Vandersteen 3A Sig vs. Von Schweikert VR4 Jr.

"I haven't heard the Vandy 3A Sigs., but I had the 2Ce Sigs. and they are no match for the VRjr, which trounce all over the Vandys"

But you "have not heard the 3A Sigs", so how will they "tounce over the Vandys"? Are you saying they will trounce the 2Ce Sigs? If so, your comparing a $1500/pr speaker to a $4000/pr speaker. As I have not heard the 2Ce's, (I bought a pair of 3A Sigs in November - after I had listened to the VR 4jr and the 3A Sig - which by a wide margin, I prefered the 3A Sig) can't comment on a comparision, but I'd be hard pressed to believe "trounce" is a word that would fit here.

"if you like your music on the warm, laid back side of reality, the 3As might be for you. I find Vandersteens to be non-offensive and easy to listen but hardly transparent or resolving"

To me, this is far from an accurate statement. Ozzy has an amazing system, but I find my 3A sig/Rouge 99 Mag/Rega P5/SimAudio Equionox/Parasound 2205 set up to be very transparent and resolving. Music is conveyed in an emotional manner, very very realistic!

For what it's worth, one of my best audiophile friends is a Von schweikert dealer. They seem to be selling well. What does he have at home? Vandersteen's, I asked him about coming by to give the VR 4jrs a run through and he told me not to bother. He is more than happy to sell the heck out of them but, was quick to tell me that they couldn't hold up to a side by side comparison to the Vandersteen line.

Agaffer, your dealer buddy sounds like a few dealers I've come across who prefer to discuss their personal preferences/biases with customers rather than allow their customers to draw their own conclusions. It would have been refreshing to read that your friend had invited you over to listen to the VR4Jr speakers and then asked you for your opinion of them. This is one of my pet peeves with dealers, and a primary reason I stay clear of their shops.

I DID listen to the VR4 Jr and Aggaffer's "dealer buddy" Vandersteens, and was able to easily draw my own conclusion on the two - I bought the Vandersteen's! The Vandersteen's are simply a more musical speaker, allowing me to focus on the music not the speakers.

The VR4jr were very nice, but so were the Totem's we spent some time with. In both cases, I was hard pressed to hear huge differences between these and the Paradigms I was looking to replace (grant it the Paradigms were not in the same room/listening session. Having lived with them for 10 years I knew what they sounded like).

I also was not overly impressed by the build quality on the VR4 Jr. One, they are to short and thin (to my eyes/taste), and two, the high gloss finish although pretty, seemed to mask some lower production value that the cabinets displayed.

Now most seem to think the 3A Sigs are fuggly, but I love the look, and so does my wife (she expressed no horror as the dealer "rolled them" into the family room, and actually to the dealer she liked them immediately!

Yes, my comparison was to the 2Ce Sig, and in this sense, unfair. However, I was basing this on the many, many comments from Vandy owners and Vandy dealers who have said the 3A was quite similar to the 2Ce, with better bass, a more authoritative sound, and more detail. Still, the same house sound, which to my ears, is lacking in a number of areas such as transparency, unraveling of complex musical threads, top to bottom coherency of sound.