Vivid Audio Speakers

I will preface this by saying I am a Vivid dealer who also sells Wilson Benesch and I make my own speakers from fiberglass and carbon fiber sandwich panels.

Because of the cabinet design materials and design, they are incredibly revealing.  It makes a huge difference.  That being said, amp matching really matters.  
The Kayas vs Giyas (Oval Decades are sold out) are different.  The Kayas are a bit warmer and less revealing than the Giyas.  Yes, I did a side by side of them.

They don’t need to be bright or metallic sounding.  You just need to use the right amp.  I have a customer running MSB amplification and it is jaw droppingly good.  AVM Ovation 6.3/8.3 amps are brilliant.  
It’s a combination of power and neutral/warm sound to be at the very best.  
I listen to a pair of Kaya 45s frequently.  Placement is incredibly easy and the only way I will get rid of them is to get a pair of G4’s.  I am driving them with an AVM A5.2 and they are awesome and natural.

They are not going to give you the sweetness and coloration of a paper cone.  If you really want that, then you should probably look at Kaiser.  Though they are very hard to place.  
Incidentally, since I design my own speakers using similar tech, I have a pretty good understanding how/why it works and am a big believer in it.

Vivid and WB are different.  Borg are amazing but distinctly different sound profiles tonally.  Vivid drifts a bit brighter than WB.  It is usually a tougher load to drive in terms of impedance and the bass is stunningly good, as good as most other speakers in it’s class (Magico, Wilson, etc…) but is not quite as tight and refined as WB.  They use driver in opposition with multiple ports and this is clean and very clear.    It is obviously a transmission line design made from fiberglass and Kaya & Giya use different cores.  The drivers are selected and all made from the same material to ensure tonal integration.  They have a relatively complex crossover.  Additionally, criticism of Vivids internals is sort of like saying “you will love that Tesla, just don’t look under the hood at the engine”. The materials they are using don’t work like MDF and can’t be compared to a wood box.  
 

WB is more neutral tonally.  They are hybrid cabinets made of metal and carbon fiber.  The drivers are all carbon fiber or carbon fiber hybrid.  WB uses an isobaric bass system which is incredibly refined.  Some people do not like this because it does not kick you in the chest the way other speakers do but frequency response on my Discover IIIzs was jaw dropping at AXPONA and most people were asking where the subwoofer was. Crossover is insanely simple and WB is a very easy load, typically above 4 ohms.  
 

Technologically, this is the bleeding edge IMO.  WB received huge grants from UK government which helps.  Laurence Dickie is a genius keeping Vivid competitive.
 

they both sound massive in terms of soundstage with incredible levels of detail.  Placement is easier than expected with both.    I like both companies equally in terms of outcome.  System matching and aesthetics are what drive choice to me.  
 

If your preference is warmer SS amplification, (Bricasti, Pass, etc…), Vivid will be perfect.  If you like tubes or less warm SS (I ran Discovery IIIs at AXPONA with 55w triode amps), WB is a better choice.  

@daveyf You are certainly welcome to disagree.  You are stating that they are low tech because you looked inside and I assume did not see the bracing you expect when looking at an expensive speaker made from wood.  And, when you remove the crossover and/or drivers, they are quite lightweight relatively speaking.  

The materials Vivid makes their cabinets out of don't behave like other common materials (MDF, Baltic Birch, etc...)  that are used in speaker production.  The combination of the shape and the materials (fiberglass composites) make them behave very differently.  They are largely hollow though the Nautilus portion of the top of the Giya does have bracing.  

The materials they use are commonly used in the transportation broadly but aerospace industry especially due to the extraordinary strength to weight ratio that they deliver.  That, combined with the circular shape leads to exceptional strength and rigidity.  They also state that they heavy up on the composite in certain parts of the speaker where added strength is required.  These are low mass designs which is very different than almost all manufacturers in the marketplace.  

Let's also remember that these are transmission line designs to clear airflow is essential.  

I use very similar materials in the production of my Nightshade speaker which is fiberglass over a DuPont Nomex core.  My other speaker carbon fiber over a Nomex core which is similar to the panels used in the Wilson Benesch.  Mine are prefabricated and flat, thus my cabinets are rectangular.  This keeps costs down as it allows me to avoid expensive molds that Vivid and WB utilize.  It also means my performance is not quite as exceptional.  

Due to the high cost and difficulty of working with the materials, I use an aerospace company to make my cabinets whose primary business is the interior of private planes and helicopters.  

My opinion is that using these more advanced composites that are allowing for them to deviate from traditional designs is pretty high tech relatively speaking.  As I said, feel free to disagree, but IMO, this is one of the truly unique and tech forward designs in the marketplace.  

I haven't seen this thread with the other customer having an issue and can't speak about the process followed.  Normally, your first line of engagement with any issue should be your dealer.  If you contacted your dealer and received poor support, well...it is Vivids fault I suppose for working with a poor dealer.  

As a Vivid dealer, I will say that they were incredibly responsive.  I had a customer who called me to tell me that they "blew a driver" in their Oval B1 Decades because there was a distinct rattle.  

Laurence Dickey directly offered me advice on how to evaluate the speaker on site and to see how we could get this resolved.  As it turns out, the driver was fine.  There was a panel a few feet away that was vibrating and the reflection of the sound made it seem like it was coming from the back of the Vivids.  

If you have purchased them used, you would need to go straight to Vivid.  But, even then, I directly supported a repair on a used pair of speakers handling the financial transaction which was brought to me by my rep.  

The only thing I see as an issue with these speakers is that the drivers are incredibly delicate and are easy to damage during setup or re-packing.  I have not had an actual issue with speaker I have sold.