Price Paid:  $670.00 from AV123.com

Summary:
Further clarification for price: $670.00 delivered for a pair of rosewood B-stock Classic 550s. Model could be '03 for these are B-stocks. (The reason mine were B-stock was chipped paint in the far left rear corner on one of the speakers.)

There is no need to dwell on specifications for they are easy to find. I could jump around and rejoice and say how good these are yet that could be overkill. So what then do you do? Amazingly enough, try to tell it like it is.

First up is the company. Mark is a wonderful individual who puts forth nothing but his best and makes sure all his employees do the same. He cares about his employees. For example, at the plant in China he made certain it included a day care. He cares about his customers. Many times I have seen him offer to call them up and troubleshoot their problems. Heck, on several occassions he's offered either to visit with them personally to figure it out or to set it all up for them. He goes above and beyond what anyone expects. The company itself is customer service oriented first, much in the same mold as SVS. Oh! By the way. This company happens to make speakers.

The packing is great. Double boxed with foam molding keeping the speaker safe from harm. You get the royal treatment complete with a cloth sock for the speaker and white gloves for handling. Elagent in its simplicity. It is then you can truly marvel at them in their naked splender.

High gloss endcaps on both ends bring another level of elegance to them. The wrap around rosewood veneer is wonderful to behold. Woodworkers can appreciate the craftsmanship. But what good is any finish if it doesn't sound good?

For me it is clear. Neutral. Goes deeper than what I am used to. In all too simple a description, I would say it is simple elegance. The importance is not on the speaker but on the sound and it is here words fail me. The presentation is right and everything is as it should be. The guitars and drums are right, as is the piano. The detail is there.

Yet this is not the be all end all of speakers. Far from it. It is designed more towards the HT world whereas its big brother, the RS750, is more geared towards music. The upcoming RK1 and Reference lines even moreso.

Is that saying this is a bad speaker? Far from it. It is worth the cost. It is value in every sense of the word. The price, especially what I paid, made this a stellar deal.

I would still encourage you, dear readers, to audition other speakers and do your research. Never purchase a speaker blindly but do so with the knowledge and comfort you are making an informed decision. While $1K for the upcoming MKII still makes this a value do your homework for a grand buys a lot of speaker. All in all, the RS550s is an excellent speaker for both music and home theater. For someone whose use is almost evenly split and without specific knowledge of their given situation, this would be my recommendation.

Strengths:
Simple elegance. Customer service. Looks. Sound. Everything. A beauty to behold and a joy to experience daily.

Weaknesses:
Being picky here:

You can't use standard twin banana connectors.

Narrow sweet spot without the risers. While not really touched on, the risers increase the sweet spot and consequently cause the speakers to sound better. The risers are worth the additional $99 plus shipping. They are not necessary but certainly are an excellent addition.

Similar Products Used:
Wharfedale Valdus 500s. The 550s eat these guys for lunch. :D
KLH 9912. Not even in the same league. Only here because I used to own a pair.
nOrh 4.0. For strictly HT it could go either way as the 4.0s excel with HT. Once you add in music, these get the decided edge. Looks have to go to the Rockets. The nOrhs do, however, have a much larger sweet spot. Then again, the same would hold true comparing them against most any other speaker.

Present system:
RS550 mains, RSC200 center, RS150 surrounds, Yamaha RX-V496 (awaiting RX-V650), Panasonic TV and dvd player, Technics PD-5 cd player, SVS 20-39CSi with Samson S700.