philb7777
New member
Ritmo, here is my review thus far:
After two weeks with the Rockport Cygnus loudspeakers in my room, I feel prepared to give an initial review on the newest Andy Payor creation. As a background, my room is 15.5 feet wide x 21 feet long x 9 feet high. My analog front end is a TW Acustics AC-1 table with TW 10.5 tonearm and Dynavector XV-1t cart. My electronics include a ARC Ref 2se Phono pre, ARC Ref 5se preamp, and ARC Ref 250 monoblocks. All are connected with Cardas Golden Reference cables. A Cardas power strip is connected to a 20 amp dedicated circuit and my Ref 250’s are plugged directly into the wall outlets which are dedicated 20 amp circuits.
The Rockport Cygnus weigh 285 lbs each. Although they are over 50 inches tall and have a depth of 27 inches, the footprint and visual appearance of these loudspeakers is not at all that large. The fit and finish of the Cygnus are similar to other Andy Payor creations – incredibly inert, incredibly engineered and built with a perfect black lacquer finish. The feet are two four inch discs with a one inch diameter bolt screw attached that screws into the speaker around 2 inches. This makes for a very stable base and coupling with the floor. Furniture sliders have been used to move the speakers into various positions while searching for a final home. This allows the speakers to be moved easily despite their weight and size.
Set up: The Cygnus are moderately difficult to set up in my room. One can quickly determine side wall distance and toe-in degree, but placement from the front wall behind the speakers is tricky to dial in the perfect bass response. To close to the back wall and the bass is -0.5dB at 20-25 Hz but the soundstage somewhat collapses in its air around images and texture of images. Too far out into the room and the lower bass unsurprisingly gets a tad anemic but mid bass impact improves and the soundstage is saturated with detail, air and texture of images. I am still searching for just the right placement and I am close. Right now I have the Cygnus toe-in at around five feet or so intersecting behind the listening position, the side wall distance is around 40 inches, and the back wall distance right now is around 93 inches from the front of the woofer. Somewhere between 81 – 93 inches is the perfect position and my goal for the upcoming week. At least in my room, moving the Cygnus ¼ - ½ inch increments in sidewall or frontwall distance makes easily noticeable audible changes.
Sound:
The first thing I noticed when initial listening began was just how open the speaker sounds and how life-sized the images were. The Cygnus is an effortless speaker – at low or louder listening levels, the soundstage is always very open, with air around dense images. The images are very life-like – this speaker truly brings the performers into the room with you. Realism is very remarkable and suspends belief. Now a breakdown of some sonic categories:
Background – very black backgrounds and images ‘pop’ and emerge effortlessly.
Ambient Retrieval – air around images has its own acoustic space and things are very coherent. A sense of space in recordings is natural and very real at times.
Imaging – The Cygnus are imaging champs, images are very dense and discretely surrounded by their own natural space. What I found very noticeable was that even images in the far back of the soundstage had their own space as well and were ‘three-dimensional.’ This quality makes sonic realism even more appreciated.
Tonal Character – I have heard some say Rockports sounded bright at times. I have not had this, even in the early break in period. The treble is smooth and effortless and gives the Cygnus a very ‘rich’ sound without sacrificing detail. The midrange is special and this new driver from Andy’s design is likely where much of the Cygnus magic lies. The combination of the tweeter and midrange give the Cygnus the open effortless sound while giving a degree of soundstage illumination that allows the listener to not have to ‘strain’ to hear subtle imaging cues all the while having no brightness or edge at all. Male and female vocals bring the performer into your room. Dense with great body. Horns are particularly natural and smooth with great dynamics and detail and absolutely no edge.
Dynamics – Macro and micro dynamics are all here and more. Dynamic passages occur naturally within the soundstage, not call extra attention itself but always having a purpose. Microdynamics are the best I have ever heard with a loudspeaker, including horn –loaded ones.
Bass – bass is tight and tuneful. Extension is excellent. In my room, I can easily get the bass to 20-25 cycles. The only drawback being the difficulty in finding a final ‘best placement’ which is likely due more to my room than the loudspeaker.
Soundstage – As mentioned above, the Cygnus has life sized images within their own space. The soundstage is vast and open. Depth is incredible and images seem to appear from well behind the front wall. Layering of the soundstage is natural and realistic. Soundstage width is well beyond my sidewalls. Images are dense and easily discernable 3- 4 feet beyond each speaker laterally.
Transparency – The Cygnus, despite their size, disappear. One of the best disappearing acts a loudspeaker has done in my room.
Overall the Rockport Cygnus is a real winner. I am elated to own a pair. I cannot at this time even find something to criticize as I can find no real fault with any aspect of the Cygnus’ performance. As I finalize placement and get over 100 hours on the speakers, I will update everyone on any changes I have noticed.
After two weeks with the Rockport Cygnus loudspeakers in my room, I feel prepared to give an initial review on the newest Andy Payor creation. As a background, my room is 15.5 feet wide x 21 feet long x 9 feet high. My analog front end is a TW Acustics AC-1 table with TW 10.5 tonearm and Dynavector XV-1t cart. My electronics include a ARC Ref 2se Phono pre, ARC Ref 5se preamp, and ARC Ref 250 monoblocks. All are connected with Cardas Golden Reference cables. A Cardas power strip is connected to a 20 amp dedicated circuit and my Ref 250’s are plugged directly into the wall outlets which are dedicated 20 amp circuits.
The Rockport Cygnus weigh 285 lbs each. Although they are over 50 inches tall and have a depth of 27 inches, the footprint and visual appearance of these loudspeakers is not at all that large. The fit and finish of the Cygnus are similar to other Andy Payor creations – incredibly inert, incredibly engineered and built with a perfect black lacquer finish. The feet are two four inch discs with a one inch diameter bolt screw attached that screws into the speaker around 2 inches. This makes for a very stable base and coupling with the floor. Furniture sliders have been used to move the speakers into various positions while searching for a final home. This allows the speakers to be moved easily despite their weight and size.
Set up: The Cygnus are moderately difficult to set up in my room. One can quickly determine side wall distance and toe-in degree, but placement from the front wall behind the speakers is tricky to dial in the perfect bass response. To close to the back wall and the bass is -0.5dB at 20-25 Hz but the soundstage somewhat collapses in its air around images and texture of images. Too far out into the room and the lower bass unsurprisingly gets a tad anemic but mid bass impact improves and the soundstage is saturated with detail, air and texture of images. I am still searching for just the right placement and I am close. Right now I have the Cygnus toe-in at around five feet or so intersecting behind the listening position, the side wall distance is around 40 inches, and the back wall distance right now is around 93 inches from the front of the woofer. Somewhere between 81 – 93 inches is the perfect position and my goal for the upcoming week. At least in my room, moving the Cygnus ¼ - ½ inch increments in sidewall or frontwall distance makes easily noticeable audible changes.
Sound:
The first thing I noticed when initial listening began was just how open the speaker sounds and how life-sized the images were. The Cygnus is an effortless speaker – at low or louder listening levels, the soundstage is always very open, with air around dense images. The images are very life-like – this speaker truly brings the performers into the room with you. Realism is very remarkable and suspends belief. Now a breakdown of some sonic categories:
Background – very black backgrounds and images ‘pop’ and emerge effortlessly.
Ambient Retrieval – air around images has its own acoustic space and things are very coherent. A sense of space in recordings is natural and very real at times.
Imaging – The Cygnus are imaging champs, images are very dense and discretely surrounded by their own natural space. What I found very noticeable was that even images in the far back of the soundstage had their own space as well and were ‘three-dimensional.’ This quality makes sonic realism even more appreciated.
Tonal Character – I have heard some say Rockports sounded bright at times. I have not had this, even in the early break in period. The treble is smooth and effortless and gives the Cygnus a very ‘rich’ sound without sacrificing detail. The midrange is special and this new driver from Andy’s design is likely where much of the Cygnus magic lies. The combination of the tweeter and midrange give the Cygnus the open effortless sound while giving a degree of soundstage illumination that allows the listener to not have to ‘strain’ to hear subtle imaging cues all the while having no brightness or edge at all. Male and female vocals bring the performer into your room. Dense with great body. Horns are particularly natural and smooth with great dynamics and detail and absolutely no edge.
Dynamics – Macro and micro dynamics are all here and more. Dynamic passages occur naturally within the soundstage, not call extra attention itself but always having a purpose. Microdynamics are the best I have ever heard with a loudspeaker, including horn –loaded ones.
Bass – bass is tight and tuneful. Extension is excellent. In my room, I can easily get the bass to 20-25 cycles. The only drawback being the difficulty in finding a final ‘best placement’ which is likely due more to my room than the loudspeaker.
Soundstage – As mentioned above, the Cygnus has life sized images within their own space. The soundstage is vast and open. Depth is incredible and images seem to appear from well behind the front wall. Layering of the soundstage is natural and realistic. Soundstage width is well beyond my sidewalls. Images are dense and easily discernable 3- 4 feet beyond each speaker laterally.
Transparency – The Cygnus, despite their size, disappear. One of the best disappearing acts a loudspeaker has done in my room.
Overall the Rockport Cygnus is a real winner. I am elated to own a pair. I cannot at this time even find something to criticize as I can find no real fault with any aspect of the Cygnus’ performance. As I finalize placement and get over 100 hours on the speakers, I will update everyone on any changes I have noticed.
