Vienna Acoustics "Mahler"

I purchased the VA Mahler several months ago and found it to be an outstanding speaker for anykind of music. I listen to rock, jazz, classical etc. and have found them to perform well with all. I feel the midrange and treble reproduction is as good as you could possibly want. Vocals sound as real as possible with the soundstage being very wide and deep. There is much air around instruments giving each sound within the stage a much better image. The lower octaves perform very well. I would think that you would need a subwoofer or at least much larger speaker to outperform the lower octaves. The quality of the lower octaves will be dependent upon the room and placement. As mentioned in one of the previous postings you need a mid to large size room for these to perform their best. I have my front woofers 40" from the rear wall and the speakers are about 4' from the side walls. With this positioning the bass in my system is very deep and tight. As you can tell I am a satisfied owner of these speakers. I am sure that there are better speakers but I have yet to hear them.

My system:

Sonic Frontiers SFT1 Transport
Sonic Frontiers SFD2MKII DAC
Marigo Signature 5.1 digital cable
VPI HW19 Mk IV turntable with Kusma Stogi reference arm
Audio Research PH3 Phono stage
Audible Illuisons LI line stage
Byston 7B ST monoblocks
Wireworld gold eclipse III interconects and speaker wire

Regarding side firing woofers. As usual, it is not the design but the implementation of the design. Several fine speakers manufacturers opt for it, including the highly regarded Audio Physic Virgo, and from the slam of the NHT 3.3 to the balanced perfection (ok, I'm biased, I own a pair) of the Coincident Super Eclipse, to the gentler side of the Mahlers. If you can't tell, I'm a fan of this design, and have heard so many different "sounds" from speakers using it (just compare the Virgos to the 3.3s) that I am convinced that done properly it is as viable as any other box design, properly executed.

Regarding the Mahlers. I heard them about a year ago, but not under ideal circumstances. The dealer had just received a pair a few days before I arrived, and I was on a business trip so I could not stay to wait for proper break in. From what I heard though, I would definitely like to re-listen. My impression (similar to the reviews I have read), limited though it is, is that it seems to be more suited to legit music, but very promising even under early conditions. I second the opinion that they are worthy of a drive to a dealer.

The Aeriel 7B's sound similar, but are way better IMO, and unless I am mistaken, are less expensive. I would say that the Vienna's might be nice for Classical music, but are not versatile enough. If you do get them you can still be sure of having the pride in ownership of a fine speaker, but try to check out the Aeriels if you can. Also, if you have home theater in mind the Aeriels blow the doors off the V. Acoustics, and are certainly a contender for the "as good as it gets" category.

I have heard these speakers in a two channel set-up. I'm not an advocate of side firing speakers, but these speakers sound very good. They offer a huge soundstage with lots of depth. I expect you would need a fairly large room as they need to kept off the rear (ported) and side walls. They are very musical. If you have a local dealer, take the drive and listen to them.
The other components; Plinius SA-250, Plinius CD-LAD, Linn Ikemi CD Player, and Van Den Hul D-102 MkIII interconnects and CS-122 speaker cables.