Vandersteen Treo vs 3A Sig as upgrade


I had my local dealer hook up a pair of Treos to demo them and left with a very mixed impression. I like the overall sound. They have a smoother, more refined and sophisticated midrange that the 3A Sigs can't match. I want that. But the bass was less defined and the top end was bright. The sibilance was very exaggerated - this was with CD. Is this the character of the Treo? Thanks!
wlutke
The fact remains that if the bass quality of any speaker is in question, you will not change that characteristic by adding a subwoofer unless you filter out the frequencies that are the problem from the main speakers. Just because the connectivity of the 2Wq is different than other subs, does not negate that fact.

That is all I am saying. I am not being negative about the Treos. I just maintain that if you correct the issue the OP describes, you will NOT be running the Treo full range.

That said, if you are completely happy with the bass your main speakers have and just want to add more extension, that's easier. This is NOT the case presented by Wlutke. So high passing the Treo is necessary.

Again, for the last time, I am not disparaging the Treo or it's performance. I am just pointing out that the sub won't make the bass performance of the Treo better, it will just replace it's bass with that of the sub, eliminating the need for the Treo to produce low bass. This may sound great, and I am not saying it won't. But you haven't suddenly made the bass QUALITY of the Treo any better.

Shakey
Yeah when the 5a comes down in price used I will part with my Sig 3a / Velodyne combo. The 5a is an amazing speaker,I mean it's the same analogy when I was shopping for a tonearm. People I talked to said the Phantom 2 is amazing they told me,found a used Phantom 2 Supreme used and bought it.I love the sound of Vandersteen speakers and they were right about the tonearm
As far as rumbling motorcycles go, and audiophile helmets, for that matter, here is my set up. I have a Honda 1.3 liter, liquid cooled V-4 sport touring bike with stock Honda pipes. You can't hear the exhaust until you hit 80 mph. I sit behind an electrically adjustable barn door of a windshield and wear 32 dB expand-to-fit foam earplugs. My Arai Signet-Q helmet has blue tooth speakers. My Zumo GPS has mp3 and blue tooth, giving me turn by turn voice priority over the music. I do crank up the volume to get past the earplugs. I did not use the mp3 for the trip though. The speakers also connect my wife and I via blue tooth intercom. The foam covered boom mikes are vox with a threshold high enough to overcome any wind noise - which isn't an issue even in use. Think conversation in a Honda Accord with a back window cracked. Maybe not audiophile but hi-tech fun!
That's freaking awesome Wlutke. Too funny as I'm not a biker (son wants to be though) and that's a fun read!
I'm a biker too. Lots of fun, but as an audiophile you have to use some common sense for protection of your hearing. The expandable 32 db. foam earplugs he talks about are about 95% of his hearing protection. I wear these things for almost eight hours a day at my job. Without them, I wouldn't be a audiophile!