vandersteen 5a question

May be a better speaker out there in it's price range? Sometimes yes and no. I happen to have heard the vandersteen 5s years ago in a gentlemens apt in NYC I was selling him lps at the time.I thought they were exceptional at any price range the only problem and he did agree was not with the built quality but the name Vandersteen. His opinion at the time was they the name Vandersteen were not highend enough for elitist snobs. I would say that they are fabulous at music making and perfect for dealing with room placment problems. I believe the Vandersteen 5a is an approvment on the 5s. There is an TAS review on the net that gave them an exceptional review not that this really matters.

At this level, you really should listen to it yourself. If you like it, you don't need other's opinion to justify your decision.

I've owned the 5's and upgraded them to my current 5a.
They are exceptional. I love them, and I will probably only ever change if Vandersteen releases an even more advanced version. Changes to upstream gear are easy to hear- and I use these for pleasure and also to evaluate recordings I have made myself... For my taste, nothing else will do.

Will

I know about the speakers because I know one of Vandersteen's premier dealers, have met with Richard Vandersteen himself, have demoed them in numerous systems, my father owns the Wood Quatro and is ordering 5A's for himself.......but I dont consider myself an expert.

Many of us have systems that would qualify as "all out assault" and do not choose to or haven't gotten around to post them. That is not the measure of a great speaker.

The Vandy 5A speakers have a number of features (designed in based on sound engineering principles) that cause them to be easy to set up in wide variety of listening environments and to be able to produce an extremely accurate version of what is on the recorded media. This accuracy can be easily observed in both listening and in the acoustic measurements.

The lack of coloration may be the reason that on first listen many perceive and report the Vandy line as "too layed back". Once they have lived with them for a while, many report on discovering the accuracy and inner detail that is revealed and cherished, and the unwillingness to tolerate any less.

I have owned more than one pair of Vandy speakers and currently own the 5As. In addition, I have worked as an acoustic consultant to install many different high end speakers including multiple 5s and 5As. If your goal is to hear accurately what is on the recording (time/phase/tonality etc.), these speakers are a phenominally good buy for the cost and deserve to be high on your list.