Spendor vs. Von Schweikert?

I disagree - wholeheartedly with Dodgealums assessment/opiniion . The VSR 4jr are very musical speakers. They are all about what is in front of them. Feed them tubes and you will be in heaven. If you consider excellent imaging, first rate detail retreival, realistic vocal reproduction and first class bass 'hifi theatrics' then I am not sure what sound you are looking for. I do not have much experience with the Spendor line but I did audition the Spendor FL9/FL10 extensively before they were replaced/discontinued some time ago and they are good speakers. They were too sweet sounding for me in the end, and I found several other speaker lines with similar priced offerings that were easily more natural sounding. The VSR4Jr are competative to those and IMO better in all respects. I suggest an audition before dismissing them. The Harbeths may be to your liking...I won't comment on those because I only heard them for a few moments at an audio show. But again I suggest you listen to them first. They certainly have a distinctive sound.

good listening.

Grakesh, glad it works for you !
"Sweet sounding mid-range" I just don't get how someone can like a coloured speaker over a neutral one. Doesn't it get old very quickly? Also with suropy/sweet sound how can you listen to rock or pop or anything with Bass or strings? It seems to me that a speaker that kills the leading edge of a brass instrument or an eleectic guitar to attain an unnatural smoothness or sweetness would lose its appeal very quickly ! I listened to the Spendors with an all Mac setup and they were playing some smooth jazz and other light sounds. Sounded good especially with vocals but seamed to me in general, they are a niche speaker for specific music only. In fact this dealer would not even let me and my brother-in-law play our own music that we brought along, we brought some rock but also milder stuff like Dire Straits, Pink Floyd and some pop music – Dave Mathews,. That was immediately a big red flag for us. A speaker designed for a specific type of music reproduction, IMO is not a very good design. I guess, to each his own… but not for me. I’ll take VS, Dynaudios or any number of neutral designs over that kind of sound any day.

Good listening

Dodgealum, check Audiogon carefully, there are just as many if not more Spendors for sale at any one time then VSR. That’s not a very valid point anyway, because people upgrade all the time. VSR speakers get progressively better (signifcantly) as you go up the line and when people afford it they often move up. Something that might be the polar opposite in the Spendor line. Aren’t the small moniters signifcantly better then the floor standing speakers? One thing I want to make clear is I really do have lots of respect for Spendor speakers, their history and designs are time tested and they do have legions of fans. I am not bashing that , all I am saying is there is a good altenative in the VSR line which to me sounds more like real music. The ‘Slight dip’ you speak about is more like a big dip in the upper midrange which skews the speaker to the warm/suropy side that gives all music a distinctly unnaturally warm sound. If you like that coloration… good. Obviously many people do ! Perhaps you could enlighten all of us what precisely about the 4jr’s sound that makes it sound old for you… what equipment did you listen to them with? Not to berate you because your opinion is as valid as mine.. I am just curious. Giving a blanket statement that they are not as musical as the Spendors seems a bit of a generality. To me the VSR4jr are as natural as I have heard in the under 8K range and to me they easily reveal the components you use in front of them precisely. I can tell cable changes easily with these speakers. They play what the CD/album has to offer, nothing more / nothing less. No artifical sweeteners there ! Also the idea that Spendors have some exclusivity to one being able to listen to them for long period without fatigue. I routinely listen for 6-8 hours or more with not a hint of fatigue… just pure exhileration and exitement. I have a feeling listening to the spendors for any period of time would put me to sleep… :) Maybe that’s why so many people like them.

Grakesh,
If you think the VR4jr lose something in terms of musciality/emotion then I would suggest you heard the auxileries and not the speakers. I guarantee you, I could change your mind about the VR4jr if you heard them properly setup. There would be no doubt in your mind about there ability to convey emotion, pace and rhythm of music beautifully . Dare I say, even better then the Spendors. That said, I have a feeling you like that sweet mid-range sound (BBC sound) for some reason … and if that works for you then congratulations. Nuff said.

As always, good listening, I know I shall be.