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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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In Reply to: VANDERSTEEN MODEL 7 IN LARGE ROOM WITH POWER MUSIC posted by ruxtonvet on October 22, 2010 at 21:04:46:
I did audition the Vandersteen Model 7 at the Audio Connection in NJ. I had previously listened to the Model 5A at this dealer and was quite impressed although they sounded somewthat bright at that time. The 7s were in a smaller room than the 5As had been and not in the same room that Vandersteen had previously set them up at this dealer a few weeks ago. Also they were hooked up to an Audio Research 100 watt/channel tube amp with a VPI Scoutmaster table and arm and a mid level Benz cartridge with a silver type speaker cable. This set up was way too bright. The speakers were then moved to the large rear room and the amp was switched to a hybrid 200 watt/channel amp with a Bryston preamp and a different table arm and cartridge (I do not remember the manufacturers). The speaker cables were switched to a copper based cable. The dealer did not have time to tune in the bass not line up the rest of the drivers with the laser device that is usually used with this speaker. Things were much better but the upper frequencies were still to prominent for my taste. I suspect that with proper matching of components and interconnects these speakers can sound wonderful but the upper frequencies were disqualifying for me in this set up. The dealer was very patient and accommodating and even offered to bring the speakers to my home for me to hear them in my set up (I live three hours away in Maryland). An offer I may take him up on. I suspect the speakers need more than 200 watts a channel of pure tubes ( I use VTL300s at home). Need a better preamp (I use a Spectral 20) and a cartridge that is easier on the ears ( I use a Lyra Titan i in an SME V arm). Also the Cardas Interconnects I use tend to tame the high end. But one thing that concerned me beyond the high frequencies was the fact that I kept lowering the volumn control to improve the sound (and the high end). Still I would not take this mini review as a condemnation of the 7s. There bass response was excellent as was the midrange and they are very transparent with excellent depth and instrument placement. Also one could not ask for a nicer, more accommodating dealer than Audio Connection. To add some perspective to the above I also have found the MBL 101Es very bright and was not overly impressed with Magico's M5 nor the Focal Grande Utopia EMs (at least not for $180,000). I did find the Nola's Grand Reference near perfect but way too expensive for my budget.
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Follow Ups
- Initial impressions of the Model 7 - ruxtonvet 21:08:12 10/24/10 (1)
- Did they remember to turn off the rear tweeters? nt - Jim Stoneburner 23:15:37 11/02/10 (0)
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