VR-4jr or Gallo Nucleus Reference 3

I've heard the VR-4jr. They are truly giant killers. I'm usually one to nit pick what a speaker does right and wrong--including my own reference speakers which are far more expensive. However, the VR-4jr have about the perfect balance. They don't do one thing right at the expense of other things. If you are building a $25,000 speaker, well you should do that, but for a $4,000 speaker getting that balance becomes far more difficult. This is one speaker I can highly recommend particularly for smaller rooms. They sounded absolutely fantastic at HE2004 NYC in a smallish hotel room.

Wow--I just got back to this thread. Sorry I missed it for a few days. Anyway, I will answer a few questions. I did not physically measure the hotel room, but I would guess it was about 15 x 17 x 8. I had test equipment to take acoustical measurements, but there was no need. Once you've done this as many times as I have you recognize when a problem exists--in this room, with this set up there was no problem. It was not worth even taking an acoustical measurement. They had really good sound. I listened before the show opened and selected my material and material chosen by Kevin and Albert of Von Schweikert. I listened to many other rooms, and many rooms had severe bass problems in the same size hotel room.

The other aspect I would like to mention in these forums, is that Elb asked for an opinion, not a scientific white paper. We aren't doing reviews here--just sharing our experiences.

I should probably also mention ATC (seems to have found it's way in here). A fabulously designed speaker. Predominantly used in recording studios--yes we've designed a bunch of those too. We have also designed listening rooms with ATC speakers, and while many ATC speakers appear modest in size, their bass is not. They are very full in the bottom end and can be somewhat problematic in small rooms. We are currently working on a room in Singapore with ATC (70s I believe). Even with good dimensions we still load the room very quickly.

Then there's Gallo. I've heard them, but only briefly. Not enough to give a strong opinion. I do recall that they were very clear through the midrange, well detailed. But without more time with them there's not much else I can offer.