I heard all these as well at THE Show in Vegas...
The DB99s powered by Consonance (Opera Audio) electronics and CD Player were absolutely *amazing*. The synergy was fabulous, and offered tremendous value for the money.
Quite frankly, the entire Consonance 2 room setup was amazing. Their new Erik-1 standmount speakers listing for $995/pr. were particularly impressive. I couldn't believe what $995 can buy nowadays... Bottom line, I bought a Consonnace CD-120 while there (it was the front-end to the Erik-1 setup)... I am a new Consonance convert. :-)
The VR-9s were the best speakers at the show (cost no object) in my opinion. Very tight bass, and just incredible realism. I wouldn't want those huge robotic looking things in *my* house, but I will be happy to go anywhere to listen to them. :-)
The one set of VS speakers I was not as impressed with were the VR-Srs... That is not to say that I disliked their sound... not at all. I just felt that they were not up to the sound I heard with the DB99s (the VR-9s don't count as they are much more pricey). Maybe the synergy was not there with the electronics driving them. I will have to give them another listen later on to see if that was it...
For me, the DB99s, powered by Consonance were the best combination of value and quality sound at the show (the Tyler Woodmeres, powered by Jolida were a close second).
---Dave
