Thank you all very much for your advice and suggestions.
I'm going to travel to LA next Saturday to audition the VMPS so I should have a better idea how they stack up against the more conventional design. Also, I actually did hear the Gibbon 9 from DeVore Fidelity a few years ago when I lived in NYC. I wasn't looking for speakers at that time so I didn't really concentrate well enough to fully appreciate the speaker, but I remember it to be very transparent, detailed and "clean." However, I also found it to be a little lean and given it $6500 price, I think the speakers in my original list, especially the Vandersteen, might be more of what I'm looking for.
I too find the Hyperion look to be rather unattractive. Their reviews are superb, however, and they are selling "B stock" of the speaker at 50% discount on their website. I emailed Hyperion asking what "B stock" meant in reference to this particular speaker, and whether there were Hyperion dealers in California, but the response I received was quite disappointing. The manager completely ignored my inquiry about B stock and simply apologized for not having dealers in California where they are based, which I must say I find very strange. I asked again and my email has been ignored. At this price point, it is simply unacceptable and extremely unprofessional, and I won't be buying Hyperion speakers any time soon if that's the level of customer service I can expect.
I wish there was someone on the forum who owns the Sonatina as I absolutely love the look of this speaker and if it sounds as good as it looks, it might be the winner.
The search continues...
I'm going to travel to LA next Saturday to audition the VMPS so I should have a better idea how they stack up against the more conventional design. Also, I actually did hear the Gibbon 9 from DeVore Fidelity a few years ago when I lived in NYC. I wasn't looking for speakers at that time so I didn't really concentrate well enough to fully appreciate the speaker, but I remember it to be very transparent, detailed and "clean." However, I also found it to be a little lean and given it $6500 price, I think the speakers in my original list, especially the Vandersteen, might be more of what I'm looking for.
I too find the Hyperion look to be rather unattractive. Their reviews are superb, however, and they are selling "B stock" of the speaker at 50% discount on their website. I emailed Hyperion asking what "B stock" meant in reference to this particular speaker, and whether there were Hyperion dealers in California, but the response I received was quite disappointing. The manager completely ignored my inquiry about B stock and simply apologized for not having dealers in California where they are based, which I must say I find very strange. I asked again and my email has been ignored. At this price point, it is simply unacceptable and extremely unprofessional, and I won't be buying Hyperion speakers any time soon if that's the level of customer service I can expect.
I wish there was someone on the forum who owns the Sonatina as I absolutely love the look of this speaker and if it sounds as good as it looks, it might be the winner.
The search continues...