Von Schweikert VR4JR & Tube Amp???

Permit me to chime in here thuogh all may be settled at this time... I've a pair of the JR's. All BAT gear, vk5i, and vk500. I currently love the sound I'm getting though I've still a ways to go... acousticaly speaking, myself.

#1 thing I did to improve things along the lines of bass and overall sound was repositioning the speakers.. for the umpteenth time... my carpet looks like a shooting range if you get close to it... John at Cardass told me the following: and it coincides withthe info posted at their website... Draw a rectangle (with some masking tape or the like), one of two ways... either 5 feet from the side walls, and eight feet from the rear wall, or three feet from the side walls, and five feet from the rear walls. #2 Then strike the diagonal from the corner of the room to the corner of the rectangle. Setting the JR'S along that line with the bass driver dead center on it and parallel to the other speaker. Big, Big, help. that procedure addresses 'two' room nodes. My speakers were off a just a couple inches from that diagonal line to begin with... Far better now! Far better. Though not only do they need to be right on that line... but 'EXACTLY' the same distnace from the rear wall... remember, '..time and phase, coherent." My room is only 13.75 ft. wide. (the units are 7.5 ft. apart with no toe in)... and could possibly move further into the room but as they do they get closer together... so only a few more inches perhaps... The above sure helped me and agian I was only about 2 inches away or so... It all got more coherent, and more resolution in the bass, gaining quality to the notes with more discernability... way more differeniation and way less boomyness and one note sounds with smoe bass notes almost non existent... It ain't the 'fix all' but it is/was immense ehlp.. and I haven't loaded them with shot or dacron either. Just spiked with oversized spikes, and home made biwires/shotgun cables. replacing the spkr. cables is probably next on the list... so what was said about the Kimber's & AQ is good to know... Good luck.

Rob, and merril,

The Best sound I've heard in a number of years came as recently as two years ago or less... with the Jr'S DRIVEN by Thor TA1000 mkII, and 30 wpc mono blocks... new tag = 19K. ...but 30 wpc! I didn't rail the volume though. average to above average levels.. Everything was there... though the bottom end could have been tighter a bit... no shot in them according to the dealer. Also, i think he was using a Chang Light speed unit too.... can't say for sure but likely. Sweet a sound as I've yet to hear in reproduced music. Organic, natural,solid, and full. No abbberations, top to bottom. Au24 wire too, as he was big on that then. 30 watts. Amazing. and not the most efficient speaker either. Wow.

Merril...
the diagnol extends from the corner of the room behind the speakers to the corner of the rectangle closer to the center of the room... sorry I was obtuse. Stand in the corner behind the unit with your back to the 'rear' wall and one shoulder against the side wall... step off eight feet, (five in a small room), then turn towrads the center of the room, or the opposite side wall, or jsut the other speaker... and step off five feet, (three in a smaller room), at that point look back to where you began.... that's the diagonal line to which the units are placed on... just centering the bass onto the line.. keeping the units parrallel to each other.. and the adjacent walls, both rear and sides... will eliminate or almost eliminate two of the three room nodes... (whether in fact this is an absolute or not, I can't say...), and it is a tremendous step in the right direction. As others posted, room treatments are necessary all the time.. though often dismissed... as it's just so murky a deal. IMO. Wher to hang what? How much? etc... Almost need an alchemist... or seance. Shot, and isolation are my next or actually, a curent process for me... a very slow process.. Likely it'll be curtains and foam diffusers behind the curtains... but I thinhk I'm also gonna close off the two halways, and replace the dry wall with 5/8 inch instead of the thin junk I got now...adding some center braces offset between the 16" OC STUDS, ALONG THE WAY.... gOOD LUCK...

OH, AND TOE IN imo IS A PREFFERENCE THING.. ONCE THEY'RE IN PLACE LITTLE IS NEEDED... ALTHOUGH i HAVE HAD AS MUCH AS 5.5 INCHES AT ONE POINT... NOT NOW THOUGH.

Rob321,
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I've a similar idea in that I would like to add a tube amp, just one time on top to find out aobut it... I spoke with Albert V a few months ago on the phone... he did most of the talking... I was having some difficulty with setup and such... there were some issues which i'll not go into here, but on the whole he made mention of some of his experiences in the speaker line he has and bi amping them... He singled out a combo that in his opinion was as good, or the best, (can't reember which), he said he had ever heard.... BAT VK60 & VK500, with BAT vk5 driving them... well, I'm by chance, two thirds there... I would however rather a 100 wpc doing the work up top, balanced, naturally... but that's just me... gotta juice up these babies as their efficiency ain't too great... were it say, 90, or so... perhaps a mite less would suffice. IMO. ...we'll see what the New Year holds for me. Though this coming year I've plans to do treatments, speaker cables, and finalize the iso tweaking I'm into now...

So just where did you manage those wall treatments from, apart from India? Someone had told me about 'sound board' at Home depot... the threads here led me to another notion of using the Owens Corning insulation in a DIY deally. Did some research, and then decided to avoid the DIY part, as I think my lack of decent vision might get me in a bit of trouble working with insulation materials first hand... Also, in the process of doing the research, I found a spot online, called Guilford of Maine..(http://www.guilfordofmaine.com/).

These folks make a cloth covering that many speaker makers use for their grills... as transparent as you'll find, according to a couple 'Acoustic engineers I spoke with about the country. Patterns, colors, prints, etc, are all available. I figured to cover whatever 'treatment' went up on the wall with something from them.... no clue what, just something other than the limited choices most panels come in... perhaps you might want to check them out. Another spot that has much in the way of 'audio' stuff and room treatments is Parts express..(http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=215), several makers of other peripherals I have spoken with use these folks regularly. Plenty of links about info surrounding the products they sell including 'types, how to's, associated items, etc.

I would like to know about the rear wall & first reflection treatments you found and how much diff they made for you, if you'd not mind of course.

Pardales...
Geoff Poor of BAT had originally recommended the 55 to me as a bi-amp option... One at first, add one later on…so actually two VK55... and run them bridged to 110 wpc. "Well, sure thing, Geoff!" If I had Geoff's money I'd throw mine away... but he's a great guy and has provided me a lot of good insights along the way... and by the by, their head of sales... go figure... Having heard the JR's with less power, though not at high volume levels, "Drive them?" Sure. Drive them at high levels I'd think so but can't testify to it. With 87db efficiency the JR's, as many others with that level of efficiency, can be hungry for power to develop signals in the upper ranges of the volume happy end of things..and provide a vibrant, and dynamic presentation that will approach a live recreation.

I too listen 90% of the time to levels that allow conversation, or slightly above.... BUT there are those time... and the only thing that controls the volume is my fear of damaging the JR's... as I have sufficient power with the vk500, to get them up there. Another thread here about tube power v. solid state power, addresses that question in general. For I posed the same Q, with some great insights... I've talked with folks that are running N802's with 60 wpc tube amps... heard the JR's on 30 wpc... so it will work... Albert V. designed the JR's with the notion to get the very best sound out of them with bi-amping in mind... but not the rule, and solely optional. Personally, I am thinking to add a vk60, or vk75 up there, and they ain't but 5 to 15 wpc larger in current development than the VK55. Remember the top end of the JR’s is an 8 ohm load... the bottom is 4. that's where Albert gets the 6 ohm overall. He also intended them to be at least bi-wired.

I'd think there are plenty of tube amps driving the JR's...and am curious why more haven't contributed in this particular thread to that extent, indicating their current or past matchups with various amps & the JR’S…. some of the reviews on the JR’s did exactly that…. Good luck!