Finish Quality of Von Schweikert VR4jr's

The difference in price between birch veneer and cherry veneer is about $0.10 per square foot. So, we're talking about $5.00 more for the better veneer. Going from 1 coat of lacquer to 4 is about $10.00 in material and about 1 hour of labor for a light sanding after the first and third coats. In the US were talking $50 more in material and labor. In China you can divide that by for for a total cost of $12.50. So, if the abinet shop, in China, doubles that charges VSA $25. VSA doubles that and charges the distributer $50. Finally the retailer doubles and charges the customer $100 more. I would be more than happy to pay the extra $100 for the more durable and better looking finish.

I agree that the jr's are great sounding speakers for the money.

BTW - I purchased a pair of 4jr's, matching center and dipole surrounds for a friend and only paid $4800 cash. He let me break in the jr's for about 3 months; I enjoyed my time with them.

Personally I don't consider $4000 units like the VSA or Gallo III's a "bargain speaker" just because there are suckers out there paying wildly inflated prices for Watt/Puppies, Talons, JM Labs, Martin Logans, etc. It's like telling the motorcycle cop that you weren't really speeding at 80mph because other people were passing you at 90mph.

$4000 in China would hire a fast and good cabinet maker for 6 months! Look here at reviews of a five speaker set that is made in China and sold on Ebay for $249, that's right $249 for 2 floorstanders, 2 rears and a center channel - and they're making money! :

http://reviews.cnet.com/Fluance_SX-HTB/4505-7868_7-21114465.html

I'm not suggesting that these are in the same league as VSA's but it shows the cost structure of manufacturing in China - shockingly little.

So the DIFFERENCE in cost between an ultra-high quality finish and a mediocre finish when we're talking "Sprayed In China" is totally insignificant compared to the final price here. So it's just plain silly to provide a product with an inferior lacquer. Dealers' demo units start to look past their primes very quickly, which translates into lost sales.

Used JR's are showing up pretty frequently with resale prices fairly low (for some reason). Some sellers have priced them under $2000 already, and at that price I wouldn't complain. But hey, if you still object, there's always Fluance!

I couldnt agree more, finish quality is different than build quality. And it was also a good point that the veneering and finishing has no effect what so ever on the sound of the loudspeaker. I have auditioned many beautiful looking speakers which sounded horrible, and most people have. Maybe I am not giving the vr4s the respect they are due, most likely because i have never heard them before. By the way, does anyone know where they source their drivers from? Im just curious? As far as comparing 3-5k speakers I am positive that many companies will have better build quality than the vr4s, especially the british and even some american ( meadowlark, joseph, aerial..), but they might not match the performance of the vr4jr, even though its a matter of taste, not just pure performance numbers. Somehow i cannot get by the fact that picking a better veneer can cost so much more, wouldnt all the people who are constantly scared of scratching and blemishing your speakers opt to pay a couple hundred more for an better finish? And if anyone disagrees just think of the resale value, even if there is one scratch on a loudspeaker it needs and 8/10 on audiogon, and that makes the seller lose money. Fine loudspeakers hold their value, not saying that VSaudios higher end loudspeakers arent nicely finished, but i doubt they are up to standards of the best, of which i mentioned before.

I beg to differ. My Hyperion 938s are extremely well finished, shiny mirror black and quite resistant to scratches. Sound is personal but I believe 90% who have heard the Hyperions up close and personal must agree that they are musical champs. Heck, the drivers are of patented pedigree and completely built inhouse.

Roy

That was the whole point of my post. I lovve the sound, but the damned things are way too easily scratched. I wiped the top of one with my shirt to remove the dust, and my shirt button left a scratch!..Just a durable coating to protect the finish is all I ask. And at this price, I feel that is a reasonable expectation.
Mine are in the Dark cherry finish, and a scratch shows perhaps more than on the lighter finish.