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Questions for Vandersteen 5A owners...

I finally got to audition 5A's yesterday. Involved 9 hours of driving, but it was worth it. :-)

I realize no speaker is perfect and it's a matter of tradeoffs. I am attracted to Vandersteen because of a strong reputation and the fact that it includes a powered bass module with 11 bands of EQ per speaker. I have a troublesome room. Currently have Aerial model 9s - a great speaker but not ideal for my room.

Anyway, I wanted to post my impressions and see what owners have to say.

1) Larger than life sound. Holy big imagery. High hats sounded like they were 3 feet in diameter.

2) Wide dispersion of sound (i.e. large sweetspot). Vocals stretched from speaker to speaker. Panning of instruments off center was hard to pinpoint.

3) Bass seemed EQd well (couldn't hear any notes being louder than others) but all in all it wasn't as articulate as I expected. Bass was very fat sounding.

4) Problem at loud volumes? It might have been the 200 watt amp, but when the volume was cranked it was very distorted. I notice that Stereophile recommends the speaker but says "won't play as loud as other speakers". I have never experienced a speaker that had a volume limitation per se, so I'm not sure what to expect - distortion or were they simply meaning it wasn't very sensitive? I don't listen to music at crazy volumes, but these would also be used for home theater - where speakers should be able to handle loud peaks. Have any of you noticed this?

5) A lot brighter than I expected and very revealing. Highs sounded less smooth/laid back than I expected (or was used to for that matter). Almost harsh at times. Could have been the recordings, but I played stuff I was very familiar with so I'm puzzled here.

6) Midrange was very nice.

Anyhow, I'm interested in others' perceptions here as I can't audition these in my own home. I do believe that the dealer could set up the bass well in my room, but am generally worried about some of the points above.

Thanks in advance.
madfloyd

Showing 7 responses by sonofjim

sonofjim
557 posts
 
Stringreen,
Where have you heard about a Vandersteen 7? I would be interested as to what major improvements have come up that would justify a new model. All I need is that temptation now.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
Madfloyd,
The concerns you voice certainly are not the common experience. With a purchase this size I would recommend at least one or more additional auditions. I know you're no where near West Des Moines Iowa but if you ever are the invitation's open here as well. I can't imagine you'd notice the same problems here.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
If this all comes to pass, I think I might consider the upgrade path depending on the price. A $40,000 flagship kind of flies in the face of the principles I've come to know Vandersteen for. I've always been impressed that they make a more accurate and satisfying product than the megabuck designs and sell it for a realistic price. I'm sure Richard wouldn't do this if he didn't see it as a worthwhile pursuit. I'll bet 80% of that performance would be enough for me assuming the price is right. Then again, it's hard to complain about what I have now. I assume that this would not be a user installable upgrade path and would require shipment back to the factory?
sonofjim
557 posts
 
Madfloyd,
Pardon if I've missed this but where did you audition the 5A? Nine hours is a long drive. It seems to me you're out east somewhere. Is that right? For me, even in Iowa, there are two dealers within a 4 hour drive(Milwaukee and Minneapolis). I would urge you to check the Vandersteen website and see how many dealers may be within range. I thought they sounded good on 1st audition in Milwaukee but also checked out Minneapolis and that's where they really sang. Set up is probably even more important than associated equipment. Also, even in the same set up, they may sound different to you any given day. I would really recommend hearing these in as many different situations as is feasible before making a decision.
In addition, if you haven't already, read a good review that details the technologies implemented here(Richard Hardesty's has a link on the Vandersteen site). Once you read and understand what went into this design, I doubt you'll be able to look at speakers in the same way again. I know as I page through an audio magazine and see speaker adds I can usually pick out several major design flaws(in my opinion)from one picture.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
This is all very interesting. Is the price of the 7A indeed $40,000? It seems quite a jump in price from $18,000 for the 5A. I think it's more than I could justify on speakers at this point. The upgrades may be tempting especially if they were customer installable. I don't like the idea of sending these to the factory and going through all the set up again.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
$40,000 is a lot of money but is about half what the new Wilson Maxx 3 costs ($70,000). Still a comparison of these two speakers isn't really fair. They should probaby be compared to the $150,000+ Alexandrias. Knowing Vandersteen, I'm sure the design of the 7 incorporates more impressive innovations than both of these speakers combined. I guess that sort of puts the price in perspective. Still, expensive.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
Princebaba,
Currently I'm also using a Krell(FPB 600) with the 5As and a tubed pre-amp(BAT VK51se) and it works very well. I've always considered switching to the Ayre MX-R or Audio Research Ref 210s and likely will someday but I think if you try them with the Krell and Ref 3 you will be happy with the results.
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