keep the Vette
my 5 a in rosewood were Randys personal pair from his home.
He does get excellent sound and knows his stuff. I always stop by there in my travels..but I am overdue for a visit... |
Thanks, Tom. I heard Randy's Vandersteen 7 pair at Optimal Enchantment in Santa Monica a couple years ago with both analog (Basis TT with the Airtight MC cartridge) and digital (dcs) sources, using Audio Research electronics.
They are pure magic, and are very characteristic of Richard's "junior" speakers, (that's a complement). Nothing splashy, just pure music.....like hearing it live.
I would love to have a pair, but I'd have to sell my new Corvette (C7) and that would kill me. BTW, if you ever get out to LA, look Randy up - he is a wonderful host, and has the best collection of vinyl I've ever seen ! |
on the question of tweeters from a how are they made point of questioning just call Richard - he answers the phone....
Cant say I have heard all three side by side in same room w same front end. The 5 a Carbons currently for sale on Agon seem like a deal.
I know some differences between 5 a carbon and 7 is grading...but not sure about tweeters....next time i call I will ask if I remember.
On the question of measured performance - you will find waterfall plots for each model on website.
pushing the breakup and ringing mode out is a HIGH priority of his a designer.
7's are breaking in nicely....couple a three hundred hours on them and changes are subtle...diffusers at first reflection points R and L at ear level are maybe next..... |
Tom, the 7 carbon tweeter looks different than the carbon tweeters in the 5a Carbon and the Quatro CT. For one thing, the latter two have a phase plug and look just like the Vifa ceramic-coated metal domes. My guess is the 7 uses a true "C sandwich" (like a radome), but the 5a and the Quatro use either a monolithic carbon dome or he coats the metal dome with one or two layers of carbon pre-preg, and then cures it.
In any case, what I'd like to know is how the 5a Carbon and 7 compare in high frequency, and whether the $1500 for the CT in the Treo is really a sonic improvement or just an expensive black coating on the regular metal dome tweeter. |
Guys, It's spoken about in the owners manual. It says that using the rear tweeter adds 100% distortion, because the front tweeter has reproduced all of the info in the recording. In over damped rooms one has 2 options. 1) play the main tweeter louder but then the first arival (most important) info is skewed and no longer an acurate representation of what was on the recording. 2) use a rear tweeter that is adjustable in amplitude and high-pass frequency to add a small amount of energy into the reverbarent field.
Richard believes the second option is better in over damped rooms because it preserves the direct sound as recorded. It is very rare that this should be used but the Model 5 in its day was his flagship and if this feature helped offer a better balance in 1 out of 100 system it belonged. The same is now true of the Model Seven. It is important to note that the best option is to fix the acoustics of the room and turn the rear tweeter off. |
Johnny R ... I don't understand your explanation about using a rear firing tweeter. Stan's question seems reasonable.
I thought the main technical underpinning of Vandy speakers is that they use time coherent drivers. If a tweeter is firing backwards, doesn't that undermine the time coherence of the treble viz the front firing tweeter, ... aside from creating more sonic reflections?
Just askin' a question.
BIF |
Great thread. I'm about to upgrade to the Quatro's through Johnny. Still trying to figure out which wood I want. I wanted a Crimson red with tons of metallic flake, but it's way too costly, lol. Do many options Vandersteen offers and all are wonderful.I have cherry Treo's right now, but all the furniture I have made in my listening loft is quarter sawn white oak (highly figured), sapelle and mahogany. You always want an odd number of woods in your room to look right. Since the sapele is similar to mahogany, that gives me the option to do a different species of wood.
Russ, the nice thing is that you seem to have a great dealer to help you out with everything. Johnny, thanks for clearing up the rear firing tweeter for us. I always wanted a switch to turn the wife on or off, lol. |
love it WAFS
Wife Assisted Fundamental Science..
heard Quatro s yesterday with VTL pre and power Bardo table...lovely.
but i think Russ our OP is going to have one fine sounding system..100 W of Pass class A power ! nice |
FYI Rosenut or Mahogany /Wal =/Mahogany stain on Walnut
Real nice with Black grills Cheers JohnnyR
https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pxFEitWRUkAupkunIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTIzZ2JxY2pqBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM3NWM1ODY5Mzc4YmFhMWEzZmJkZWQ5OTFlOTVkYjA4NQRncG9zAzE1BGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Dvandersteen%2Bquatro%26fr%3Dyhs-mozilla-001%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26hsimp%3Dyhs-001%26hspart%3Dmozilla%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D15&w=638&h=523&imgurl=cdn.avsforum.com%2F6%2F64%2F643e7d53_vbattach172027.jpeg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.avsforum.com%2Fforum%2F89-speakers%2F692681-vandersteen-wow-21.html&size=226.3KB&name=No+matter+what+measurements+tell+us%2C+a+loudspeaker+isn%E2%80%99t+good+until+...&p=vandersteen+quatro&oid=75c5869378baa1a3fbded991e95db085&fr2=piv-web&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&tt=No+matter+what+measurements+tell+us%2C+a+loudspeaker+isn%E2%80%99t+good+until+...&b=0&ni=21&no=15&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=1284gbknl&sigb=14dsrl6gr&sigi=11i5rgb9g&sigt=129onvftg&sign=129onvftg&.crumb=w.s4F0XYH65&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&fr2=piv-web&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=mozilla |
Stringeen rear tweeter is used with a scenario like your wife just put drapes in your sound room , also her room which then makes this choice instantly scientific. JohnnyR |
Using the rear tweeter negates the Vandersteen science. The speakers are instantly defective. |
Mr M= Just goofing around a little; I thought it was kind of curious to name a finish after two different woods. I guess I should have added JK to the post. My bad. But I still wonder, is it mahogany with a walnut stain or walnut w a mahogany stain? JK. |
If you know wood finishes, mahogany walnut is very different from light or dark walnut. Totally different. |
I'm sure that the speakers are beuatiful, but mahogany walnut? WTF,is that like jumbo shrimp? I thought RV was not prone to marketing speak. |
Mahogany walnut is gorgeous. I got my Treo CT's in that finish and could not be happier. I really like these speakers. Quatro is a great choice. Enjoy! |
Hi Jim thanks again for all your input.
I got the speakers in Mahogany Walnut with Balanced filters to go between my Wadia S7i CDP, and Pass Labs XA100.8 Mono Amps. |
Congrats Russ.
I bought my Unitiserve from Don. I wanted his critical ear and opinions on server SQ. I trust him.
We also have some history as his dad was the long running MacIntosh distributor in Cleveland where my Mac 240 and MX110 Z were purchased.
Don will do great at setup and dial in.
What wood did you get ?
SE or balanced filters ? |
Thanks Jim I have 1year to upgrade if I want and get 90percent
Back on the Quatros.
Russ |
Yes the dealer is don better audio.
He will do the set up.and delivery. |
Russ, who was the dealer? Does he live close enough to deliver and set it up for you? |
Russ
Got to thinking so instead of just thinking i did some listening...
Ran 3 songs with and without rear tweeter on. All three w tweeter set at level 4 and contour 4. i did also have a Scotch but that is another story..
Prefer tweeter off. sense of coherence that is Vandersteen hallmark seems a bit off w metal tweeter in mix. image wider but less specific. got sense that Leonard Cohen was a foot off the mic vs. right on it. (old ideas - Going Home)...ditto for Wayfaring Strangers - Motherless Child..lack of image specificity. tweeter in yields a wider image for sure. i can see ( hear) where in certain rooms it could be a plus..
Jim |
No. I have a relatively small room and acoustic center of the 7 is about 32" from back wall which while it has quite a bit of irregular surface diffusion is still pretty reflective.
I am in the camp that believes the rear firing tweeter could / should be deleted. Intent is in very absorptive rooms a bit of 901 bounce might be needed. ( words from the manual )...i never ran them on the 5a either.
In the right room and situation they must help. richard is a pretty frugal designer and he includes them so he must feel that overall they add value to owners.
Hope this helps
Jim
Tomic is just my favorite salmon fishing plug..... |
Hi Tom
I wanted to ask you if you use the rear firing tweeter on your 7's
thanks Russ |
The quatro? Great news. I'm sure you keep loving them. I'm trying like heck to swing a pair. |
Follow the very detailed setup instructions ! They work ..or have your Vandy dealer do it all :-)
Great choice..imo a very musical speaker.
Enjoy ! |
I loved them I ended up buyng a pair.
Thanks all for the help. |
I personally don't love the ML. Vandersteen is a very fast and clear speaker but it's still so engaging. listeninf is the only way. There is a reason we all love our Vandys though. |
|
Thanks everyone for the help.
I would like to ask if the Quatro wood CT would be a lateral or a move up over the Martin Logan Summit X speakers. I know they are to different types of equipment they each do there own thing. I am just looking to go back to a dynamic loud speaker. |
Great response Tom. Go with Quatro CT and don't overthink. Just enjoy. |
Richard says except for low bass CT Quatro is better than reg 5 a
He has heard my 5a so we have spent fair amount of time together.
The carbons are in another world.
Give him a call he answers the phone.
CT you were right Twenty series is not subtle and add to your list Rogue amps, Vandys image BIG w those. |
The 14 X 20 Room is my Kitchen.
Thanks for the help. |
Hello thanks for the response.
My room is 14 wide X 23 long X 8 foot. but the room opens up with a small opening on the long end to 14 X 20. so really you could say it is 40 feet long.
I am looking to replace my ML Summit X speakers with a Dynamic speaker not sure if I may need to go with a 5A.
Do you think the Quatro would have enough bass output?? |
Other than bass you will find the Quatro CT's better from the mids on up. The bass on the 5A's will have much more volume, however the quality of the bass will be similar. I have the regular Treo's and am still kicking myself for not getting the CT version that wasn't quite out yet. Just timing for the most part, but as soon as I heard the CT version of the Quatro and Treo's I just melted. What size room will they be used in? The Quatro puts out a lot of bass and can fill up a big room well. If the bass in the Quatro has enough volume for your room then it's going to be a no brainer. Both are incredible choices as you probably already know. |
