Choice of Vandersteen models

The Music Room here has a pair of 5, not perfect but a decent cabinet guy could fix the dings and you could get Vandersteen to recover the hoods.
Rob is the guy I deal with there - straight shooter
they are a large dealer here on the gon and I have never been disappointed in the 5 or 6 deals I have done with them...

agree 5 do not need a massive room
in fact tge 11 bands of bass EQ allow them to work just about anywhere....
RV has an anechoic chamber also , poster just taking a shot he has made before.....facts and engineering seem to get in the the way.....

to the OP
some quick calls to the some Vandersteen dealers might be in order as many do a lively trade business and may even have access to customer units when they trade up
i would try four in particular but there are more:
Johnny R at Audio Connection in NJ
Alan Jones at Hi-Fi Buys in Atlanta
Bruce at Stereo Unlimited in San Diego
Randy at Optimal Enchantment in Santa Monica

Randy has I believe a pair of 5a used in maple or oak right now
i bought a pair in Rosewood from him used some 7 years ago now....
Alan took them in trade for my 7
good luck
pm me if i can help in any way
jim

the 5a is no longer in production, so we are talking used
they are about tge same money 5a and Q-Wood used
the mid suckout was floor bounce and was solved in collaboration with the reviewer who noted it ( and gave a glowing review ) later models have a tweak to make the room interaction less critical, but you could call factory.
As for value used later...they are pretty much tied today, easy form factor and WAF with the Q, better ( much ) lower bass in the 5a assuming you are in a room that allows for that..
as to uogrades, available to origional purchasers only, and priced that way.
long time 5a and now 7 owner with a pair of Treo coming...