I hear what you're saying, and I have to agree. There used to be a high end store in Philly called Chestnut Hill Audio, and they were all believers. I listened a few times on their preferred Vandersteen speakers (this was about 15 years ago) and was left unimpressed, although I thought that it sounded smooth.
I think that part of the mystique is that it isn't very common, and especially when it first came out, the look of it was very beautiful (from the front) and different. Also, with the involvement of the respected Keith O. Johnson, and it's 0 to infinity bandwidth, it just seemed very different; almost like the amplifier of the future. As it turns out after all these years, I think that it is just another very high quality brand, well engineered and built with it's own sonic flavor and positive attributes that is just right for some audiophiles.
I think that part of the mystique is that it isn't very common, and especially when it first came out, the look of it was very beautiful (from the front) and different. Also, with the involvement of the respected Keith O. Johnson, and it's 0 to infinity bandwidth, it just seemed very different; almost like the amplifier of the future. As it turns out after all these years, I think that it is just another very high quality brand, well engineered and built with it's own sonic flavor and positive attributes that is just right for some audiophiles.