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Has anyone owned one of his products? Especially his bookshelf monitors own line of product. Seems to be very very knowledgeable about speaker systems and other musical products. I guess my question is geared to people that live in the Chicago land area or others that have purchase his products.
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Another vote for John. A great guy and quite a character.His place has a real anti-hi end attitude, which is a good thing.
Kind of a throw back to the old days when stereo shops were cool to hang in.
I'll bet people are just DYING to move in next door.
Jon is a Cary dealer and I bought my new pair of Cary 211 AE monoblocks from him just about a year ago. A great guy to deal with - he took a lot of equipment in trade (plus some cash) for the 211's. At the time I listened to the speakers he was working on at the time. They were pretty nice. I like my Vandy 3A's much better though. Worth a visit if you are in Chicago. Don't expect a fancy shop, though.
I had my AR98ls loudspeakers recapped there last year. They now sound really great. He is indeed a nice guy and down to earth.I haven't heard his Quartets in years but they were good even then. No doubt they are improved now.
By the way, for good Italien food, try Villa Palermo on Devon Avenue just west of Damen.
I've had a pair of ARs repaired there and I could've camped out for a weekend to just listen. He's very knowledgeable and willing to explain everything and anything. Just mention in passing Jethro Tull in any way and stand back! Every small business owner regardless of what type should be this passionate!
I've been there a few times and bought a Jolida amp there (he's a Jolida dealer). The fella is a straight shooter, when a used Dynaco preamp I bought from him went on the Fritz he gave me a more valuable HK Citation instead, straight switch.
His small speakers are not the type of speaker I like but to me they sound very good for the type; excellent clarity within their dynamic limits (and they are dynamically limited but no worse than other small speakers) and very nice image and depth.If you like small speakers then his are as good as any. IMO, you know how that goes.
His store is right down the street from the absolutely worst Italian beef stand in Chicago. But one shouldn't expect a good beef sandwich on the North Side anyway.
I do not remember the name. Stand at the counter and eat though. Good stuff. Now I miss Chicago.
Al's on Taylor St. The West Side. I remember when Taylor St. was Taylor St. And when Maxwell St. was Maxwell St. Now the yuppies, you know, the people who move into the city and put a fence between the sidewalk and the stoop.Johnny's in Elmwood Park was very good. And Carm's at Cicero and Harrison, now it's out in Hillside.
Just went to Pop's on 127th St. in Palos Heights...great beef sandwich I'll go back for, skip the fries. Take out only.
Best regards,
I used to travel extra to get a hot-dog at a place with fresh-cut fries.Here in Lexington we've an excellent old-school BBQ joint called Billy's that has fresh-cut fries. Platter of pulled pork, cornbread, fries and coleslaw---7 bucks.
People in there were goin' nuts yesterday with the game on TV and Kentucky getting beat.
I've had good fresh cut fries here in the northwest suburbs, especially at a place right here in Barrington. On the other hand, I just don't get why people flock to Gene and Jude's in River Grove. Absolutely some of the worst food I've ever tasted.
Best regards,
to some of my friends! i think the hardcore cheecago folk just like saying 'Judes' as if it ends in 3 ZZZ's.
The fries were the soggiest, greasiest I ever tasted (the grease was soaked right through the paper and onto the bag), piled right in on top of the dog. Add to that the fact they don't offer all the toppings one might expect. Stand in line for 20 minutes for that? Get real.I can see the place might be an 'institution' and am told the food used to be a lot better. If this is the direction they're headed don't expect them to be around for too many more years.
Best regards,
Don't know if the new owners have kept up the quality.
Poochies is still good. He blanches the fries before he cooks them, Gene and Judes doesn't.
I have been ther several times, but not in a while. His speakers were sounding pretty good back then, but seemed a work in progress. He was a fresh alternative to Victors and Audio Consultants.
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Victor's is long gone.
Best regards,
Shows you how dated my Chicago HiFi scene knowledge is.
A couple of audio dealers have been through that MG location. Maybe it has a curse on it.
Best regards,
I bought the ProAcs that I still run there. He was quite a character.
Yup, I spent quite a few Saturdays there back in the mid-1990s; bought my Quicksilver amps and ARC preamp from Larry. He was an interesting guy and a true audiophile. I was sad to see his shop close.
I lived in the area before he closed but never got around to visiting before he closed. Yeah, I hear stories. Basil at IO Systems in Chicago also was quite a character, I understand.
Best regards,
Hey Robert,Have you stopped by for a listen? Jon's speakers do imaging like i've never experienced - full sized musicians in a full sized stage coming from 2 tiny monitors. His speakers are the wildest i've ever heard, and Jon is the most knowledgeable speaker guy in the City, far as i'm concerned. for $1200 a pair, a no brainer for folks who dig imaging like that.
others here might chime in too.
I dropped off my floorstanders to Jon to update before selling them a few months back. he did such a good job I can't sell them..
If and when i sell the Thiels, i'm buying Jon's monitors...especially now that i've got the stereo subs a rockin'.
www.jonvanlspeakerworks.com
Hey Matt, how are those subs working out for ya? Jon is a an excellent guy to talk to and get information on audio, overall great guy. The best place to audition and listen to is in your own home, not at the store imo... Jon's speakers are quite impressive thats for sure and priced accordingly to :)
The subs are tons of fun for sure, definitely look at getting a pair of subs some day.i've had more fun listening to music @ Jon's shop than anywhere else in Chicago. His sytem with his speaks has the best imaging i've ever experienced, crazy when a stand up bass player's bass goes all the way to the ceiling...so weird, especially when the 2 side firing mids are connected to one another, and that his speakers are about a foot tall. that's technology that not many people dive into, Jon is quite the guru when it comes to those speakers and his crossover designs.
In terms of speaker repairs he's the man too! no doubt...
"His sytem with his speaks has the best imaging i've ever experienced, crazy when a stand up bass player's bass goes all the way to the ceiling"
Question: have you ever SEEN a stand up bass that goes to the ceiling?
His demo room has a low ceiling, probably 7.5' or so. All the stand-up bass' i've seen are well over 6' tall my man...
my point was that a speaker 12" tall on 24" stands shoots images up to the ceiling, down to the floor and all around.no speaker, big or large, in a home or at a salon, has ever done anything like his do.
i'm not speaking of their tone or overall performance, just ability to image insane style.
Guess I should have asked how high his ceiling was. Most are 8' or higher. What your hearing is called phase errors. The side mounted mid's contribute to that false image.
Those side mounted mids are connected to one another via an interconnect and the drivers themselves are a proprietary design. According to Jon Van L, each mid driver has 2 motors. the interconnect sends the signal from one to other and vice versa, and each 2nd motor pumps out the 180 degree opposite signal. somehow, this fools the brain into thinking full sized humans are in the room playing music.Its all jibberish to me, but he does have info about it on his site.
Kinda cool that you can unplug the effect, then add it again to see what happens. the 'musicians to the ceiling' weirdness did happen with the speaks running normal and 'hooked up', but the hooked up connection was really wild. from what i recall its old school technology....
no issues, i won't ask you how tall your stand up bass is if you don't ask about mine!!!
You should hear his new set up. Better sound and imaging without the side drivers.
I've had a great time at VanL talking with (and learning from) John and just listening to music. He is extremely passionate about audio and a really down-to-earth guy. And he actually listens to you when you have a question or comment, doesn't try to sell you something you don't want. I try to stop in his shop any time I get up that way.And no, I am not affiliated in any way, haven't even spent a dime in his place - yet. If you live in the Chicago area or are just passing through you should make it a point to stop in and say hello, he makes you feel welcome.
Oh yeah, his speakers are pretty "insane" too. If you are into awesome imaging and huge soundstage you need to take a listen. I was recently amazed for a good hour or so listening to instruments come alive (for lack of a better description) in the smallish listening room. It felt like I was in a bigger room. John explained his concept to me but I couldn't relate it back to you here, I'm not that technically proficient yet. What I can say is I can't say I've heard any other speakers quite like his.
Is if other people make monitors that do what his do? When in his place you have to take into consideration his equipment....the Cary amps and CDP are going to be responsible for some of the craziness, and my guess is his local made tube preamp contributes as well.to this day i've not heard anything like what jon's tiny speaks do, when they are connected via that special interconnect.
I think it was Slowhand, Clapton's album, where track per track it was easy to tell which ones he recorded sitting down and the few that were standing up...that's weird in my book.
actually seeing musicians hands, and having images to the ceiling with such small speaks...again, just a weird thing.
If you can stand to have Winstons blown in your face, you are ready for an aural experience like few others!
Jon is a cool dude. never met an audio shop owner i'd call cool!!!
no affiliation, haven't spent $ on anything but speaker repairs there...yet.
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