High Efficiency Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Virtual Bass Technologies Magellan VIP Speakers by DavidZ Need speakers that can rock with just one watt? You found da place.

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Model:	Magellan VIP
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$1,250 each
Description:	Subwoofer
Manufacturer URL:	Virtual Bass Technologies
Model Picture:	View

Review by DavidZ ( A ) on February 17, 2003 at 12:43:01 IP Address: 24.34.23.191

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The VBT Subwoofer and Avantgarde Duo

I am not the first one out of the box to praise VBT subwoofers, but my excitement about this product compels me to chip in with my observations. In particular, my experience should of interest to those with Avantgarde speakers, since I am using two VBT Magellan VI P subs in place of the Ctrl 225 subs in my Duos. The 225’s are standard with all Avantgarde models (now, of course, there’s the optional new $20k/pair Basshorns).

I discovered the VBTs courtesy of Srajan Ebaen’s 6 Moons website, in a brief ultra enthusiastic notice about his experience at the 2003 CES. Scot Markwell also has a good review of them on the AVGuide.com website (available free). I also want to thank Steve Rouse, a good friend (and VBT dealer and beta tester) for turning me on to these.

System context

My front end consists of the Lindeman D680 CD player, a passive autoformer preamp (a home brew built by Larry Moore and Dave Slagle), the Berning Siegfried 300B stereo amp. I have Nirvana SX wire all around, except for the power cords, which are Sahuaro, and the Sound Application CFX conditioner. I have the Nirvana “harness” which connects the 3 drivers of the Duo. The VBT is basically 15” square and 6” or so high, weighing in at 20 lbs. It can be set down flat, or on its side, as I use them, right next to the 225 subs on the outside. The bass wire of the harness (carrying the amp output) goes into the VIP. The VI P is the powered version of the VI passive sub – both have 6.5” drivers, and are rated at 20 hz – 150 hz. I had been crossing over my 225 subs at 140 with good results, so that’s where I set the VIP, and with the sub’s volume about half way up. In every respect of my set-up, the VIPs are configured just like the 225s.

Reactions

There have already been some skeptical postings on AA about these tiny guys somehow “defying the laws of physics.” I sympathize. I am not quite ancient enough to remember Ted Williams play, but I remember first reading about him as a teenager and seeing his picture. Williams’ image (especially as a stick-like rookie), like the VBT’s, poses true cognitive dissonance – this skinny runt, they say, is the best hitter that ever lived, with power, to boot? You can see where I’m going with the VBT analogy. You’ll simply have to take my word for it or listen yourself. I can’t explain the science.

The VBTs are fast, clean and articulate in a way that puts the 225's to shame. They blend with the horn drivers far better. Listening to Charlie Mingus made me cry. I put the 225's in again and it sounded like Charlie had arthritis. Hearing organ diapasons through them was stunning. The notes gently painted the outlines of the hall with detail (Stereophile Test CD 2) like life and unlike anything I’d ever heard from a sub. Once again, the 225’s went back in and the same notes were woolly, slow and thick-tongued (thanks to Art Dudley for that adjective).

I took out the famous Bach organ Tocatta in D-Minor (the one that accompanies the horror flicks) where he does the runs from the very top to bottom. Seamless. Once I put back in the 225s – and I never was aware of this before – I could sense the big thick sub drivers being pressed into duty as the bass emerged. The same phenomenon was observed in a non-musical test. One cut on the Stereophile test CD does warble tones from 200 hz on down, and as it went below the crossover region the split personalities of the Duo drivers were apparent. With the VIP, they were all singing with the same voice.

The VBT VIPs seemed to liberate the dynamics of the whole presentation. I’ve come to believe that the music will only sound as fast as its slowest element, especially orchestral pieces with demanding dynamic starts and stops. Bass bloat is banished. Tubas and double basses seem to re-join the family of instruments, as if they had been basketball players compelled to play with those ankle weights used for training.

Special Avantgarde considerations

I believe the VIPs are particularly important news for Avantgarde owners (I should qualify this – Uno subs cross over a little higher, and this needs investigation as to whether the VBT’s would mate as well.) There’s a complementary beneficial phenomenon taking place when using the VBTs. On the Unos and Duos, the 225 subs anchor the uprights that also hold the two horns. Pierre Sprey of Mapleshade had observed to me that, despite isolating rubber/plastic grommets next to the subs, the bass vibes of the 225’s, coupled via the uprights, were inevitably degrading the sound of the horns.

With the VIPs in the system, the 225’s were relegated to perform as silent, inert ballast for the upright/horn assembly. Bass was decoupled from everything else. The result was better imaging and soundstaging definition; timbral color was turned up a big notch. Smearing between everything was cleaned up.

I have to confess a note of defensiveness here. If I were Holger or Matthias at Avantgarde, I’m not sure I’d like the idea of people doing radical reconstructs of my (already excellent) products. But I know the audience I’m writing for, and you understand the obsessive/ compulsive aspect of this hobby (right?) Besides, I firmly believe that the VBT products are truer in spirit to the horns than the 225s. The AG literature goes on at great length about the benefits of drivers that only move 10% of the distance as conventional non-horn drivers. Well, the VBT drivers (somehow) develop bass and travel just 3 mm! Is this not intuitively closer to the AG design than 2 10” drivers in the 225’s?

Just one more brief topic and I’m out of here. The VBT’s don’t develop the same SPL level (it's a 6.5" driver vs. 2 10" ones in the 225). With the 225’s the presentation is louder, but more occluded. It’s an interesting psycho-acoustical phenomenon – the VBT’s provide every bit of the foundation – the pant-fluttering (when appropriate), visceral bass anchor that we all want from our subs. You don't miss the SPls at all. Plus you get the nuance and agility that bass has in the real world, but never before has (to my ears) come out of speakers before. (Note: the VIPs can be doubled up by daisy chaining them with unpowered Magellan VI subs. Jan Plummer of VBT – a wonderful man – says this increases the sensitivity of the subs by 6 db.)

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Product Weakness:	Won't develop headbanging SPL levels unless doubled up.
Product Strengths:	Fast,clean, satisfying, and articulate bass.

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Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Berning Siegfried
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	diy autoformer passive
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Lindemann D680 CD player
Speakers:	Avantgarde Duos
Cables/Interconnects:	Nirvana
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Classic / jazz
Room Size (LxWxH):	20 x 15 x 9
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Sahuaro power cords / CFX Sound App. power condtioner
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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