different speakers

When I was searching for speakers a few years ago, I listened to the 3A and the 2Ce Sig many times. Both were powered by tubes. Both came off well balanced and pleasant. But in the end, they were too laid back for my tastes. I felt they were on the verge of being too polite. If you're into that kind of neutral sound (like Thiel's), then Vandy's might be a perfect fit, but they didn't work for me. I really wanted them to. I was fascinated with Richard's design principles and read obsessively about his crossovers, diffraction design, phase coherency and whatnot. I spoke to him on the phone at length and was impressed that he gave me the time of day (btw, he admitted his speakers were laid back). I have a lot of respect for him and his work. I like the fact that he's so open about the work he's done. But when it came to falling in love with a sound, it wasn't Vandersteen. It was a pair of Alon Model I's that made my jaw drop. They utterly disappeared and made me forget I was listening to speakers.

They throw an artificially big and deep soundstage

Aren't all speakers artificially reproducing sound? I'm pretty sure you're suggesting the Alon soundstage isn't natural. Can you define natural here?

On the negative side, there high frequencies are a bit sandy and grainy sounding and the midrange can sometimes bite or honk.

Bite or honk? This is so far from the truth.

All of the Alon models tended to suffer from these same colorations.

Just to be clear... the whole line of Alon's bite and honk and have sandy grainy highs? Are you lumping the Model V and Alon Circe in this pool? I think you're all alone on this one. I'm under no illusion that Alon's are perfect, but to my ears they sound smoother, more balanced, and more transparent than many other speakers. They disappear in a room like few others and have a midrange that rivals electrostatics. I realize this comes down to personal taste. Vandy's and Alon's are very different speakers, but to say the Alon's bite and honk is irresponsible.

I will always favor a speaker that allows me to listen comfortably long term and to a wide variety of music.

I couldn't agree more, which is why I chose Alon's over Vandy's.

On the negative side, there high frequencies are a bit sandy and grainy sounding and the midrange can sometimes bite or honk. All of the Alon models tended to suffer from these same colorations. Your choice of partnering electronics and wire can tame these to an extent but never eliminate them.

The Alon's are not as neutral or accurate as the Vandersteen's. If the Vandersteen's are lacking bass then something is wrong.

Without criticizing the Alon's, what Davemitchell wrote is why my post (top of this thread) voted in favor of Vandy's. I will always favor a speaker that allows me to listen comfortably long term and to a wide variety of music.

Anything less means I don't get to enjoy my entire music library and frankly that's the only reason to own a system in the first place.

I used to sell Alon speakers and owned Alon IV's. I have also been a Vandersteen dealer for nearly 15 years. The Alon speakers are fun and exiting with their dipole midrange. They throw an artificially big and deep soundstage and have big bass. On the negative side, there high frequencies are a bit sandy and grainy sounding and the midrange can sometimes bite or honk. All of the Alon models tended to suffer from these same colorations. Your choice of partnering electronics and wire can tame these to an extent but never eliminate them.

The Alon's are not as neutral or accurate as the Vandersteen's. If the Vandersteen's are lacking bass then something is wrong. What is your amplifier? How far from the back wall are your speakers placed? Are these just 3A's or the Signature version?

the alons should rival the mids of the legendary dahlquist 10....with the bass as the icing on the cake.. something is amiss....chadnliz may have hit on it. they also love power.

go to the montana audio web site and look at there speakers and then find somewhere to hear them you will be very impressed

Alons have great midrange, is it a problem with placement?

alons have bass but not midrange don;t know what to do

I've never heard anyone say Alon's don't have midrange. What does the rest of your system look like? In particular, what amp are you using?

If you keep the Vandy you can add the Vandy subs in time and have a speaker package not equal to but very close to the Vandersteen Quatro on the cheap.

Probably no help to you, but given the choice I would keep the Vandersteen's.

Are the Vandy's broken in, have you experimented with placement?