Frank, either you or I, or both of us in tandem, have a special gift for stirring up the pot.
By way, did you really have to torture the rest of us with your AA thread? What if I told you the Keith Monks machine was even better? |
Oh, I forgot to mention I went ultimate route of vinylphilia and got a mono Helikon. |
Le me just add, Frank, that the reason I could understand why someone would order the VR-9s or 11s was based on the performance of the jrs. If he could extract that kind of performance for such little money... it seemed that the higher speakers would be even more alluring. But who knows? In any case, we'll soon find out. |
Why do they have to be better just because they cost more? They just have to produce the sound the buyer is looking for. Regardless: From what I heard at the NY show, even the little vr 4, jrs exceed, and by not a small margin, the Kharmas midi-exquisites in realism, soundstaging, punch, slam, and dynamics. The Kharmas adjacent, with all the appurtenances of hi-end audio, including the Walker turntable, were, by contrast, delicate but lifeless. |
Frank, of course you're right. I was just tweaking, pun intended, you about your initial statement concerning cost; it seemed to me that the rest of your post was rightly saying, "it's your money, spend it as you wish."
I wasn't trying to trash Kharmas, and perhaps I'm too dismissive of them. Nor to leap to Panorama's defense--I don't think I know him--but I did immensely enjoy the vr's, to an extent I have not with the highly regarded Kharmas. Maybe I was hallucinating, based on two brief exposures, but I was stunned by the performance of the vr's.
By way, guess who just ordered a Dynavector... |
Yes, I suppose you're right there, too, Frank, I wasn't thinking about it that closely. I should add that the Dynavector remains everything you said it was.
But I do hope you get a chance to hear the vr's. While the jrs, as I indicated, lacked the refinement of the Kharmas at the NY show, I did think they were more satisfying in almost every other way--and the Kharmas, of course, are much more expensive.
Now, if you'd only see the light, and get a pair of Magnepans...! |
By way, Frank, I've actually ordered two pairs of the Vr, Jrs. |
yes, but I"ll be using them in a home theater set-up, not two-channel, with full Meitner 6-channel front end. I'm not prepared (gulp!) to say they're better than the Maggies. At least not yet... |
Ah, I should have kept up the suspense, Frank! I'll check out the Loricraft. |
Come on, Rich! We're all audiophiles. Anyway, a little birdie told me that you've been playing around with different equipment recently. |
Yes, Brian, it seems to me that since no system, however expensive, will achieve perfection (whatever that is), there is an understandable impulse on the part of some, not all, audiophiles to tinker, tweak, and experiment. You yourself have clearly not been immune to this impulse, though you may have settled (for now) on a system you find pleasing. |
My guess is that the DartZeel is a little more melliflous, for better and for worse, than many amps--I believe there was a review in Positive Feedback, or one of the on-line zines, that expressed admiration along with some reservations about the sound and price.
I think the combination of transparency and slam with the V.S.'s is quite intoxicating, but the Kharmas may--I'm not sure--be a bit more refined.
One more thing: the corollary of your statement, Frank, would be that you, and you alone, have the perfect system! |
But have you been allowed to touch it? Remember: Lancelot was only allowed to see it, not grasp it. |
