I'm a biker too. Lots of fun, but as an audiophile you have to use some common sense for protection of your hearing. The expandable 32 db. foam earplugs he talks about are about 95% of his hearing protection. I wear these things for almost eight hours a day at my job. Without them, I wouldn't be a audiophile! |
I just recently purchased a pair of Vandy Treo CT's and in the process of breaking them in. I have about 100 hours on them. Right out of the box with no break in and less than proper set up, they did sound a little hard and harsh in the upper mids. But as I've been getting them broke in and with proper set-up from Richard Vandersteen the sound has improved significantly. Back tilt and toe-in seem to be extremely important to these speakers. With the correct placement and tilt, along with more break in time they are improving each day. I found these speakers not very forgiving toward mediocre recordings. If the recording has a significant amount of upper midrange hash you will hear it with the Treos. These speakers will not hide or sugar coat a poor recording. When the record is of good quality and lacks some of the over processing used now a days, I get some of the best sound I ever heard from my system. I have listened to 3A sigs, but did not like their lack of midrange resolution and dynamics. In fairness to the 3A's, this was a few years back and may not be current production. For reference, I'm using a Rogue Pharaoh integrated hybrid amp. Cambridge 851-C cd player, Well-Tempered Labs Amadeus Mk. II turntable, Soundsmith cartridge. Using MIT speaker cable for now, but my dealer says I should get these out of my system as soon as possible. Room is 15 1/2 feet long, 11 1/2 feet wide, vaulted ceiling with a balance of absorbing and reflecting surfaces. Hope this might be of some help to the OP. Cheers! |
Jafant. Give us some examples. Anyone can make the statement you just made.... |
C'mon guys, this thread is way to much fun to let die. Somebody, any body have something good to say? |
One man's bass is another man's mud....Which is ok, as everyone's taste in music and it's reproduction varies. I feel the Treos mid to upper bass range very tuneful. The bottom octave has just a trace of drama. But then again, I like that too. I would like to listen to my Treos with a couple of Vandy subs, as this would be a natural up grade progression for me. I think that might alleviate some of the bass issues Wlutke talked about. That is if he would be so inclined to check it out. |
Yeah. But he seems like a pretty good guy. Just likes to voice his opinion a little more than others. |
Ct. Do I get any stars for switching to Vandersteen and living in Wisconsin? lol |
I listened to the Quatros and the Treo's with just ONE Vandy sub with the premium filters. Was really surprised at how the Treo/Sub combo sounded better than the Quatro. To my ears anyway. |
This was the Treo CT. version. |
Take my opinion with a grain of salt. The dealer set the Treo CT's and the one 2Wq sub up meticulously. I gave him a few days notice for the demo. He played some incredible music cuts for me. Guess I got caught up in the moment. Even Richard Vandersteen said this was one of his better dealers and said he had a fine ear for different kinds of music. This was in Wisc. I now live in Arizona. I listened to the Quatro Wood Ct's at a Hifi Shop in San Diego. I listened with similar music and while it sounded good, it didn't grab me like the Treo Ct. sub combo did. That store in Wisc. had to my ears what seemed to be almost magical. Some of the best sound I ever heard and I've heard some pretty fine systems over my 45 years as an audiophile. I previously mentioned that I own a pair of Treo Ct's, and couldn't be happier. After listening with a Vandy sub, I really like the way the sound opens up the stage and gives you that incredible sense of space and timbre, something you don't quite hear with the Treo's on their own. This is what the sub does for me, not just giving me a handful of hertz at the bottom end and more dynamics, although I still consider these aspects important to the music as well. In regards to the carbon tweeter, it also helps down into the mid-range where the vocal region resides. I have listened to the standard Treo at length, and the resolution of the carbon tweeter, to my ears, is well worth the extra grand. IMHO. Happy listening to all you new Vandersteen owners out there!
|
Thanks for the compliment hifiman. This wasn't the first time I heard the qualities while using a sub. I heard a pair of Wilsons with their Thor's Hammer sub with similar results. Although I thought the Vandersteen combo actually sounded better for a lot less money! I will check out the online magazine "Copper" at the PS Audio website. thanks for the "heads up" on that. Question for Ctsooner. Do you need the Vandersteen filters for the Quatro Wood Ct like you do for the 2Wq subs???? |
Honeybee2012. I live in Casa Grande. |
Yes. It was Stereo Unlimited. Don't get me wrong, Bruce has one of the finest stores I've seen/heard along with the incredible Vandersteen 7's. Maybe there was something with the Quatro's setup that wasn't quite right. Who knows? I do agree that two subs would be better than one, but now that I'm retired, I will have to be satisfied with one sub, at least for awhile as disposable income is at a bit of a premium for me right now. But I WILL own two in the not so distant future. Bruce thought I could get by with the less expensive X-2 crossovers instead of the premium crossovers with the batteries. He felt there wasn't much difference in the overall sound compared to the cheaper X-2's. Richard Vandersteen says differently....Hmmm....decisions, decisions. |
Hifiman. If they were the right values for my amp, how much would you want for them? |
Hifiman. No, I don't. they showed me the type of meter I have to get to measure this. The guy at Stereo Unlimited said he could help me do this over the phone. I have a Rogue Pharaoh integrated amp. |
Hifiman. That's an excellent price. If I can find out the input impedance of my Rogue soon, I would definitely consider purchase. Thanks! |
Ok guys, I'm no pro or scientist on the laws of physics, but I think we all pretty much agree that multiple pairs of large bass drivers will move significantly more air than small bass drivers. I believe much of what we hear in punchy rock/pop bass doesn't really go that low in frequency. Much of this type of bass is in the 40 to 80Hz range. A low "E" note on an electric bass guitar is approx. 42Hz. That's not extremely low in frequency, but heavily amped into a bank of large bass speakers will shake the rafters at a rock concert. Look at the drummer's kick drum. Most times you will see a microphone inside said kick drum. The heavily amped "thud" of that drum is probably in the 50Hz range even though it feels strong enough to loosen the wax in your ears! It's all about perception. A Speaker like the Treo, properly placed inside say, a medium sized room will give you bass tones down in the low 30Hz range with natural, un-amplified instruments having the "politeness" that Wlutke describes. Simply put it just doesn't move the air in the mid bass that gives rock the slam and boogie that Wlutke likes even though the Treo is quite capable of going quite low in frequency. He is willing to give up some of that resolution for the impact and slam the 3A Sigs give him. I understand this because when I got into this hobby back in the early 70's, strong punchy bass on rock/pop is what attracted me. Another "one box" speaker solution for Wlutke might be Legacy. They use multiple 10" to 15" bass drivers in a single cabinet. They also have outstanding resolution with the kind of air moving capabilities you crave. I have owned several pairs of them over 20+ years before I bought Vandersteen. Once again, and always, this is just my humble opinion.
|
I am sincerely happy, wlutke, that you found what you were looking for! Congrats!!!! |
I could settle this with a third opinion. I will go to a place in Az. that carries Acoustic Zen and listen to the Crescendo's myself! Will report back to you guys when I get a chance to do this.....Should be interesting. |
Don't take what I said too seriously, just trying to lighten up a somewhat tense thread. Goes to show how "passionate" we all can be about our hobby.... |
carmenc. As you said, Different strokes for different folks. I don't like the sound of Tannoy. |
Ct. You said Treo Ct's with subs gives you about 90% of the Quattro's. I think its more like 94.67892%....... |
