Vandersteen's new affordable mono blocks at the CES 18

Sorry I missed contributing to this thread since my post way back in January of 2018, when I first started running the M7-HPA amp. I have a thousand ish hours on them now and absolutely LOVE them. Zero issues, musical from day one, certainty no harsh midrange or treble and in fact I have been pushing speakers out into room and creeping a bit closer to side walls w no I’ll effect. In conversation w Richard he and Dean set some very ambitious goals for the smaller and much more affordable M5 amps. I believe they attained them. I can’t comment about 5a carbon driven by Pass other than to say I have deep respect for Nelson, his gear is always rugged and top notch. I still have a 400 A :-)
as to Quatros driven by a REF110, I have heard that and the M5 certainly should better it, a more direct comparison might be the REF150 se, Magic midrange like the 5
finally in filters, those of you using outboard high pass consider the model 7 high pass, better caps, more DBS juice and a non resonant case with WEL pigtails... I ran those w model 5a before getting the 7’s
have fun
enjoy the music

Bob, I'm so happy that you love them.  I was worried as I always am when selling.  I will tell you that you will ike them better than the non 20 version of your amps.  The 20 upgrades were that large IMHO.  Everyone I have spoken with who had auditioned the new amps put them up against 30k amps. 

@blaven2, 
Welcome to Audiogon!
And, thanks for posting your impressions about the Vandy amps.
Ctsooner, and I are Vandy champions. (I bought his Treo's and think it was one of my better purchases).

I would be interested in comparing the Ayre MX-R's with the Vandersteen M5. I own the former and think they really are quite amazing with my Treo's-Though I just paired them with an Ayre KX-R and was so impressed as it smoked my Atma-Sphere MP-3. Now I have Ralph building an MP-1 for me.
I know, I need help🥴.
Bob

I trialed them at home with my Quattro CT’s and they seemed to be a big step up from my ARC Ref 110. I used them with an ARC Ref 6 Pre. They were way more dynamic than the Ref 110s and to me seemed pretty neutral on a wide variety of musical genres and sources (vinyl vs digital). They were definitely more detailed than the REF 110 which I liked. I want them and am saving. 
Curious if they will ever be reviewed alone on their own merit, or as a part of Vandy speaker review. With the new model 5 replacement coming out I suspect they might be reviewed together. I always like to compare others opinions to my own. 

I personally find the Pass amps a bit warm.  Again, that's my ear as well as a few I listen with.  That's great on so many high end speakers as many are tipped up on top and or forward in the midrange.  

The amps are made for the speakers and are a perfect match for what Richards wants them to sound like.  If I was in your situation, I'd have to give them a listen.  I am saving for a pair if I get them home and love them.  I have the Ayre AX5/20 right now and moving to separates adds a lot more to my system in cost and new cables etc..., so I can't just make that move.

I had Ayre build my crossover into the preamp.  I know they used the highest of end components (with silver leads not stainless like most use) and I love it.  I assume Richard made that crossover to be as seamless as the one's he uses in the 7's or maybe even better, but you'd have to listen in your own system to really know. 

I spoke a little while ago with a friend who Is intimately familiar with all the Vandy products and likes the amps better than the reference amps that they are normally shown with.  He said that they have even more micro and macro detail than the other electronics he often uses in his systems.  I texted about the crossover and he said that may be a reason he loves them, but he says he sits and listens even longer than normal.  not sure if that helps or not.  

Another question is how much better the M5-HPA’s internal high pass circuitry is over the external crossovers. I have set of late model balanced with fresh batteries.

I’m running my 5A Carbons with a set of Pass XA 60.8s and a Pass XP-22. The latter is quite neutral, I think, and certainly the best preamp I’ve heard. The amps are very good or great, I’m not sure. I suppose it depends on the setup. One thing I’m not looking for is more warmth, as I think I have a tad too much of that, especially in my smallish room. I would kill for a way to directly tame the midrange on the speaker. I do have an excellent solution on my digital chain, because I have a Roon setup, with some curves that drop the midrange at the crossover points by 1,2, or 3 dB, depending on my preference. But that leaves my analog setup at the mercy of my cartridge loading, which is imprecise. The bottom line is that I feel strongly that the 5As needs lots of room width and height to breathe. Their more revealing midrange over the Quatro CTs is both good and bad, again depending on the recording. So, with all that said, if there’s a chance that my amps aren’t quite the right match, then I want to check out the M5-HPA’s, 

Ok, I have a moment. I have not had enough time to listen vs other amps.  I do know that those who have auditioned them love them.  They are voiced for the speaker.  It's Richards way of basically making a fully active system.  Teh amp itself sounds great running full speed on other speakers.  I know of a few folks who like them better than many of the 25k plus amps on their 5's and Quatro's and they auditioned most of the contenders which are awesome amps that I'd die to own.  

They will not sound 'fast' or 'highly detailed' like many amps do.  Not saying they aren't these things, but they are on the slightly warmer side of the equation compared to some amps that folks feel are 'high end' amps.  I like a bit of meat on the bones personally.  

My personal thought is that there are plenty of great amps on the market.  Your pre is going to be HUGE in the equation.  That's probably more important than the amp is.  I am hoping to hear the KXR pre amp with a pair of Richards amps as I bet that would be a killer set up. I know they play GREAT with the AR preamps (which I also love) as well as Aesthtix's preamps (a true Best Buy in high end audio for MY money).

I have spoken to a few dealers who sell them and feel they are an outstanding value for a true high end set of mono's.  Richard is a serious designer and the person he brought in with him to collaborate with him is the same one who helped with his big amps.  Those amps, for my money, are KILLER amps in their own right.

I'm hoping to get a longer audition.  Do you have the 5CT's? What are you running now?

Thanks for asking.  No time to answer right now, but I will in a few.  

I’m interested in anyone’s long term opinions of running the Vandersteen M5-HPA’s with the 5A Carbons, especially, or the other high passed models. Are they significantly better in this application than any other amplifier, tube or solid state?

great music choice!!!  Thanks for sharing thoughts on your amps.  They really are special. I owned PSE for a spell, but needed to make a change adn the money was right, lol. I didn't realize Dean's masterful pedigree.  I can't wait to get a pair in my room to listen to them.  Smart move on their part to also have a 20hz crossover so that it's basically a full range amp that anyone can use since hardly any speakers go lower than 20hz and if your's do, I"m sure that you will be using amps at 30k or more most of the time.

I like the look too.  

the new amps are factually $15 K the pair, the CES flyer will say preliminary pricing but if any of you have ever built anything of substance with hundreds of parts and a complicated supply chain that should be understandable. I have not heard them yet but I have spent the last three very enjoyable days and evenings ( very late sleep deprived listen all night kind of evenings) listening to his M7-HPA in my system. They replaced a no slouch Ayre VX-R Twenty.....

i will write a detailed review at some point but so far on no parameter would I go back to the Ayre.

on the point of amplifier chops. Dean is the man behind PSE which were giant killers, try to find one - people dont sell them for a reason. i think RV’s unique speaker and amp designer experience ( where do you think all the feed forward, power factor corrected sub amps came from ? ) drove some very unique engineering solutions into the M7: liquid cooling, no emiter R, cyclotronic SS topology, tube front end, built in power conditioning, DBS and HRS isolation....the list goes on

ya i am biased...

but wow am i happy listening...

now back to The Wayfaring Strangers - Shifting Sands of Time....sounds like microphone feeds off my high speed Revox

I'm guessing in the 15k range.  I know how Richard designs and he took 30k amps and made one that he and the other designer felt was better.  He's been working on this one for a while now.  I have spoken to someone who's heard these and said they are a game changer for the price range they are in.  

I'm currently using the Ayre AX5/20 integrated and I like it a ton. I got it over most of the 15k amps out there as I was also willing to get a used Audio Research or Aesthetix preamp to go with it.  For me, the difference in SQ wasn't worth it, so I went with the Ayre.  I have a feeling that this one will be for me as I know and trust the person who shared with me. 

I personally may share reviews on forums, but I never audition based on them. The are just fun to read.  There are only a handful of folks who I know and trust who review, but that's me.  I get out and audition a ton, so I have a great idea how they will sound to my ear, compared to teh competition.  

BTW, Richard is a great designer. Just because he has designed only speakers up to now, don't think he can't design great electronics.  He even brought in another designer to help out.  He's packed a lot into these amps.  I'm pretty stoked to get to hear them once he gets teh full production models out.

Agree that price is a big open question here. When JA reviewed the 7HPAs, he pined for a version with broader applicability....let’s see what he says when he gets his hands on these.

Also, the nitty gritty of the 7HPAs (and I assume the 5HPAs too) was deigned by Dean Klinefelter, who's no schlub.   I think RV set the design parameters and DK implemented.

Judging from what I heard of the 7HPA, I think that these should be excellent amplifiers.  But I would suggest you title your post "more" affordable--the price hasn't been set and even if they are half or even a quarter of the price of the 7HPAs they still will be very expensive. 

I got that same e-mail this morning. Very interesting, but I doubt I’ll bite. One thing not mentioned, how much will they cost? If they are under $10K they may be competitive, but more than that they would have to be pretty impressive. I’ve got a PS Audio BHK 250 which works quite well with Model 5s, but I do have to use the crossover boxes. The BHK amps are pretty damn good, were designed by a legend in electronic design, and is said to be his best work to date. All that for $7.5K. Richard is a legend in speaker design, but electronics? Not knocking Richard, just saying there is some tough competition. Vandersteen also states that the M5-HP amps are aimed at a much larger market than the M7-HP amps which are really just for the Model seven speakers. The M5-HP was almost certainly designed with Model 5, Quatro and Treo in mind, but not specifically for them. I’ll wait for the reviews (if I am still reading audio mags then) to see what they have to say (most likely a gushing review).