setting up vandersteen 5a

You need vandersteens CD that has the tones and a analog sound meter to set the speakers up also in the manual they go over positioning. I would advise calling another dealer they may charge you a little to set them up correct but it is worth it. I know this is not terrly helpful but I can't really tell you over the internet a procedure that takes time and talent to learn. On the bright side once done correct the speakers will match the room much better than most out of box speakers with no adjustment.

Do you have a user manual?
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To do it like Vandersteen recommends go to the Vandersteen website, click on "Technical Info", then click on the "Vandertones" icon at the bottom of the page. These are supposed to be the "special" tracks that Richard gives his dealers. There are also instructions included in the download. I downloaded and put onto a CD and was not real impressed with the quality, there were "chirps" at the end of each track that were a little disconcerting. I didn't think the instructions were so great either. When combined with what was in the owners manual it worked OK. I actually prefer an infinitely variable signal generator over a CD since it is a little easier to find peaks and valleys in the response. Good luck!

Be real careful, the eleven bands are centered at each warble tone, so wandering around looking for peaks and valleys not centered on the center point of a filter is asking for trouble.

You aren NOT trying to make the room 100% flat, but to dampen the peaks and valley responses to a smaller value. In essence cut each peak down, but it is still there to a much smaller degree. So a 6dB peak is 3dB and a 2 dB peak is 1 db ETC. This doesn't make the speaker fight the natural room effect so the EQ is much more capable overall.

Also, try to set-up your speakers reference volume to CUT and not BOOST most of the eleven bands / sound issues. Notice that the CUT range is higher than the boost range on the dials. This is trying to tell you something! This is very important. You can cut a peak, but it is a fool's game to fill a hole if a few dB of boost don't do it (leave the position at 12 o'clock if the boost seems to have no effect). So you will succed or fail to optimize based on the initial sound SPL you use as your reference. Quick run through all the tones with FLAT (at 12 o'clock) settings and look at the dB values. Start at about 70dB "center" point but don't go much higher or lower than 65 or 75 dB. Somewhere in there more values will be "high" with fewer "low". So adjust the volume till more settings are PEAKS than dips. When you are all done, you can adjust the overall gain to suit your bass "level", which lifts ALL the bass to the same dgeree (like a shelf). The Q adjust is the "slam" / tight or "mush" / bloom factor. I used 7 most all the time (deepest linear bass setting).

I find the job MUCH easier with a digital SPL meter set to slow and the "C" weight (flat). Nothing is happening fast with the tones, and it damps out random room noise so the reading is more steady.

Also, grab a buddy to turn the dial while someone else reads the meter from your normal seating position and manages the tracks being played. They could be longer, so you might have to run through one a few times as you learn. When you are 100% good at this, you can do it on your own.

You aren't calibrating the random click on the CD, but the warble tone. This isn't music, get over it. The clicks are inconsequential to the task at hand.

Call Richard, he will spend some time with you and surely will want to hear about the non-responsive dealer. He really likes that kind of thing :-p

First browse the Vandersteen site because Richard posts the answers to all questions ever emailed.

..actually, its much more complicated than that.... first, download or open your own copy of the instruction manual. After reading it,make sure you have your high pass filters set to the proper output impedance of your amp(s), If you are using balanced outputs on your amp, be sure that each leg of the balanced output is properly compensated for on your high pass filters. Put your speakers on a piece of carpet (if on hard floors), or have a friend that can help you move it around your room until you find the spot that it sounds the best. This is only a rough position. Once you have found it, follow Vandersteens guide regarding speaker placement. ..just get the closest recommended position according to Richard's graph. Measure the distance from the speakers to your favorite listening chair, and useing the correct number of washers as per Richards graph, screw in the cones with the proper number of washers. Now this is not in his instructions, but makes a very big difference. Take a carpenters level, and place it on the tweeter head of the speaker with the grill removed and make sure it is exactly horizontal. Richard suggested this next adjustment and discovered it with the setup of the model 7's which has a laser built into it. You will need to get a laser (looks like a penlight), and position it on the head of the tweeter assembly with the black top cover off of the speakers. Get a sticky note, and stick it on the wall between the 2 speakers. Turn on the laser and sweep it left and right, until it positions the red dot on the sticky...mark that spot with a marking pen. Take the laser and position it in the same spot on the other speaker, and move it left and right to see if it superimposes on top of your mark on the sticky note on the far wall. It may be exactly there or slightly off. You may have to put a piece of tape between a washer or two to make the speakers absolutely placed properly with the laser exactly superimposed on your dot. Check that the speakers are still horizontal with your carpenters level. Now your speakers are in the correct place in your room, and exactly positioned. Burn a CD of the test tones found on Richards website. At this point, I would call Richard himself if your dealer can't go farther with this. If you go forward yourself with Richard's help, you will need a Realistic analogue sound pressure meter. Do NOT get anything different. If you have done all of this, it will take about 4 or 5 calls to Richard to complete the setup. I say to let Richard help you, because it probably is too complicated to do it properly, unless you have specific training. The idea is to soften the bumps but not totally eliminate them from the room....much of the decision for this is art. If you need more help you can get in touch with me, but Richard is the better choice

Greetings
You fellows forgot the most important thing in the set up
the minus 3 db down point with the amps input imp.
1000 hz test to 1V AC 100 hz .707
I would call a Vandy dealer if you have one.
Cheers JohnnyR

Stringreen, thanks for the 5A set up information. I double checked using a lazer and indeed I was able to make some minor adjustments to make sure each speaker had the same tilt front to back. Good inforation there.

Greetings TD audio
Did you also check the side to side being level?
You can easily fix this by adding the correct amount of spacers on either of the inner or outter front spikes.
Then re check tiltback.
Cheers JohnnyR

My pleasure Tdaudio....it makes a significant improvement when things are done right. The 5A is a wonderful speaker...I suspect that few have heard it set up correctly.

JohnnyR, yes I did check level side to side. I could tell that was the "level" that Stringreen was talking about. The left speaker was perfect but the right speaker was slightly off. The adjustments I made were small and nothing jumped out to me on the few disks I spun that night but I will have a longer session Thursday or Friday.

BTW, I have a child starting college this fall close to you so I will make it point to get over and see your store.

Terry

Tdaudio....John Rutan is as expert as Richard Vandersteen and a wonderful guy to do business with. YOu'll love your experience at his store