Vandy 5s vs Wilson W/P 6s

I have had the Vandy 5s for 2 years. I bought them from a dealer who also sells Wilson. I'm there frequently and have spent long periods of time listening to the W/P6s, with virtually the same electronics as I have at home.

Personally, I prefer the Vandys by a wide margin. They are very cable dependent, but I have found that the perform extremely well with Stealth cables. It is really important that they are bi-wired with the same cable top and bottom.

The 5s are anything but boring. I can listen to them for hours on end and they are so involving that even after long periods of listening I have difficulty pulling myself away.

The Wilsons sound more detailed, but in my book that doesn't mean they more accurately reproduce the musical experience than the Vandys.

In the end, it is really a matter of personal choice. However, I believe the price difference between the Vandys and the Wilson is better spent of better equipment or cables.

Khrys - My experience with the Cardas Golden Reference on the Vandy 5s was similar to yours. My experience with Goertz was similar to your experience with the Nordost. The Stealths are not a happy medium, but truly transcend both the Cardas and Goertz. They are extremely open and dynamic, while at the same time refined and detailed. They kick ass when needed, but are gentle as a lamb when appropriate. They are the only cables I have used on the Vandy 5s which simply do everything, without any detectible limitations. They really allow the Vandys to demonstrate what they are capable of. I personally would not even dream of trading my Vandy 5s for Watt Puppy 6s. I am sure there are other speakers which I have not heard which duplicate or exceed the Vandys ability to so ably capture the magic of music, but I will be that the price of those speakers are multiples of the Vandys price.

Just for point of clarification, I am using the Stealth Ultimate Ribbon speaker cables. I don't think they come in biwire configuration, so I am using two pair. My Rowland Model 12s have two pair of speaker terminals so that works out well. My interconnects are all Stealth PGS gold cables.

Also, if you are using the internally biwired Golden Reference, the bass portion is different than the upper cable. In my experience, this is a real no,no. Because of the Vandy's gentle slope crossover, there is a fair amount of upper signal that goes into the subwoofers and vice versa. Therefore, it is really important than the cables used for top and bottom be the same. Also, from everything I've read, internally biwired cable configuration defeats much of the purpose of biwiring.

Good luck in your decision, but I would hate to see you trade the Vandys for the Wilsons without first trying the Stealth cables. Stealth offers a 30 day trial, so you have nothing to loose, and even at full retail price the cost of Stealth cables on your Vandy 5s will probably be far less than the cost of trading over (or down) to the Wilsons.