VANDERSTEEN 3 A SPEAKERS

I would seriously consider Davemitchell's advice. While I don't use Vandy speakers, I have gone to the stereo subwoofer paradigm (with sealed cabinet mains) with much more bottom octave clarity and impact. Takes a bit of time using a test cd/SPL meter to get the best result for one's unique room characteristics, but time well spent. Of course dual line stage outputs are needed and I had to change line stage to eliminate a ground loop issue unsolvable otherwise, but this former skeptic is now firmly in the "mains w/stereo subs" camp. My room puts a 60Hz +10dB node right at my preferred listening position and being able to tame it with eq in sub amps like the Reckhorn A400 is not possible with a generic passive crossover 2 or 3-way loudspeaker alone, even with full round corner bass traps (have 'em). Even if one can afford something like the Rives PARC, it's nice to have it ONLY in the subwoofer signal path.

Sorry this took so long to get this back to you but this is straight from the Vandersteen Q&A. This way you can decide for yourself what you would like to do.

Bob (1/12/07): Bi-Amping the 3A Signatures From: Bob HoshallI would assume Bi-Amping any speaker could be advantageous, if you had two MATCHING POWER AMPLIFIERS, but what if you don't??? In my case I have a Parasound HCA-1200II High Current Power Amplifier rated at 205 Watts RMS X 2. My second is a PS Audio Amplifier, the Delta 200 rated at 200 Watts RMS X 2. If I were to take a guess, I would think the PS Audio is a bit better amplifier, even if the Parasound has some bells and whistles the PS Audio doesn't, neither have balanced inputs. What is your view of Bi-Amping, especially with two very different power amps? Thanks.

Answer: HELLO BOB, I NO LONGER RECOMMEND BI-AMPING OF ANY KIND UNLESS BOTH ARE TUBE AMPS. MANY SOLID STATE AMPLIFIERS ARE UNSTABLE DRIVING THE TOP OF ALL OUR SPEAKERS. THIS CAN RESULT IN AMPLIFIER PROBLEMS OR SPEAKER FAILURE. IF CONSIDERING THIS MAKE SURE YOU USE A O' SCOPE ACROSS THE OUTPUT OF THE AMPLIFIER AND LOOK FOR OSCILLATIONS ON TRANSIENTS. MANY REPORT IMPROVED TRANSPARENCY ONLY TO FIND LATER THAT THE AMPLIFIER HAS SHORT BURSTS OF OSCILLATION TRAILING ALL TRANSIENTS. LISTEN TO BOTH OF YOUR AMPLIFIERS AND PICK THE BEST ONE, BI-WIRE TO YOUR 3A SIGS AND PLAY MUSIC.

Good luck and Happy Listeing

I wonder why the oscillation occurs with only solid state amp. Sounds like a strange interaction btw Vandy's 1st order cross over hi-freq load and solid state amp.

Perhpas when both hi-freq and low-freq are connected to the same amp, there are some compensating effects from the cross-over interaction.

Tube amp probably is more stable due to transformer at the tube amp's output stage.

Do not biamp...do biwire.