I sold my Jr's on here about a month ago. I sold them for a few reasons:
1. Though the bass was deep and very present, the transmission line arrangement has less slam than I hoped on rock and some jazz.
2. The rear ambience tweeter drove me nuts. With it turned off the speakers sound very warm and musical but lack life and air. With it turned up to around 4 the speakers opened up, but also could be gratingly bright on some material which then made me go turn it down. Too fiddly for me as I am by nature a tweaker like most people on here.
3. For $4000 speakers they are extremely revealing, and in demos at CES they sounded best with high $$ tube electronics from VAC. If your electronics or cables are in any way non-synergistic you will have some work to do.
4. The soundstage though good in most respects could collapse at higher volumes, and the rear tweeter could push it too far back of plane for my taste depending on setting. There is a very fine line for this between good depth and listening from down a tunnel.
Do not take my comments to mean I do not like the speakers, I have heard them sound amazing in some systems and rooms, and for $4000 they are hard to beat. In my room and system unfortunately our relationship was short. I replaced them with speakers that sell for roughly twice as much used, and for around $2750-$3000 used there probably isn't much that will beat them unless you can find a pair of Dunlavys, but these also are ruthlessly revealing and need top shelf components and LOTS of space.
On a side note I listened to the VR-4SR at CES this year and I think these may fit my tastes better, more slam and less brightness and a bit more forward perspective from what I could tell, however they are twice as much $$ as the juniors so not as good of value.
As always your results may vary, and if you pick them up used and don't care for them they should be easy to resell as they are very popular right now. |
I have them and love em. I auditioned quite a few speakers in that price range and knew the first time I heard them that they were for me. The in home demo nailed it. The folks at VSA (Kevin and Albert) are great to deal with as well. |
The temptation, of course, is always there to keep looking--I've done that with every single component I've ever owned. But at some point, you've got to become confident in the homework and research you've done and pull the switch. I used to own the VR-4 Jrs. before I went upsscale in the VSA line, and IMHO, after listening to VSA's much pricier offerings, I'm still convinced that they remain the best value in the company's line and, perhaps, the best value in all of audio. They do things that no 4k speaker has any right to do. The soundstaging and dynamics put a few much more expensive speakers to shame. Let's look at this way: If you don't like them, you can sell them pretty easily on Audiogon. People are lining up to snap these babies up used. |
The Shanling 200C direct into the Halo JC-1 is a great match for the 4JRs. The problem with the Halos though is that they're big and they run hot. Broke the deal for me in my smallish room, so out the Halos went, but that didn't mean that life in the sauna wasn't audio heaven. |
I've had the Jrs for about 8 months now. I've tried them in many configurations and in two different rooms. It has been a long time comming, but I can finally say I think they sound pretty great. It was not until I got my upstream gear right that they sounded good.
Personally I think they need some power to come alive. The 400 watt Parasound Halos seem to not be overkill in any way. It was when I added the Ayre K1x preamp that things changed dramatically. I think this just happens to be a great match on the Jrs.
If the DK is known to be great with the JRs then I'd go for it, if not, I'd say there is a very good chance it might not thrill you. I've hear mine with a lot of different combinations and most of them sucked.
They are also a serious pain to break in, so don't be surprised if you don't like them at all for 400 or so hours.
One of the best things about these speakers to me is that they sound great off axis. You don't have to have your head perfectly fixed in the center to hear them sound super. Everyone can sit on the couch and hear good sound. |
I have not heard the Von Schweikert VR-4JRs but i heard the Von Schweikert VR-4 SEIII in a reviewers basememt and ended up OHM walsh. It was an easy choice for me anyway. |
Dodgealum, I've actually heard the Harbeth Super HL 5, a couple years back. Yes they sounded excellent, better than the VR-4jrs, not to my ears. Besides I'd never get the wife to let them into "her" house (just too boxy looking). |
True about the Chinese stuff, it's everywhere.
I've decided to go with the VR-4JRs, this time for sure. I'd ordered these a while back but cancelled thinking I hadn't looked enough (that little annoying voice again).
It appears there's a consensus among current VR4jr owners:
1 - bi-wire
2 - 50lbs of lead shot
3 - Spike them!
Any other advise?
Distance from front wall
Toe-in
etc.... etc....
|
I know I'll be in the minority here but I personally do not think they are "all that". I did an extensive audition and found the bass, while deep and quite powerful, to lack pitch definition and speed. It was noticably "unnatural" sounding in the set up I heard. I also found the upper midrange a bit hard sounding. Overall, this is, in my view, one of those hifi speakers for listening to sounds but not a musical speaker. I'm not saying its bad, just not as good as some other stuff out there. For example, in the same price range the Harbeth Super HL 5 is much more musical and far superior to the VR4jr. Just one man's view, of course if you like the sound then that will be that--go for it. |
beemer, you say you don't but chinese. what are you using for a computer?your tennis shoes? your clothes?
you will be surprised how much "chinese" you buy! |
Good points guys, thanks.
As far as home audition goes that is in essence what I would be doing. I can get a good enough price on the VR4JRs (new) that if they don't work out I can turn them around and at least break even.
Associated components will be:
DK Desigh VS.1 Hybrid intergrated
&
Shanling T200
I really like the Maggie sound but.... 1 - don't have the room for them. 2 - don't want to use a subwoofer.
I think the reason I've been sooooo impressed with the VR4JRs is:
1 - They don't have ANY weakness. They've done everything right or close to it.... so far.
2 - Nice compact design (perfect for my needs) yet pretty much a full range producer (tough to find at it's size)
3 - Right in my price range
4 - Neutral to warm sounding speaker.
5 - beautiful Dark Cherry Finish.
If anybody has something in mind that I should check out, (remember compact - full range) please let me know and I will find them. |
They are some of the best that are available -Theyre efficient, have tremendous dynamic range and image like crazy - they are an excellent value used, with prices around 35% off retail - They will go deeper than most with a smooth liquid midrange, all in a smaller designed enclosure -Fit and finish is excellent- V/S technology has enabled them to make better sounding speakers than those they made only a few short years ago- The first example of these newer designs was the vr4jr, then (soon)- the SR ,then the vr5 for next year - All should be excellent choices MHO |
Speaker preference is pretty subjective and I believe Teajay's advice is sound.
I've had a pair of VR4Jrs (dark cherry) for about a year now and they have over 800 hours on them. I fell in love with the demo pair which had only about 150 hours on them and were not biwired and I've found that once they reach 400-500 hours they get noticeably better which is difficult to believe, but true. I have been upgrading speakers and demo-ing (Vandersteen, Vienna Acoustics, JMLab, Maggies, Sonus Faber, and a few others) for over a decade and the VR4Jrs have stopped my upgrade fever. Period. For me, they are keepers. I truly have no need for anything different or 'better'. To my ears - which are quite critical - everything I've heard at well over twice the price are not nearly as satisfying, involving or musical. They will reveal whatever changes you make upstream - and that may be a good or bad thing depending on your related equipment.
They do need to be mass loaded with 45-50 lbs of lead shot in the bass unit as well as bi-wired, and using the spikes is essential. Positioning them in your room , as with any speaker, will fine tune them to reach their full potential in your environment. With those conditions met they are remarkable satisfying.
That little voice you talked about can be a persistant demon. I've heard it often. But when you get equipment that draws you in and is truly satisfying the voice goes away. It really does. If you find your mind wandering as you're listening, you're not there. My mind never wanders when I'm listening to the VR4Jrs. |
The VR4JRs have got consistent rave reviews from many different sources and more importantly, Geoh YOUR ears are telling you they are quite good. However, I would like to share two thoughts with you. First, how could you even be thinking about buying a new speaker without a home audtion with a return policy if they are not synergetic with the rest of your system/acoustic space. Secondly, at every price bracket their are fine pieces including the $4000.00 to $6000.00 for speakers so personnal taste/system matching is critical for final slection. For my ears/taste I still love MG-3.6s over the VR-4JRs in that price range. That should mean nothing to you unless you hear them in comparsion to the the speakers being discussed in this thread. It can be a pain-in the- butt to arrange home audtions of speakers but its the only way to tell for sure if their for you. Good luck and be patient it will pay off with the right decision in the long run. I have known so many audiophiles who bought speakers, then worked like hell to get them to sound right in their home system, and never really achieved what they wanted, because they did not do a home audtion before they purchased the speakers. |
They are very good speakers but you have to mate the right amp/pre to them. Lotsa-bass.
If your dealer will not let you take home and audition any equipment before you buy do not buy from him. Your room and your electronics dictate how good the equipment can sound. |
I haven't heard them, it seems that there are plenty available used. If you buy right and they don't work for you all you will have done is tied up a little cash 'til the next buyer comes along.
I don't buy Chinese goods, but that's me. buy 'em and try 'em, then tell us.
Best,
Paul ;-) |
