sub somewhere in the mix. I have played CDs, mp3s and DVDs through these puppies and all sound great. They are revealing speakers (garbage in , garbage out) but with the properly encoded mp3s I have been very pleased with the results. Very detailed highs without so much as a hint of listening fatigue. I had given my beloved Klipsch KG 4s to my brother because my ears could no longer take the high end horn tweeters. The vifa tweeter on these speakers help to add to a soundstage that with the right material can be astounding. I have literally found myself hearing things in recordings that I have listened to for years that I previously never heard before.

Strengths:
Fantastic detail, great soundstage. Come alive on vocals, jazz and piano pieces. Great tight bass.

Weaknesses:
Very detailed, if your source sucks , these will show it. Not the best for heavy metal rock. Sorry these are not party speakers.

dljc

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.56 of 5, 9.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00 from AV123

Summary:
This is a gisnt killer. This speaker will just amze you everytime you listen to it. Don't let the size fool you this provides plenty of bass and the sound. The sound will have you constantly picking up your jaw. Because this is jaw droping good. The finish is just incredible. If never seen this good of a finish for a speaker this price or twice the price . I love sipping on some Jack Daniels when listening to these great speakers. If you are looking for a great bookshelve speaker look no farther.

Strengths:
Build Great Looks Awsome Sound Best customer Service Great Sound

Weaknesses:
I wish I had more time in the day to listen to them.

Similar Products Used:
Aerial Model 5 Von Shweikert VR1 Paradigm Studio 20 V.3