Vandersteen 3A Sigs vs Klipsch Forte III

I have owned 2 Vandersteen speakers (3A and Quattro) and 2 Klipsch speakers ( RP-160M and La Scala II).  I am a subscriber to the philharmonic and use live classical music as my reference.  There is no comparison.  The La Scala hints at what the sound of live music sounds like.  It has a big dynamic sound similar to what I hear in the concert hall.  The Vandersteen is a pale and compressed imitation of the real thing.  It sounds OK but nothing like the live sound.  Even though I use classical music as my guide in evaluating audio gear, I do listen to all types of music as well.  Play Creedence's "Ramble Tamble" on both speakers.  The Vandersteen sounds flat and boring.  With the La Scala the band is in the room.

Most won't believe it but the La Scala is the best imaging speaker on the planet, IMHO.  The depth that the speaker creates is just uncanny. Like a mini monitor, the speaker totally disappears.  But unlike a small monitor the scale is so big, dynamic with a very full bass range.  The secret to the La Scala's imaging mastery is the "doghouse".  The bass horn, which is coherent with the mid and high frequency horns (no separate driver effects here) launches a sound wave unique to my ears.  The three dimensionality of the sound is not exceeded by anything else.  And I speak from experience.  I have owned or heard all types of speakers from boxes to electrostatics to magnetic planars to omnis to line sources to other horns , etc. The sound is huge but instruments stay focused with proper sizing.  The Avantgarde horns, also excellent, do not sound as convincing as the Klipsch probably do to this "doghouse effect".  The AG's also do not have the coherence since the bass is self-amplified unlike the Klipsch where one amp drives the whole system.

The La Scala gets to about 45 Hz in my setup.  It can be listened to without a sub.  But bass is the foundation of the live orchestral sound so a sub crossed over at about 35Hz fills the bass that is lacking. You can get the growl that the low strings have at a live classical concert.

I am not familiar with the original La Scalas but the II version has zero grain, glare or brightness.  It is ultra smooth sounding.