My ears are well seasoned,and the rest of me is too!
Seriously here's my take on some of the speakers you are considering.
I have owned stacked Quad 57's, the 63,Acoustat3 medallian,Martin Logan Sequel 2, 2 pairs of CLS 11z,Tannoy Ardens, Merlin MMex,Meadowlark Heron i, Mirage m3si,original VR4(my friend still has his)orignal 15 ohm Rogers LS3/5a, Mission 770(still have a pair)and Ref 3A Grand Veena-maybe some others I've forgotten.
When I owned the VR4 I used the Blue Circle mono block BC2 amps and the sound was very good.My friend uses mono block Lumley tube amps on his VR4, and he's kept them since they came out.
His speakers in his system sound better now since he acquired a more powerful(Lumley 100 watters) than what he was using before(also tube amps, 2 Grant lumleys biamped using el34 not kt 88 as in the monos).
So to get the best out of the VR4, don't cheap out of the power is my best advice.Give them the juice and if it's clean and powerful you should be happy for the long run.
I have heard of some folks who used to run a couple of Bryston 4B on the VR4 at high volume levels and they said this was heaven.To each his own I suppose.
Compared to the above speakers which I have owned and if my sonic memory can be trusted,I would say that the original VR4 still is a good speaker.Perhaps not as precise as some of the stats , but certainly a lot more robust.
Spred them wide apart, if I remember correctly and damp the two sections with a slab of some inert material and spikes.I ran Cardas Hex 5c single run and Cardas Hex 5c one metre jumpers when I had the 4's.
My friend uses Cardas biwired golden ref.whic h sounds better than the Kimber 4tc he was using, so try some good wires on the 4's.
Have fun.
Seriously here's my take on some of the speakers you are considering.
I have owned stacked Quad 57's, the 63,Acoustat3 medallian,Martin Logan Sequel 2, 2 pairs of CLS 11z,Tannoy Ardens, Merlin MMex,Meadowlark Heron i, Mirage m3si,original VR4(my friend still has his)orignal 15 ohm Rogers LS3/5a, Mission 770(still have a pair)and Ref 3A Grand Veena-maybe some others I've forgotten.
When I owned the VR4 I used the Blue Circle mono block BC2 amps and the sound was very good.My friend uses mono block Lumley tube amps on his VR4, and he's kept them since they came out.
His speakers in his system sound better now since he acquired a more powerful(Lumley 100 watters) than what he was using before(also tube amps, 2 Grant lumleys biamped using el34 not kt 88 as in the monos).
So to get the best out of the VR4, don't cheap out of the power is my best advice.Give them the juice and if it's clean and powerful you should be happy for the long run.
I have heard of some folks who used to run a couple of Bryston 4B on the VR4 at high volume levels and they said this was heaven.To each his own I suppose.
Compared to the above speakers which I have owned and if my sonic memory can be trusted,I would say that the original VR4 still is a good speaker.Perhaps not as precise as some of the stats , but certainly a lot more robust.
Spred them wide apart, if I remember correctly and damp the two sections with a slab of some inert material and spikes.I ran Cardas Hex 5c single run and Cardas Hex 5c one metre jumpers when I had the 4's.
My friend uses Cardas biwired golden ref.whic h sounds better than the Kimber 4tc he was using, so try some good wires on the 4's.
Have fun.