Rockport Aquila vs Altair

I own the Aquila's as well. Cmalak's comments on 8/21 also sums up my impression very well. The treble is smooth, the audiotechnology midrange is textured and just so real, and the bass is punchy and articulate. And the beauty of its sleek curves!! Oh my... pictures really don't do it justice.

And the Arrakis... I truely have no way to comment on them except they are just out of this world.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

I have a pair of Lamm 1.2 Reference to drive my speakers which are currently Andras 2. My listening room is L 22 Feet x l 15 Feet x H 10 Feet. I would like to upgrade my speakers. I love the Rockports and listened to both the Aquilas and the Altairs. I know the Aquilas can easily be driven by the Lamms, but I am not sure about the Altairs. Does anybody have some experience or idea if this match could work ? And if it is $$ worth the difference with the Aquilas ?

Thanks

Cmalak -- I'd be very interested in your impressions of the Miras versus the Ankaas and then the Aquilas. My guess is it's a matter of scale and dynamic impact, but if you could provide more details as to the differences it would be most appreciated. Basically I've got a shot at owning the Miras but wondering if the differences are such that it's worth saving more pennies to go up the line. Sorry to go off subject a bit here.

I own the Altairs and extensively listened to the Aquila (and Magico M5) before deciding on the Altair. Both are fabulous and produce excellent base: tight, quick and detailed. The Altair provides more base than the Aquila and will actually go right down to 20 hz. What won me over though was that the treble region was also better on the Altair. It sounded smoother and more accurate (I auditioned with Jazz, Classical and some rock. Allot of female vocals (Allison Krauss, Nora Jones and Holly Cole) and Frank Sinatra. The sound coming from the Altair seems to assimilate almost immediately. By this I mean that you can sit only a few feet away from them and yet hte sound is perfectly balanced. Right now Rockport might be making the best speakers and the Altair might actually be his best speaker. It will shine in even small rooms. Your only concern should be affording it and making sure you have the room for it as it is a large speaker (500lbs each). However, it does look smaller in the room. You have to see it to believe it. The design is elegant. I like the Aquila as well, but the Altair is just better...possibly the best speaker in the world in my opinion though I obviously have not heard all the speakers in the world. It is definitely better than the Magico M5 though as I auditioned this for quite some time. I also felt the Aquila was right there with the Magico M5 as well. Good luck with your decision.

The cabinet construction is much different, in addition to the drivers. The Altair has perhaps the best cabinet construction in the industry which will equate to better settling times, a blacker background and more low level resolution. In effect, an Altair is half of an Arrakis. They are both point source speakers, so I would not be concerned putting either one in a moderately sized room. If you can handle the size in your room of the aquila, then you could also handle the Altair. The difference is not regarding the size of the room for either speaker, but simply better quality, more dynamic range, lower frequency extension and more resolution between the two speakers- exactly what it should be when spending more money.