Vandersteen 5 and 5A owners


Are (were) you using your 5 or 5A's using the balanced XLR-type high-pass filters or the single-ended RCA-type? Wondering the difference in terms of performance, especially if anyone has compared the two in the same system.
4yanx

Showing 3 responses by zargon

4yanx, I have heard both the 5 and 5A using both rca and XLR, but the differences in other components and rooms would more than mask this difference. I haven't had the opportunity to A/B just that change in a single system and single listening session for comparison.

However, my dealer has experimented with both setups, and on very high quality equipment finds the difference very slightly in favor of XLR. That being said, he doesn't hesitate to recommend either.

I ended up with an all balanced rig, mostly because I believed the all balanced configuration makes good technical sense, and the components I bought support it.

I suspect you would be thrilled either way.
4yanx, I understand your concern about inserting an Amazon IC in the chain. I offer a couple of thoughts. First, the Amazon is a very good IC. Second, there is barely 6" of it. And third, there is probably more wire than that on either side of it inside the pre and amp, and you don't know how good that is. Personnaly, I think the many benefits you gain from the high pass filter on the performance of the amp (e.g., reduced power requirements on the bass) more than outweighs any consideration on the effect of inserting that filter. You are gaining, not losing. So, I would advise you to pick your ICs based on how they sound, just as if the filters were not present. Think of the filter and its pigtail as another component "box" you can't really control.

Fsarc, there is a close long time relationship between Richard Vandersteen and Bill Lowe, and it is no coincidence that Richard is using a battery bias in the filter and Bill is using the battery bias on his wires. And, you can surmise why Richard uses AQ wire on the filters.