Von Schweikert VR4 SR IV

If you're looking for a speaker that can re-create a live music venue, and want a speaker that does all facets of the game well at a reasonable price, then the Von Schweikert VR-4 SR is for you.

The VR-4 SR is indeed an excellent speaker. However, I'm not aware of any live music venue that does not project the sound through horn speakers.

The fact that some horn speakers cost more than the VR4 SR--and many don't--has nothing to do with the point that to even remotely sound like a live venue, one would have to be listening to a system that uses horn speakers. Because live music venues, from nightclub to the symphony hall, employ them. I'm not suggesting they're better, worth the price, or whatever. I am, however, disputing the often heard claim that "it sounds like live music" when the stock ingredient (horn speakers) is missing from the equation.

Horn speakers only do dynamics better, what about ambiance, sound quaility, frequency response, etc., etc., live music has a lot of facets.

True enough, a lot of facets to live music. And every one of them being passed through a horn speaker. You want it to sound like a live venue? You have to start with the type of speakers being used in live venues. That's ALL I was saying. A box speaker is not a horn speaker, a CDP is not a turntable, and SS is not tube...despite the often-written, enthusiastic attempts to morph the very nature of the component.

Assuming there is sound reinforcement involved.

If any speaker in an audio system sounds like unamplified music, I'll be first in line to buy it. Though I presume I'd have to jettison the amp as well, right?

True enough, Drubin. Here, I think I got hung up on a point and micro-churned it. Gotta cut back on my coffee intake. :-)

It's funny that nearly five months after initiating this thread, the author has never responded to any of the feedback.