Hey guys. I am planning to purchase a pair of Vandersteen Treo CTs and looking for guidance from current owners about pairing them with my current equipment: 1. Simaudio Moon W-3 Solid State 2. Conrad-Johnson PV-14L Hybrid Pre-Amp 3. Oppo BDP 105D CD/SACD/DVD 4. Kimber 8TC speaker cable 5. Kimber Silver Streak Interconnect 6. Synergistic research interconnect 7. Current Speakers: Vienna Acoustics Mozart (originals) 8. Room dimensions: 14W x 23L x 9H
Once I replace the Mozarts with the Treo CTS, I have a few questions:
1. Will my components be able to drive the Treos? 2. Are these components a match for optimal enjoyment?
I would appreciate any other advice or recommendations you can provide. On a side note, Once I purchase the Treos, my budget is blown, so no upgrades for a while.
My Treo CT’s are amp agnostic, playing well with many amps. I do believe they appreciate a lively amp and my Hegel 160 is a little too gentlemanly, whereas the Job Integrated makes them sparkle. The Pass 30.8 is somewhere between the two and so much more, and my favorite.
Steve: there are a lot of happy Treo and Treo CT owners here, so I expect they will weigh in with a wide range of user experience, system diversity and of course expectations....
call me biased with 3 pairs of Vandersteen including Treo CT. while I don’t listen very loud in a condo, I have heard them with > 100 wpc tube and SS power. I think they will shine with your neutral power amp. love the CJ also :-)
i am running mine on 40 WPC LiL Mule kicker NAIM amp but have also used a MC240. They are very neutral, image quite well even close to back wall and like most Vandersteen reward careful setup. Mine are wired w Kimber 12 TC in an internal biwire.
my reference system includes both the 7 speakers and power amp and I can say I listen to the Treo for many happy hours on end :-)
You should be alright with over 100 watts/channel. They aren't a difficult load for an amp. Though, when funds allow, you might consider Audioquest for cabling.They seem to be a very good match with Vandersteen. Bob
If you are in NYC, contact John Rutan (his Agon name is Audioconnection, also the name of his store). He knows Vandies inside and out, and know just about every manufacturer. I trust his judgement implicitly. Bob
Thanks for the sound advice guys. Tomic, I saw your system and the Treos look phenomenal. I'm leaning toward the zebra wood finish. Any ideas on the additional cost over the regular price?
My set-up is a triangular configuration of: speakers 10 feet apart and listening distance of 10 feet from the center stage. Should work pretty well.
Bob, I appreciate your feedback. My W3 has about 120WPC and should be able to easily drive these babies (at least they will be to me). I did take the opportunity to meet John Rutan at Audio Connections for the Vandersteen discussion. Wow is all I can say about the presentation, sound and commitment to quality that Vandersteen seems to adhere to.
They are definitely the dealer I will be working with. Thanks and keep up the great discussions.
Steve - veneer prices change every day - that will be the driver....the really exotic stuff can double the price of TREO, really exotic... The ambrosia maple I used was I recall about a $500 upcharge. I am sure Johnny R can point you to the veneer vendors website and get you a quote.
I only recently listened to Vandersteen speakers -- spent a day with Johnny R. and he played the whole line for me - Wow! He was super knowledgeable and willing to share his knowledge -- it was a really enjoyable day (for me at least). I'm trying to decide what speakers I will buy (or if I'll keep my current speakers) but Vandersteen Treos are currently the ones to beat at that price point, and no question in my mind that Audio Connection is the place to get them.
You will be very happy with the Treo CT's. I know this has been said many times about Vandersteen, but proper set-up is extremely important. Most notably the back tilt of them. Your choice of equipment looks pretty good. As Bob said you could experiment with Audioquest cables, but after listening to Jim's (tomic601) system with Kimber, you will do just fine with what you have. About the only suggestion I would make is maybe try a CD player that has just a tad warmer sound than the Oppo you have, all though I see nothing seriously wrong with it's sound. I use a Ayre Codex Dac, which makes the overall sound a little less "digital sounding" if that makes any sense to you. Good luck, and enjoy the Vandy journey, you're in for some great sound and fun!
Greetings Tomic. I am leaning towards the Zebra Wood, which is nice and neutral for the room they will reside in. Planning on making the purchase in March.
Spent a few hours with Johnny R at Audio Connection Saturday. After listening to a wide variety of music in various formats, I went all in on the Treo CTs in Zebra wood with the grey covers. Can't wait to make them my own. John answered many questions, was patient and extremely helpful, which I really appreciate.
Thanks to all who offered their advice and guidance. I'll report back on initial thoughts then again after the break-in period. Looking forward to joining the Vandersteen club.
Steve - congrats man!!!!! How cool and fun :-) enjoy the journey and the music!!!! post a photo in the virtual systems area also as I am sure the veneer will be stunning !!!! jim
rsure, The Naim Uniti Atom is a terrific integrated. tomic601 has that amp on his Vandy Treo Ct's. I've been to his place a few times to listen to that system and all I can say is WOW! What a superb sounding set-up! Naim pairs wonderfully with Vandersteen. IMO.
Bob, Yes, the Naim Unity Atom is 40 w/ch. It drives the Treo's with ease. It produced volume louder than I could handle when turned up, burt even at loud levels, it maintained it's clarity.
@ekimg brought his 22 WPC DHT Line Magnetic over and it was also up to the task.....
but yes, the LiL powerhouse NAIM Atom does well driving the TREO CT w just 40 WPC.....listening to Babylon by Bus right now.....groove on.....
this system resides in a condo, so massive eviction level SPL is never my goal....ha. But I am dying to bring my highly modified 40 WPC 1961 MC240 down for winter listening.......
Wow, I am impressed. Mr. V. really knows how to design a speaker. Even my little VLR's kick some serious butt. I can spend hours in my office and never tire of them. I guess my MX-R's and MA-1's are overkill, but after years of budget systems, I really get a kick out of having lots of headroom.😜 Bob
I will see him this eve at Stereo Unlimited- he ran his model 7 for years with the vaunted MXR before creating his own amp. i expect at least a chuckle when I mention even the lowly ( my words ) VLR demand MXR grade power !
Hey guys. I ordered the Vandy Treo CTs in late February and they arrived this week. I now have the Zebra wood matched with the charcoal grey covers. Just beginning the process of the break-in period, but can already hear the sound improving and the detail exhibiting itself. Oh, and I went with the Audioquest Rocket 88 DBS speaker wire for added listening quality
Johnny Rutan from Audio Connection was great to work with. I typically ask a lot of questions and he just took it all in stride. I'll look to up-load photos in virtual systems section.
Updates forthcoming during the break-in period. Thanks for all of your guidance throughout this process.
Greetings from a Treo CT owner. Here is the update I promised. Well, its been a good 3 1/2 months of break-in on the Treos and I could not be happier. The detail is phenomenal, especially when listening to hi-rez Tidal tracks. Although, I still listen to CDs and intend to add analog at soe point.
One of the first things I noticed even out of the box was that I heard details that were not evident in my prior speakers (Vienna Acoustics Mozarts) and the sound-stage in the listening position appears to be floating in the center of the room. I've heard it said that the Treos may need subs to enhance the bass slam. Well for me that is not the case. What I find happening is that the quality of the recording quality and bass content determines what I/we hear. It differs from recording to recording.
Based on my components, I may not have the absolute perfect power to drive these, but I'm still quite pleased with the result.
More to come. Thanks for all of the guidance and happy listening.
My non-CT Treo's seem to have a soundstage starting at the speaker and going to the rear wall behind them. My listening spot is almost in front of the left speaker, but I still get a full soundstage.
I have 5A's...the finish is called Kowazinga....gorgeous. A furniture repairman that was here fixing a scratch in a table said that the finish on the speakers was masterful. Vandersteen gets along very well with Audioquest (the cable used in Richard's speakers) The better the electonics, the better the sound out of the speakers
I'm so sorry that I'm late to the party. lol. Former Treo owner and now Quatro owner. Someone awesome purchased my Cherry Treo's. I LOVED them....Happy with the Quatro's in my set up, but those Treo's are amazing and the CT version is very very special.
I have mine painted Audi Havana Black. If someone can afford the upgrade, man are they worth it. They will paint them any auto color you can think of. I work with wood and have done plenty of veneer work. It's not easy and Vandersteen does as good a job as anyone. Please keep us posted. I too LOVE the Zebra wood as well as String's Kowazinga. I also love Wenge (a bear to work with, but so pretty).
I use the Ayre AX5/20 and used that as well as the AX7e with the Treo's. The special thing about the Tree is that they scale better than anyting I've heard in that price range. Any zero feedback amp will usually sound best as Johnny has told you. Even those Quicksilver amps are crazy good with the AQ cables.
If you can ever afford the Mimas integrated, GO FOR IT!!!! You won't ever look back and you can get the DAC built in. Jim White knows what he's doing. If I was putting a system together from scratch, I'd pair the Treo with the Mimas/DAC. Then I'd get the small Innuos server using Roon and hook that up with any DBS AQ balanced interconnect and a bi wired AQ speaker cable.
That system isn't too much money for all you get and it's crazy musical and fun.
Funny as I just realized I sold my system to Bob and Jim, lol... I love you guys.
Ctsooner isn't kidding about the cabinetry of Vandy speakers, and, I can vouch for his wood working abilities, too.
I just got an Ayre KX-R (non Twenty) and wanted to say how great it sounds. It is replacing an AtmaSphere MP-3 for the time being. I am running it to my Atma MA-1's to my Treo's. Once, I get a feel for the sound, I will switch to the MX-R's for comparison. To my ears, Ayre truly compliments Vandy speakers. And, as Ctsooner said, Zero Feedback amps seem to be a good match. Bob
@stevenyc Hi. Imagine a curtain hung vertically from the ceiling of your listening room down to the floor (like theatre curtains on a stage), at a certain distance from your listening chair. If when it hangs down it just touches the front of your speakers, that would be on the plane of the drivers.
Soundstage. Some speakers project more forward soundstages, and some more laidback. Some soundstages are deep, some quite shallow. Other acoustic factors (beyond the speakers) also enter into this.
Forward: the curtain now marks the front of the soundstage, and it appears to be quite close to you, closer than the front of the speakers.
Laid-back: the curtain appears to be hanging somewhere behind the speaker cabinets.
Deep: soundstage expands all the way to the front wall (front wall=the wall behind the speakers), or even appears to be outside the room, beyond the front wall.
Shallow: etc. etc.
Curtain is not the best analogy because the plane is visually and acoustically transparent, but perhaps that gives you an idea.
Thanks for your clarification. You are correct, the soundstage does seem to hang like a curtain. I tested the premise by sitting in the listening position, then stood up in the same spot and heard the sound with pin-point accuracy. It only changed slightly at either height (standing or sitting position. I love the detail of these speakers and am considering the Aesthetix Mimas integrated (heard it at Audio Connection with the Treos) for the future. Posted a photo of my Treos (in Zebra Wood) in the virtual system forum under Vandersteen. Check them out.
Very cool. Yes, they are amazing speakers. I still love my old Treo's that Bob loves, lol....that Mimas will be killer with it. That or the new 8 series gear by Ayre play so well with that speaker. Johnny will be able to help you for sure. Keep us posted.
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