Vaughn Speakers


Building a system around my next speaker purchase and would like to hear from any past or present Vaughn speaker owners. Also impressions from those who have had an opportunity to hear them are welcome.

len067
I've not heard the Plasma tweeter, but spent a lot of time at 2012 RMAF listening to Jim's then flagship speaker. As I was considering downsizing from 400 lb Monoblocks and Soundlab speakers, to hand held amps and Jim's highly efficient speakers, the Vaughn's were sonically very appealing!

I ultimately choose to upgrade & stick with Soundlabs, but if I didn't, Vaughn's would have been on my very short list. BTW, I bought my original Soundlabs from Jim.

Furthermore, I more than agree with the previous poster's comments regarding Jim! He formerly was a brick and mortar audio store owner in my part of the country. There, I got to known him quite well and learned more about this hobby from him than from anyone else, or anywhere else. First and foremost he was a consummate hobbiest, rather than a salesman for sales sake! He thrived on quality playback and had an uncanny knack for getting the best out of equipment and rooms. Over considerable time and with numerous instances, I came to trust and value his opinions. I found his opinions as unbiased as any one of us ever can be. And no, I'm not related to, nor connected to Jim in any way! He's simply one of the good guys in this hobby and although it has been several years since he left the Midwest for CA, I still miss him and his store!
I too have no affiliation with Vaughn speakers and concur with others who have stated Jim is a really nice guy who loves to share his knowledge and experience with others.
I have owned Vaughn Zinfandel speakers for 5 years now and just can't part with them.  I have heard a lot of other speakers that just don't present as well as these. I have used a Cary V12r, Cary sei300 F1 and a Bryston bst solid state amp, all with great results. I now use a Triode Corp TRV845se which really makes them sing. My pair do not have the powered subwoofer, and I have not had a need for one since I can place these in the room in their preferred sweet spot. There are a fair amount of Vaughn speakers out in the audiophile world and rarely if ever do you see them come up for sale.  My next pair will likely be new Vaughns. 
I recently heard the Vaughn Triodes v1 that a local audiophile was selling on Audio Circle and was quite impressed. Driven by a modest Rogue integrated amp and vinyl playback with a Townshend Rock3 turntable the speakers had great bass and dynamics along with a sweet top end. Unfortunately they were to large for my small listening space otherwise I would have taken them home. Vaughn is a speaker that's under the radar and is definitely worth checking out.