[satfrat]

It made you laugh so what makes you think you missed out on anything SP? Enjoy the moment I say.

Cheers,
Robin

You're right. I should stop trying to figure that company out and go back to listening to my "Award winning" loudspeakers 

Naw, what I meant was I got the same letter and it made me laugh out loud so in my mind it was well worth getting. To make such a big deal out of 1 unknown man's opinion in an unknown website is really reaching IMHO. But it's laughs like this that make me want to see what they'll do next. aa

Cheers,
Robin

[zybar]

I have owned Rockets, Swan Divas, and Strata Mini's and can say that none of them were the equal of the SongTowers IMHO.  Outside of the Strata Mini's, the other speakers were not close to the SongTowers in price, so I am not sure how "fair" of a comparison it really is.  While the fit and finish is good on the AV123 speakers, it is not in the same league as the standard SongTower finish, let alone an "enhanced" Salk finish.

While I know that our hobby is very personal and subjective, I do find it challenging to accept the ranking.

Oh well...

George

[intamin22]

Umm...lol? Where is the actual review on that site? It looks like it was just a copy and paste job from the manufacturer websites. That's a great and prestigious award to "win." 

[etcarroll]

Umm...lol? Where is the actual review on that site? It looks like it was just a copy and paste job from the manufacturer websites. That's a great and prestigious award to "win." 

My thoughts exactly. I love my RS1000s, but saw nothing to justify their being held in higher esteem than the other speakers ranked below them.

And what other equipment was used, what kinda room, any treatments, what kinda music was used to evaluate?

Well, back to procrastinating on installing my Ninja MAster Xovers.

[BillB]

A few opinions from me:

1) There is no better.

I have heard several good 2ch systems, each very different:

1) Ninja Ref-1s powered by Manley Stingrays and Shrimp
2) Ninja Minis powered by Odyssey Stratos Monos and Candela
3) Ref-3s with Modwright transporter and other stuff I don't know about
4) I think my friends have too much AV123 stuff 
5) Swan 2.1s and Music Hall A25
6 (mine) Jordan JX92s and Onix X-sub powered by Monarchy SM-70 pro and Aikido preamp

All are VERY different and all do the same thing...make great music. None of us would trade for another's gear, we all like our own best.

2) RS1000s and Song Towers are NOT High End.

3) I have RS760s in my home theater and love them in that application. Do they sound great with music? No, thats why I have a 2ch, silly.

4) Yeah....that's shady.

[Zero]

I'll say this much..  unless you're reference-point is somewhere off in the stratosphere, I'd say its fair to reference the SongTower's as a bonafide high performance loudspeaker.  As for the article: Anyone with an internet connection and a bit of publishing know-how can pick up the virtual pin and blog their thoughts. It's easy. Shit, there are people in this business that allow me to formally review their product - so I'm proof positive that its not too difficult to do.    As always, its up to you, as the reader, to sift through what you read on t3h internetz and make of it what you will. Some sites though, make it far easier than others! 

[TRADERXFAN]

A few opinions from me:

1) There is no better.

1) Ninja Ref-1s powered by Manley Stingrays and Shrimp
 gear, we all like our own best.

2) RS1000s and Song Towers are NOT High End.

3) I have RS760s in my home theater and love them in that application. Do they sound great with music? No, thats why I have a 2ch, silly.

OK, what have you compared the Ninja Ref-1's to say there are no better speakers?

What do you consider "high end"?

If they don't sound good with music, why do you love them in an HT application?

Thanks

I think the man's point was not to say something was or wasn't "better", but "different".

[satfrat]

A few opinions from me:

2) RS1000s and Song Towers are NOT High End.

Your high end bar must be set mighty high ($$$$) pal.

I haven't had an opportunity to hear the RS1000's myself but I have heard Zybar's SongTower's and they sounded mighty high end IMHO. 

Cheers,
Robin

[BillB]

1) There is no better was not in reference to anything...simply saying there is only different. My system is not better than your system and your system is not better than mine...just different.

Sorry I wasn't clear.

2) I would consider an HT3 high end...are not Song Towers more or less the "entry" level? I don't have $$$$ that is why I DIY! 

I guess high end should really be defined as the highest price and best quality you are willing to shoot for...so I guess to many they would be.

3) HT is booms, bangs, crackles, screams, voices, sounds...music is music...different animal IMO. I am sure my Jordans would sound OK in HT (at a certain volume) but they certainly would not eclipse the Rockets. The rockets have a certain aptitude for HT...just like some speakers do better at bluegrass than they do Swedish death metal.

Besides I use a Class A amp and tube front end on my 2ch and a big honkin' integrated 7ch receiver in my HT...probably a major part in the SQ difference.

And no, unfortunately I have not heard Salks...I would damn sure love to though.

Sorry for the confusion, wasn't trying to start a brawl!

[Nuance]

I guess high end should really be defined as the highest price and best quality you are willing to shoot for...so I guess to many they would be.

Considering this hobby is one that breaks the rule of "you get what you pay for," your definition is far off in left field. 

I listened to dozens of speakers before I puchased the SongTower's, ranging from $500/pair to $45,000/pair.  The SongTower's were in the top five, with the $17,000 Vandersteen 5A's, $11,000 Revel Ultima Studio's and $14,000 B&W 802D's and taking the top three.  The SongTower RT's that I have take the number four spot amongst some of the real BIG DOGS.  I am just one man, but my own opinion and conclusions tell me the SongTower's are certainly "high end."   Heck, I even like them more than the Wilson MAXX's.  Sure, the Wilson's throw a larger soundstage and slam with authority, but they are colored (probably intentionally), and it draws away from the overall listening experience.  My SongTower RT's, costing 12-15 times less, are more accurate throughout the midrange, thus proving that the price of a product doesn't automatically make it "high end" or "entry level."

The only way to determine what is entry level or high end is to use your own ears and listen. 

[satfrat]

3) HT is booms, bangs, crackles, screams, voices, sounds...music is music...different animal IMO. I am sure my Jordans would sound OK in HT (at a certain volume) but they certainly would not eclipse the Rockets. The rockets have a certain aptitude for HT...just like some speakers do better at bluegrass than they do Swedish death metal.

You really need to get out more Bill, there's a whole lot of really good music in HT today, especially now with the advent of Digital HD or whatever it's called. I heard it for the 1st time myself at Xybar's with his front 3 SongTowers and I was totally blown away. Being that I'm a multichannel advocate anyways, George played a Rush song on both his Emerald Physics setup which was nothing short of awsome and then on his HT player in this Digital HD and even though the music's quality didn't quite match that of his main stereo system, I actually preferred the SongTower surround system.

Guess what I'm saying Bill is it's your generalizing I disagree with. I was in full agreement with you when you were stating that there is no better system for each owner who enjoys what he enjoys. But then you contridicted yourself with making generalized statements that will only result in angering every SongTower owners who's quite proud of their "high end" system as you are with your diy system. Me, I don't do stereo, I do all my listening in multichannel so I take exception to your generalized HT statement cuz I'm proud of my "high end" surround system too.

Hope this explains how I feel, no drama and no brawl here Bill. Happy listening!

Cheers,
Robin

[BillB]

Aww screw em! You shouldn't need to be defensive of your system...as long as you like it.

And yeah the HT thing was a generalization but damn, you can't say there is a single speaker on earth that does music better than any other...music is too wide a field too...

My Jordans for instance suck at orchestra or really heavy piano passages...just no way for a 4" driver to do it all. They do a damn fine job with acoustic music and other music that isn't too busy.

This doesn't mean they are unlistenable...they just don't excel.

Rockets do not excel at music...they do it, and they don't do a horrible job mind you, but they excel at HT...they have the dynamic power and agility to convey music, voice and all the other noises together in a movie and not turn it into an incoherent mess.

I do not know jack about the song towers so I don't make negative assumptions about them, but I have heard a lot of people say they liked them better than the 850s....so cool...they probably do music better and ht just as well...neat.

Sure this isn't the post dissection and analysis subforum? 

Funny how I just came over here to agree that the "review" was crap...BTW is there anyone in the Atlanta area that has some Salks, I would love to hear a pair even though I don't *plan* on making any audio purchases any time soon...hell, I think I would rather SEE some...I love looking at those veneers!!

[Nuance]

^ If you're ever in the midwest, shoot me a PM and I will have ya over for an audition. 

[whubbard]

You know, at first I thought this was just a reviewer who felt a certain way (and maybe it is).
But AV123 is looking really bad right now. It's common knowledge that they are way behind in orders, and their books are not in check.
Mark continuously talks about how AV123 is doing great but there is little to show for it. So it seems pretty possible they made this up.

Regardless, this just looks like desperation from AV123 for a good review, and the fact that a company would even bother citing a review from bestcovery.com (which nobody has heard of) WOW 
For me, even if the review is legitimate, it just means that no respectable reviewer likes their speakers. Them mentioning the review likes it's the greatest things just speaks volumes about the company...

That's my $0.02

-West

Well, just saw this:

Beautifully crafted speakers with outstanding sound quality. The Rocket System is only sold online and can be customized with different series of front speakers, center speakers, and surround speakers depending on your budget. The least expensive 5.1 system is around $2200, an excellent value for the level of performance these speakers deliver. It'll sound best with the Rocket RS1000 tower speakers (our best pick for overall tower speakers), but the less expensive and more compact front speaker options still provide top notch sound quality. AV123 lets you try the speakers for 30 days and return them if you are not fully satisfied.

Now, if this was really 'Mike', would he say our? Don't think so.
Clearly, this person works for a company...AV123? At this point, I'm sold that it was written by them.
Someone screwed up 

[F-100]

Wow!! I can't believe that AV123 would pull a low stunt like this. That is very sad!!!

[arthurs]

Dumb as I think advertising this was, it's a pretty good jump to accuse them of actually publishing it for that purpose....

[lonewolfny42]

A few FAQ's....

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Bestcovery’s founding team is comprised of successful entrepreneurs and award-winning editors and product testers. Bestcovery’s founder Kamran Pourzanjani has an extensive track record of building successful companies including PriceGrabber.com, where he served as co-founder and CEO. He built PriceGrabber to become one of the most popular and trusted comparison shopping websites.

Having heard many speakers...and I have.. "photo proof"  ....the Salk's are a much better speaker...but I'm not an "expert".

[F-100]

Having heard many speakers...and I have.. "photo proof"  ....the Salk's are a much better speaker...but I'm not a "expert".

I've heard HT3 at AliG's place and I totally agree with you that they are in a different class. 

[Danny Richie]

I have to agree with Art. It may not be much to hang your hat on, but suggesting that they wrote it themselves is a pretty large and quite baseless accusation.

[Kokishin]

Here is the "reviewer's" profile:
Expert Profile
Mike
Location: Milwaukee WI

About Me:
I have been an audio buff for nearly 25 years and am always following the latest advancements and technologies related to audio equipment and speakers. I subscribe to several home theater magazines and am active on many forums and communities. While the best way to choose speakers is to actually listen to them, I know how time consuming this can really be. I hope to help buyers discover brands they may not have heard of and buy the best available in their price range.

User Info:
Bestcovery username: Mike_H
Member since: 10/30/2008
Number of best lists: 9


The reviewer "Mike" did 9 different speaker reviews for bestcovery.com.  I did some research on the AV123.com forum (read only since January) and I found a forum member who's name is Mike and happens to have the RS1K speakers and the SVS sub which he also reviewed and got high marks, and happens to live somewhere around Milwaukee.  Maybe just coincidental.  Even though Marc Schifter (av123.com CEO) is a bit of a drama queen, I don't believe he had anything to do with the content of this review.  Bottom line: this reviewer seems to be expressing his opinion with very little substance to back it up.