Is VonSchweikert VR-1 good upgrade from Spica TC50

Being a VSA dealer, I am a big fan. I have to also say that we are not really talking apples to apples. If the TC50's were being sold today, I am sure they would be quite a bit more money than the VR1's.

Now that all that is behind us, I am 45 years old and have been around this since birth. My father had Bozak's when I was born and still uses them as subwoofers with TC50's for mids and highs. He actively drives the different speakers and uses an electronic crossover. He gets suprisingly great sound.

I do not want to cost Von Schweikert Audio a sale, but as good as the VR1's are, unless you are considering the VR2's, I might stay with the Spicas. The boys at VSA are going to be pissed at me. :)

The angelus doesn't have a whole lot of bass itself, but it does have some. I run my angelus with a REL strata to help out in the bass and it works pretty well. The angelus bass goes very deep, but it's very lean and there seems to be a whole in the midbass, so overall it sounds more like a good monitor, than a floorstander.

The midrange and imaging is absolutely fabulous, though, to compensate.

As previously mentioned the Green Mountain Audio Europas were designed with a similar goal as the spicas .. linear phase response. I've never heard them but they would be top of my audition list if I were planning to sell the angelus.

yes..the angelus is just as magical.

My regular speakers are Merlin VSM's with VAC amplification. My current project is to rebuild a vintage McIntosh MC240. I didn't want to ruin my Merlins if the MC240 did anything weird, so I bought the best pair of speakers I could for $200, the TC50's. This past weekend I get half the power supply rebuilt and hooked up the 240 to the Spicas and was floored by the sound. Certainly not as detailed or as open as the Merlins, but the Spicas do have that magic. All that being said, I'd add in a sub if I was you and continue enjoying the Spicas. One of the best bargins on the used market.

I haven't heard the GM Europas, but their reputation says that it would probably be a great speaker for you as well.

So is the Spica Angelus just more of the great qualities and improved bass?

Well, I have listened to the VR-1's. I also listened to the Big Boys the $6,000 a pair VS's. Yes, the bass was really good. But for $6 grand I would rather spend the money on a real good subwoofer and stands and enjoy the Spicas.
I purchased my first pair of TC 50's over 19 years ago. I had my boss over during the mid 80's to listen. He had spent over $40k on exotic gear in Europe. His main speakers were the then HOT Snell Type A III's. He listened to my modest system: Spica TC 50's with 1 Spica sub. A Sota Turntable with a JS TEchnology Air Bearing tonearm and a Talisman S LO moving coil and a PS Audio 4H preamp and a Vintage Dynaco Stereo 70. That Stereo 70's was one of several amps owned in a 6 month period. I went from Hafler HD 220, to Moscode 150 Maxi, to VSP Laps to Audire, to a PS audio 2C and several more. The Stereo 70 made the Spicas sing. My tonearm interconnect was Straightwire LSI and all my other interconnect was Straightwire Flexconnect. My boss brought his own stash of Really rare classical records and he sat for over 3 hours listening. He played record after record. He said to me, "it's a DamN shame that a system sound this good".

Well, I spent about 5 years with that system. It took be about 2 to get it to that point. Well I'm probably on my sixty something system of gear that I have owned. I know that sounds like allot but just within the last year I have owned at least a dozen pair of different speakers. None of them actually gave me the pleasure my Spica TC 50's have given me. The pair I own right now I purchased from a guy in Florida last summer. The condition wasn't' that great just good, but the sound was solid. I recapped the crossover and once things settled in I had achieved something special. When I listen to the Spica's I hear music, tempo, pace, drive and rhythm. Some of us call it SOUL! I actually call it "Foot Tapping Quotient". The mark of a great speaker will make you pat your feet and sing along. And before you know it you are playing air guitar, air drums and air microphone. This is what the Spica's deliver. If you match them with a real good subwoofer and crossover you will discover depth that you would have to pay 10 times the original retail price to get. But the seductiveness of the voice and the accuracy of the highs along with the weight of each instrument makes the TC 50 one of my all time favorites. The VR 1's are good but they don't deliver the "FTQ" or the SOUL that the TC 50 delivers. I hope I have explained how I feel about a really fine speaker. Some people say the TC 50 is bright. Yes, the wrong speaker cable and amp can cause the speakers to sound bright. The TC 50's are revealing of equipment quality and you can actually hear the differences in cables and other devices. Once you have the synergy you are seeking you will know. Stereo 70's are a very good match for these speakers. As are Quicksilver, Cary Audio, Creek, Naim ( what the power though). The funny thing here is that we all hear different things. You may hear what you want in the VR-1's. But I like the TC 50 better. Enjoy!!!

As a former SPica tc-50 owner...I would say the only monitor that I have heard that will be a SIGNIGICANT upgrade will be the Green Mountain Europas...which I now own...and yes I home trialed the vr-1s as well...

Not only isn't she the girl I married, I can't remember her name! I dated my wife right when I bought the Maggies (MG1Bs) and the first time she walked in my house and saw them, she said, "Oh, jeesh! What are those things?" I had to explain this is my house and I buy and bring into it what I want. She's been cool ever since and has even bought me two SET amps for birthdays, tube headphone amp and 'phones for Christmas, and donated her year end work bonus toward my "speaker fund" when I was saving to buy rosewood ProAc 2.5s.

Sorry, Avguy, the last time I saw the other young lady was about 20 years ago in Dearborn, Michigan.

Tomryan: I sure hope this is the girl you married;if not where is she??? Maybe we can do 'a-deal'--You take Paypal???

I bought the first pair of TC50s which came into Michigan in 1983. Loved those little music makers! However, I got the itch one year later and bought Maggies, sold the Spicas. Bought another pair in 1986, sold 'em 2 yrs later.

Still fantasize about those and maybe the TC60s which supposedly solved the the main problems - soft on the high and low frequencies and limited dynamics. Yet, the soundstaging was so eerily real, you really didn't miss those things, only felt like being farther back in the concert hall. If I were you I'd keep the Spicas (maybe have them customized as the dynamics can be improved w/ extra bracing, etc.) and try something else, maybe even the TC60s. I love my ProAc 2.5s but would like to someday get a pair of 60s just for curiosity sake. Be warned, the Spicas do require some amplifier drive and current but don't play them too loudly - can be damaged.

I have to say, during my single days in the early and mid 1980s I had a couple of girlfriends who loved sitting and listening to music through the Spicas. One was a pianist and she was especially enamored with them. Without any promting she would say the music sounded like we were right in the concert hall.

as good as the vs is, its no match for the tc50. the spica will improve even more with another amp/receiver....the tc50 is a classic small speaker. it has yet to meet its match in midrange or soundstaging without dropping an awfully lot of money.