So I was slumming CL last week, just checking out the CL whores when I thought I would click on the electronics tab.
I see an ad for vintage stereo gear. One of the items was a pair of Rock Monitor 3's.
Picked them up a few days later
They are now in my billiard room which has extremely sucky acoustics. They are in the corners. Don't ask about imaging/soundstaging.
These speakers love to Rock, but they are not what I would consider monitors. They are about 40" tall and floorstanders.
The bass is pretty great, corner loaded and all they should be, but the foundation for music is there and it isn't just one note bass, it's "man that electric bass player is grovin'!"
What keeps coming to my mind is that they remind me of the Salk HT3's I have in lots of ways. Don't get me wrong in all ways the Salks are better.
The acoustics are similar though, bass is strong and fairly tight, tonally they sound "right" from top to bottom. The midrange is fine and the tweeter is very good, although if you are close, it has some vertical limitations. The mids and bass sound slightly muffled compared to the HT3's. I do have the grill's on them and not the HT3's but I don't think this would account for the amount of "softness" difference between the two.
These speakers seem to beg to be turned up no matter what type of music is played.
For 35 year old speakers (the drivers were re-foamed professionally) These sound damn good. If you can find a pair cheap, I recommend auditioning them.
