VR-1 or Onix Reference 1??


Hello,

Im wondering how all you folks would compare these two
speakers as far as build quality and sound characterictics?

Which speaker would be considered the best for all types of
music and the most acurate and smooth?

Id like to hear the owners of these speakers thoughts!
campton
Yo Mikey! What happened to the Dynaudio Focus 110's? Can't believe you would have sold those in favor of the Ref1's!!!

The VR-1's I do like and prefer over the Ref1's. Both have great build qualities and finish is outstanding.

It sounds like you are dissatisfied with the $1500 and below market speakers as you have changed your mind a couple of times now. Why not step up to the $2K+ range? There are several outstanding in that category I would recommend....PSB Platinum M2, Dynaudio Focus 140, Revel M22, Paradigm Sig S2.

Give me a shout and we can discuss. ;-)
I own a pair of VR-1's. They best a lot of stuf costing $1,500 and less. In some ways they even best my "beter" (more expensive) stereo. If you are looking for a good bookshelf speaker for less than $1,500 you can't go wrong with the VR-1.

Good luck!
I was looking to move up from the Epos ELS-3 and listened to the Onix Ref 1 in a friend's system. I wanted to get away from the slight harshness of the Epos tweeter, especially at low volumes. The Onix was only a marginal improvement, especially surprising given the well respected Vifa tweeter and that my friend was running it with an Onix SP-3. It was better than the Epos, especially at the low end, but not enough better to really impress me.

After some more research and finding a great deal here on Audiogon, I got a pair of VR-1s. Way smoother than the Onix without giving up any detail, even with my old Hafler amp. Bass is slightly better with the VR-1, although the Onix is pretty good there. VR-1 wins hands down on build quality; I have the dark cherry and they're gorgeous plus very solid.

When my wife and I are together listening we do a lot of low level jazz and singer/songwriter stuff, and the detail and soundstaging are terrific. When she's away I crank my prog rock and 80's euro-synth and the VR-1s acquit themselves very well, up the the limits of my Monarchy SM-70 Pro. We're moving soon and if I have a bigger listening room in Oregon I'll buy a second Monarchy. The VR-1s are pretty efficient but can take plenty of juice if you want.

Bottom line, I thought the Onix was good but that the VR-1 is great.
I would be very circumspect about believing a post on the Onix website which purports to place the Onix above the VR-1. The post tries to be balanced and fair, but after all it is posted on the company's website. If the poster felt that the VR-1 was better, it would not have been posted there, but perhaps on an independent site. Let your ears be the judge. Primus Audio in Kansas City let me have a trial in my home of the VR-1s. If you could arrange for this and a trial of the Onix in your own home, the decision would be much more easily made, and with less second-guessing.
check out this thread discussing both speakers.
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=842&highlight=vr1
i would pick the ref1 over the vr-1.
I did not audition the Onix, but did the VR-1. I could have sent it back, but I really love this speaker! No doubt that Onix makes high quality equipment, but so does Von Schweikert. Other equipment: Creek 5350SE, Njoe Tjoeb 4000 with upsampler, home made cables, REL Q108 sub. I added the sub later for frequencies below 45Hz. Listening tastes: jazz, classical, folk and some rock. Search posts hear for other opinions as well.