This past weekend I had the opportunity to spend a few hours with Sam Roberts, owner of Roberts Acoustics, listening to the Rapide monitors and Vigor sub woofer.
First I'd like to thank Sam for having me over. When I requested an audition I told him up front that I wasn't in the market for new speakers right now and that I just wanted to hear these. He was very generous with his time and is obviously very passionate about audio. Given the quality of the drivers, crossover parts and the XO designer (Rick Craig) they had the potential to be an exceptional speaker.
First thoughts were that these are very nice looking speakers, this applies to both the monitors and the sub. I saw the black metallic, red and white monitors and the black sub. All were very easy on the eye.
Sam's main system is all Cary gear but I have not heard any of the pieces he has before. His listening space is also well treated with GIK and ASC (?) products.
From what I heard these are very nice monitors. At first I was a little troubled by the high frequencies but the speakers were on stands that are not really tall enough. Sam mentioned he was getting some new ones as these were intended for a different speaker. After reclining the chair and getting my ears to the proper level the sound was much improved and my problem with the highs went away. Anyone purchasing these speakers really needs to get them at the right height.
The Accuton driver covers the full range up to about 2800Hz (if I remember correctly) where the Scan Speak tweeter takes over. Since the Accuton covers the bulk of the midrange the speaker had a smooth midrange without any crossover nastiness in the middle. The transition to the tweeter was very good and did not make itself apparent.
We listened primarily with the Cary amp in UltraLinear mode but at my request Sam switched it to Triode mode. I preferred the sound in Triode mode. We did most of our listening with the sub turned on but did turn it off a few times, especially when the amp was in Triode mode as it has a somewhat lower output and was thus a little bass heavy with the sub on.
In regards to the bass, it was fast and very tuneful. The F3 is listed as 42Hz and this seemed about right from what I heard. Like most monitors they have more bass if placed close to the wall but of course this isn't going to provide the best imaging. I think Sam had them set up in the right spot to afford good bass and good imaging. I did get a very nice center image and good but not great depth. Given the distance from the wall and the presence of a projection screen I suspect this limited the ability of the speakers to present depth. I imagine that in a larger space with more room behind them this would not be an issue.
A one word description for these speakers would be "fast". They seem very articulate and give the impression of having no trouble keeping up with the music. My foot was definitely tapping and the system had what I call the boogie factor.
I think "Rapide" is a good name for these speakers as they certainly give that impression.
A quick note on the sub, I thought it tight and musical. I tend to like the bass from a sealed speaker and these didn't alter that opinion. The fact that Sam is including the Dayton sub amp with parametric EQ should make integrating these a pleasant task. The package deal of monitors and sub for $3K is very attractive especially given the quality and cost of the components that go into these.
Again, a word of thanks to Sam for letting me have a listen to these just to satisfy my curiosity.
Mike
