Thread: To the Woodshed by Jay of Jay's Audio Lab

Today, I watched a Jay's Audio Lab video about Rockport Technologies and the terrible paint job that company did on a pair of Orion speakers. The focus of this video was on Rockport's quality control. Evidently, Rockport has only three onsite employees, and I got the impression from this video that the company outsources the production of nearly everything: drivers, cabinetry, assembly (possibly -- unclear), paint, and shipping. [Jay made no comment about the performance of Rockport's speakers.] Jay invited the company to answer his critique, but they never responded. Wow! Let me just say that I am now a bit wary of purchasing Rockport loudspeakers when I upgrade my Left/Center/Right speakers.

I am interested in the insights about, and experiences with, Rockport recently and hope that this posting will engender some responses.

Which Speaker Had a Problem??? - Magico M3 vs Rockport Cygnus - feat. MBL, REL, and Ayon - YouTube

The description starts around 12:10


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

personally, i think Rockport should only respond to a particular customer, and not to any third party. unless that third party has a previously agreed to reviewer relationship. then it's up to the customer to relate their experience. not Jay.

Jay is not a hifi dealer, and not a Rockport dealer. he has no standing to ask for a response. it would be foolish for Rockport to respond to him.

this is crazy stuff.

I like their speakers and met Josh last year at Axpona. Super nice guy. I hope they get things sorted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Originally Posted by Jay's Audio Lab

@mike Lavine

First off
I offered Rockport MY PLATFORM which happens to be larger than the channel that discussed this. I wasn't trying to interview them but rather give them my microphone.
Secondly, i respect your opinion but to me it seems l

hi Jay,

as my post states, their response is only owed to the customer. it's only with the customer that they can discuss the situation with the product. the whole situation. warranty repairs require specific circumstances to happen. and those also involve the Rockport retail dealer.

they are in a no win situation with you, and Rockport nor any manufacturer should touch this.

stay in your lane and listen and discuss your gear ideas and opinions. it's what you do. this will drag you down. it's bad click bait, not positive click bait.

just my 2 cents. good luck.

Originally Posted by Jay's Audio Lab

Although I appreciate your input, I've grown my channel ALONE...with my money, blood ,sweat and tears. It continues to grow because i do what no person in their right mind would do which is to share their journey with the extreme HiFi. I swim in waters that nobody wants to swim in on YouTube. Over 3 years doing this (not counting 5 years prior to YouTube) and i still see zero boats near my yatch in the Caribbean.
This is WHY I don't have the "hifi book on rules and regulations" ; I don't have investors ... I don't have to answer to anyone (brands, forum members, dealers).

i wish you well. sigh.

At this point there are more than one source informing others about two known issues with Rockport.
This is not in any way a “warranty” issue and spinning it that way is total BS.

One of the owners affected by this stated in his own words what happened and if it was not for an excellent dealer that took care of him he would be in far worse shape.

There is simply too much money at stake at this level financially to gamble with a company that obviously has internal issues that need to be addressed. I have always liked the sound of Rockport speakers, but at this point the company needs to publically address this if they want to maintain proper standing in a tight knit community.

Originally Posted by Audio 1

At this point there are more than one source informing others about two known issues with Rockport.
This is not in any way a “warranty” issue and spinning it that way is total BS.

One of the owners affected by this stated in his own words what happened and if it was not for an excellent dealer that took care of him he would be in far worse shape.

There is simply too much money at stake at this level financially to gamble with a company that obviously has internal issues that need to be addressed. I have always liked the sound of Rockport speakers, but at this point the company needs to publically address this if they want to maintain proper standing in a tight knit community.

i don't watch Jay's video's and have no plans to. so i don't know any details here. if this Rockport customer posts about his issues on a forum i might read it and have an opinion. my only point is that its a big mistake for a manufacturer to respond to Jay. and i hope that never happens.

i don't know the Rockport principles/owners now, but i do know Andy Payor (not talked to him in years) and owned a Rockport Sirius III turntable.....sold it in 2011.

Originally Posted by Jay's Audio Lab

@mike Lavine

First off
I offered Rockport MY PLATFORM which happens to be larger than the channel that discussed this. I wasn't trying to interview them but rather give them my microphone.
Secondly, i respect your opinion but to me it seems like you assumed a bit too much. I would appreciate it if you contact me first if you want to get the story straight from the horses mouth.
Lastly, i don't know you, (i don't need to know you) and I don't have anything to say about you. If you have something to say about me, you can say it to my face in two weeks at axpona.
Once again, i am respectfully addressing you without assuming ANYTHING about who you are or putting words in your mouth. That's not who I am. I am a grown man.

since you edited your post and added more, i will respond additionally.

this is not in any way about you at all. it's the principle of who Rockport should respond to. and it's not to a third party. that would be a mistake on their part. they are simply not answerable to you. the mob may see it differently. and i do understand that.

just my opinion. this is not personal, and please don't see me like you view Rockport. i'm not anti-Jay. i'm not pro-Jay. i'm just a guy with an opinion.

offering the dude to keep speakers until a new pair is ready is pretty fair, did Rockport make a mistake, yes, which the said they did, my guess is buyers remorse after he heard the Magicos and he had a way out, my opinion of course but if i was a betting man.........
an i agree, Rockport doesn't owe anyone an explanation except the buyer and it sounds like Rockport was very reasonable

Originally Posted by Jay's Audio Lab

Forums leave me with nothing at all which is why you don't see me posting all over and the reason why I had audiogon remove my 6 year old thread with over 1 million views making it the most viewed and longest running thread in the history of audiogon.

hardly....

try 20 years and 12.9m views.

Attention Required! | Cloudflare

and Albert Porter, who is a dealer and does business on his thread, has more than mine.

but who's counting?

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Wow! Nice system, Mike! Big fan of DarTZeel gear and Evolution Acoutics speakers. Used to go to Jonthan Tinn's room at the CA Audio Show back in the day and it was always excellent.

thanks Puma. love my darTZeel and Evolutions. and i miss the old CA Audio Show, hanging with J.T., especially back in Newport Beach. had a blast at that show.

my pictures and gear list is now 2 years out of date and i need to update my source list.

my MSB Select II/Taiko Extreme -> Wadax Reference Dac and Server
my Saskia idler -> Esoteric Grandioso T1 + G1X clock
my pair of Studer A-820/King Cello -> Hot Rodded Ampex ATR-102 1/4" + 1/2" with 2 sets of MR-70 preamps.

i'll try and get that done in the next couple of months. just completing some install details on the Esoteric tt and tape change overs.

Originally Posted by Jay's Audio Lab

Hey Mike
Please refrain from saying anything about me on whats best forum. If you want to engage with me, let's do it HERE or in person next Thursday. I am asking respectfully. People have sent me your "hard to take this guy seriously" comment over there. It's not fair to me because I can't post over there in case you didn't know... Not cool...
You can continue to engage with me here where there is freedom of speech if you need to say something to me.

Jay

you hit the nail on the head with your statement, "freedom of speech". mike has his opinion, you cant change that and if that gets under your skin than you may want to get another gig than being an on line reviewer because there will be many more that disagree or dislike you, move on

Originally Posted by gordon

Having watched a couple videos on this matter, and read the response by Rockport, I see it as much ado about not a whole lot. It's typical youtube fodder: take a bit of info, speculate wildly while claiming you don't really know the facts, and hope the clicks and eyeball follow.

I agree, I haven't/won't waste my time watching Youtube fodder regarding audio. Others opinions aren't worth my time and they sure as heck have no impact on purchasing decisions.

Also, most dealers and manufacturers don't have to time or need to reply to internet threads relating to critiques of their products. It is a no win situation and provides a platform where it is often not warranted.