Are Von Schweikert VR-2s worth auditioning?

Fetguy,

You are so right. Iv'e owned so many speakers where in the Hype WAY exceeded the actaul performance and sound. No so with these.. They are indeed a well engineered,coherent, and balanced speaker that makes few compromises that hurt the music either in dynamics, tonal quality, purity of tone, or imaging/soundstage. Yes that bass is superb! The first rule of Audio being.."first, do no harm" My demo pair is somewhat broken in( Highly important) and right out of the box this past week my ears confirm that I will never go back to a planer or electrostat again!

Can anyone comment on the VR-2s adequacy in a room that measures 17' x 21' x 12'. At only 40" in height, has the VR-2 enough gusto for a room that size? Thanks.

Most assuredly, ass-oradlly worth it!!

I have heard them sound great on amplifiers ranging from high-powered SS amps, high-powered tubed or even low-powered SET's.

The rare case where they did not work well was due to the rooms bass behavior. Cubical rooms need not apply.

Though a high-order crossover, the design in no way hurts imaging...these babies (when set up according to instructions...imagine that) throw a huge, precise, sound stage that has remarkable height too.

The speaker IMHO doesn't so much excell at any one thing (though the bass is outstanding), as they do in their balance of characteristics. They do everything they do in service of the music. Coherence is the word here.

Certainly enough positive responses here about the VR2s, but I could not resist to add just one more recommendation because I believe these are truly a special product.

Regarding placement and the "floating ball of sound" described in the manual. It's tough to find, but well worth the effort. Once your set up is correct you will know it...the pin point sweet spot suddenly becomes the ball of sound as described. I thought my set up was spot on before but I just finished about 3 weeks of trying different placements. I initially had a wide set up with considerable toe in, I ended up with a nearly equilateral triangle with very little toe-in (maybe less toe in works best with the rear tweeter?) pulled way out (6ft!) from the front wall. Of course results will vary depending upon rooms.

Best of luck.

Thanks for all the wonderfully positive feedback on the VR-2's. They are special.
We are swamped right now with show (CES) preparations at VSA, so contact with our operations staff may be difficult.
We are introducing a new speaker, the VR-11 which lists for about $125,000. The great thing about that kind of product is, that the lessons learned, and the newer technologies, tried, proven, then employed, always find their way into all of our other products.
Look soon for the VR4jr. It will prove to be stunning in its price range too.
Best to all, and Happy Holidays
Larry R. Staples
President Emeritus, Von Schweikert Audio, Worldwide Business Development
PS. If I can ever help any one of you do not hesitate to contact me personally.

We bought the smallest. On a side note, my husband was conflicted about buying the shot. On one hard, he felt like we were supporting the gun industry. On the other, we took two bags of lead shot and prevented them from being used in bullets. It's a dilemma. :)

For my room, Paul had me move the speakers closer together. I now have them 9 ft. apart center to center. I also moved them further from the wall (and learned that you measure to the front of the speaker not the back of the cabinet) to 3 ft. away. They could stand to be further, but my room is too narrow. It's about 15 x 11 with the speakers on the long wall and lots of doorways. Not an ideal listening room! Now I am almost in an equilateral triangle. The speakers are still a foot, foot and a half, further from each other than the listening seat.

I have noticed an improvement, but I still need to do the fine-tuning. I've done nothing with toe in yet. I'm on day 8 of a migraine, which doesn't work well with pink noise or concentrated listening. However, if you want to know how Law and Order sounds on the speakers, I'm your girl. :P

Joyelyse,

Since I just ordered the VR2's and should be arriving this week, definately keep us posted on set up and what Paul has to offer. BTW what size shot is recommended?

Hey Guys,

I just ordered my pair of VR2's. I sold a pair of ML SL3's to go with these. Using ARC tube monos and pre amp. Should be up and running this week. Hard to find someone selling them used...but several dealers offer excellent discounted prices on both new and demo..you'll find them listed on the classified here in the GoN....Meanwhile from all I've heard, read and been told..they are that good!

I have 25 lbs. of lead shot in each. Albert says that 95% of potential is acheived in the first 25 lbs. and that most people can't hear the difference between 25 and 50lbs. He said that there is no additional improvement by goign up to 75lbs.

BTW, we're making some major changes with positioning and are getting much closer. We were way off to start. Paul from VSA is talking us through it. Got rid of some furniture to help with the flexibility. I will report in.

Thanks for the answers to my questions. I will be auditioning these speakers shortly.

Pardales, did you fill the chamber with lead shot? If so, how much per speaker? And what number lead shot works best?
Also curious as to what your opinion of the midrange is?

ABSOLUTELY WORTH A DRIVE TO AUDITION!!!

I finally have 100 hours on my VR2's and I love them. I think all speakers take some work to place properly, these being no exception. And let's face it, your room is probably the cause of atleast 50% of the sound you hear. I auditioned a pair of well broken in VR2's in a very well treated room and loved them. My living room is not nearly as well treated and they still sound awesome. I only have them 1.5 feet from the back wall. Could they sound better in a better environment, I know they could! Which is great because I love these speakers in a less than ideal placement setting -- so I know I am going to love them when I finally get them in a better room. Break-in is a must, and so is filling the bottom chamber with sand or shot. I love these speakers!

I listen to a wider variety of music at all different volumes. My system: McIntosh MA6900, MCD 205, MR 85 -- Sony XA777ES -- Kimber KCAG and 8TC.

Good Luck

I'm finding placement challenging. My room does not allow the flexibility I need. I am going to call over to VSA and get them to help me. The VR2s sound great where they are, but I'm not achieving that "floating ball of sound" that Albert talks about. I know they are not properly placed, but the room is full of furniture. It's hard to get them out into the room, away from walls and other wall-like furniture. I'm going to see what I can do, and will post my results, but I may need to accept that while we are renting an apartment that is not big enough for us and all our stuff, we may not be able to aceive ideal placement. In two years, we'll be in a house. It may need to wait.

I have been breaking in a pair of VR2s since just before Thanksgiving. I am going to begin concentrated critical listening today or tomorrow. So far, from casual listening, they are fantastic. I thought they blew away a pair of Maggies I listen to, and I am going to compare them to some Martin Logans. They are very transparant, detailed, and sweet sounding. I will report more when I have finished spending some concentrated time with them.

I'll probably get some nasty comments, but I would purchase any Von Schweikert speaker that fit my budget - even without having first auditioned them. I think the VS speakers are that good.

I would also consider a used pair of Aerial Acoustics 7b's that normally sell for around the same price as a new pr of the Vr2's.

I listen to mostly Classic Rock.

Yes Its worth it,I spend three hours listening
to my friend house although I only plan to
stay for 30 minutes,very transparent,musical,
bass is maybe what you are looking for.