I'm an American currently assigned to the US Embassy in Australia. I ordered the 5A's from The US and as such, had no dealer support here. So I hired an audio engineer who owns his own recording studio. He brought another audio engineer friend and a calibrated mike with real time analyzer to properly adjust my 5A's to my room. The fee was to be $66 per hour. We spent about 2-3 hours dialing in the speakers, then broke out the CD's and Belgian beer for some serious listening. They stayed for 3 more hours, then refused payment because they had never heard such a good system and had such a good time listening! That's how good these speakers sound. If you want to spend less, the model 3A Signatures with 2WQ subs are also outstanding. I was quite happy with them until the terrible and wonderful day I made the mistake of hearing the 5A's.
What do you think of Vandersteen 5a's?
I am considering buying a pair of 5a's to complement my Ayre gear. There does not seem to be a dealer in Denver so I have never heard any type of Vandersteen speaker. I have heard both great things about them, and a few disparaging comments. Funny sometimes the positive remarks speak to the same items the negative remarks complain of (detail, soundstage, dark character, lack of resolution etc). Can they really make two different people feel that differently? Can anyone give me some advice on whether to take this leap?