Rockport Aquila vs Altair

If I were in your shoes, and you were really serious about these speakers, I would go visit the factory in Maine and listen to these speakers under ideal conditions.

Maine is beautiful in the early Fall, and they have excellent lobsters. If it has been a hot summer in Italy, then Maine makes for a cool getaway.

The Altair demands a huge room that is very well suited to 2 channel audio. I would think the Aquila would sound better in a moderate-sized room than the Altair.

You could also go to Goodwin's, but I think the frequent moving of equipment leads to a less than ideal situation. I also don't care for the Boulder amplifiers.

Rockport is expensive in the US. I can only imagine how much it is in Europe.

Personally, I'd be reluctant to put the Altair in a room less than 65-70 sq meters, unless I got to hear it in my room first.

I consider a 21 x 21 foot room to be moderate size for a full-ranged speaker. The Altair is almost 3 feet deep. I would think both the speaker and the listener should be well into the room, with enough space for integration. I am thinking you would need 15-20 feet distance between you and the speaker. With the side-firing woofer, the room becomes an absolutely integral part of the speaker. IMO, more than a front-mounted woofer.