New Speaker Conundrum - Vandy's, Spendors, Salk, Ascend - Mainstream or ID

cptkaos, congrats on the nice new speakers! I have not been following the thread, but saw your comment, "It is setup just the way I like it and I cannot believe what I was missing from the Tekton DIs. Pls don’t get me wrong Tektons were phenomenal but Quatros are (completely personal opinion) in a different league. "

Most persons who do not have a straight up comparison between two speakers of such radically different design/technology do not have the capacity to understand how they differ so much sonically. One speaker can sound oh, so precise - until you hear a different design such as the Vandy in direct comparison.

I had a similar experience in a brief time frame at AXPONA, hearing first the Tekton monitor, then the Ryan bookshelf, speaker in the span of about half an hour, one after the other. The differences in characteristics were striking, and I much preferred the precision of the Ryan monitor. Apart from a direct (or temporally brief span) comparison one really has no clue as to how precise a speaker is.

I have such experiences regularly, as I work with quasi-line source arrays, etc. and dynamic speakers, and the differences in detail, dimension, scale, tonality, and perceived "perfection" of various attributes are stunningly different between them. Even differences between traditional dynamic speakers having BMT versus full range hybrids can be striking. It’s a ludicrous statement when someone declares that a particular speaker is "better" in a blanket sense without discussion of the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the design, and without any room for a "YMMV". :)

It’s also fun to see people’s opinions shift quickly upon having new experiences. Funny how something that was "all that" suddenly becomes qualified.

@douglas_schroeder 
I was speaking with another Audiogon member who is contemplating the DIs and I really do not want him to be swayed by my comments. To your point - having a new experience - swayed me completely. And I do not have anything negative to say about DIs - they are good. The key thing for me was whether the improved listening experience (multiple times) at Audioconnection and the Quatros would translate over when I bring them in home and they did and queued me to what I was missing (as you said completely different designs).

The best way I can capture this (please forgive my ignorance as I am barely an amateur in this hobby) is that the DI makes for a great presentation for short duration listening sessions. It could get quite trying (for me personally) if I listen for an extended period of time. Caveat being the experience could be completely opposite for somebody else.

We are lucky to have the options in this hobby :) with new radical designs out all the time.

PS. @douglas_schroeder  - I wanted to add that I am uber jealous that you are able to experience amazing gear on a daily basis :).

cptkaos, thank you for the kind words. The differences you are hearing could be realized to a lesser degree with any of the other optional speakers you were ogling. Even between dynamic speakers there can be surprising differences in performance parameters. The gap does get much larger, typically, between genres of speakers such as panel, horn, etc. 

I am very blessed to be able to hear the variety of gear that I do. There is 25+ years of background, consistent effort and money budgeted annually to achieve my goals. 

@OP, 

I was speaking with another Audiogon member who is contemplating the DIs and I really do not want him to be swayed by my comments.

I completely get what you are saying. But, when it comes down to it, I think letting the other member read what you wrote about the Vandy's  would be helpful to them as well.

Pls don’t get me wrong Tektons were phenomenal but Quatros are (completely personal opinion) in a different league.

I think what you wrote captured the essence of what make the Vandy's so beloved.
I tried Zu speakers for a while, thinking full range drivers might be the way to go, but in the end, Vandy speakers offer a subtle, but noticeable refinement that the Zu's aren't able to reproduce.

Good move in considering new cables. I know Johnny will get you set in the right direction.
Bob