Von Schweikert VR-4,Jr.

Of course, I was able to play some of my own selections and that's how I realized that there were tricky room modes at work. On some cuts, they reinforced the bass to a wondrously impressive degree but, on a few, it was overblown and indistinct.

That said, I do not hold that against the speakers (which I did like) but offer it as an observation that there is more going in most demos than the performance of the components.

Now, Kal--admittedly they did allow open requests from 4-6 each day. Would be great if you could chime in here, if you were able to do so.

I was stuck in video heaven, and never made it back upstairs!

I am using the Spectron Musician II to power the speakers with very good results.

"It seemed to me as if they were trying to take advantage of the audience."

What? I am shocked, shocked!

Kal (who agrees to the extent that they chose favorable recordings for the system and room which, of course, does not distinguish their efforts from those of others)

Of all the rooms at HE2004, I thought the VR/VAC demo was the most contrived.

In some areas, it sounded good, but the very short blasts of having you hear exactly what they wanted you to hear made me wonder what the speakers really sounded like. It seemed to me as if they were trying to take advantage of the audience.

Saki70, the VR-4JRs were powered by the $19K VAC integrated amp with a substantial outboard power supply, Aero Caitole transport, Electrocompaniet DAC and impressive cabling.

I agree that the performance based on snippets of various recordings, was very good with $30K of electronics delivering the signal. It would be interesting to audition the JRs with electronics more in line with the cost of the speakers, which appear to be an excellent value plus very attractive.

Jet

I was just at the HE show in New York and it was great to meet Albert,Brian & Kevin and for us to match the voices to the faces.

The longest lines for demonstrations were at the Von Schweikert room on the 7th floor.2nd longest line I noticest (and not nearly as long)was at the Cinepro home theatre room.A vac amp/preamp was used and an exotic transport(do not recall)An electrocompaniet ecd-1 dac was also used.I purchased that dac by speaking to Kevin a few months ago about gear they are excited about.

The sound was holographic, detailed, natural,dynamic and bass was tight,deep and detailed.I own Vr-4 SE's for about 3 months now and am delighted with all that they do.

Had I had a chance to compare the JR's with the SE's it possibly would have been a tough choice which speaker to choose.The VR-4SE's edge is there and not by a big margin.

The JR's with their finished cabinets and smaller size,1/3 less cost,tunability and incredible sound are in a class of their own at their price point.At least IMO.

What ss amps work well with these speakers ?
What one was used at the show ?

I purchased these speakers before the show and was initially underwhelmed. I have allowed them to break-in probably about 50 hrs. I did attend the show and do agree that they sounded great. I can tell you that since they have broken in some, that their sound in my room is now awesome. I do not have any room treatments and have not even insert the spiked feet and feel that my sound is close to the demo room. My wife even noticed the difference. Break-in period is 200 hours so I can't wait. These are definitely great speakers.

I thought they sounded spectacular but there were some very friendly room modes at work with many of the cuts. This is not a criticism of the speaker, just an observation about the demo conditions.

Yeah, I've been at this for 25 years and these may be the best smaller room speakers I've heard for conventional cones and magnets.

Jeff