Von Schweikert DB99 or Vandersteen 5A ??

I own the DB99 with the ribbon tweeter and have spent quite a bit of time with the 5A. The two speakers are similar in design in that they both have powered adjustable woofers and adjustable rear fining tweeters.

The 5A design integrates the sub by allowing you to adjust not only volume, but also Q, and lots of other settings. This will allow you to match the sub amp signature to your power amp as well as flatten out in room bass response. The DB99 only has volume control because their design is to boost the woofer output, but keep the signature of you existing amps. I have found the DB99 approach to be better. I own Lamm ML2 SET amps and Tenor 75 OTL amps and I can easily tell the difference in the bass signature of these two amps. Yes that means I need to move the speakers around to get flat bass response, but this is a much better scenario. The 5A's I've heard were driven by BAT tube amps and even though the bass could be made flat in any location, the integration of SS bass with tube mid/top never really worked.

As for the rest of the speaker, the DB99 is fantastic. Prior to the DB99's I had a pair of Kharma Midi Exquisite speakers in my system. I spent much time comparing the two with both Lamm and Tenor amps and 3 other audiophiles. I can say that all 4 of us agreed that the DB99 was the better speaker. This may have been the amps or my room or my front end, but in this case a 15K speaker out did a 85K one. Nothing against Kharma as I owned the CRM3.2 Enigma and thought it was an execpetional speaker.

The DB99 is a must audition if you are spending that kind of money. Also, I would suggest being weary of people who say they have "heard" this speaker because many have it confused with the other VS items as evidenced here. Finally, since the speaker is 99DB efficinet, it is very sensitive to upstream problems ranging from components, resonance control to AC line noise. However, if you get all the details right this thing is a giant killer. Best money I have ever saved to get better sound.

Hi Delancey- As an owner of the 5As, I would argue that if the integration of the subwoofer/ main amplifier did not create a seamless blend, the dealer did not have them set up properly. The amplifier input impedance needs to be set correctly on the external high pass filters for the correct -3dB rolloff at 100Hz for a truly seamless transition. Also, the signature of the main amplifiers is absolutely passed on to the sub amp on the 5A. I used three different amplifiers on the 5A- Rowland 201s, McCormack DNA-500, and best of all- the VAC Phi 220 monos. All three amps had different characteristics in their bass.

I'm not sure why moving the speakers around to get flat bass is the best choice either. What if the best spot for flat bass response creates terrible soundstaging or imaging? The 5As allow for optimal room placement with respect to imaging and soundstage among other things. This is done with the subwoofers unplugged. When the best location is found in the room, the sub can then be adjusted to help reduce any problematic bass peaks caused by any room modes due to that specific location. The 11 band eq is very helpful in that regard. Final adjustments on the sub level and Q allow for truly spectacular bass when set correctly.

The rear tweeter of the 5A is normally not activated unless the room is overly dead or extremely large. It is out of phase with the rest of the speaker and goes against Vandy's design philosphy of maintaining time and phase coherence.

I'm sure the DB99 is truly a special speaker and one I would love to hear. I really like Von Scweikert designs and have been duly impressed with the VR4jrs, the VR4srs, and the VR9SE. Another VS speaker I really want to hear in the VR7SE.

It sounds like you are extremely happy with the DB99s which is all that counts- happy listening.

The 5As were run at HE 2005 in a very large room with Pathos InPower 80 watt Class A hybrid monoblocks and the sound was plenty loud. Vandy also paired with the Tenor 75w OTLs at a past CES show with great sound. Another great match are the Quicksilver V4s which are 120 w/ch.
So yes, they are relatively inefficient at 87 dB, but I think you can get great sound with 100 tube watts.

Sorry Delancey- you never said you heard the 5As at a dealer. That's what happens when you make posts at 2:30am!

Fsarc,
The 5A's I heard were at a dealer who sold Vandy and BAT. It was not my system so I cannot comment on the filter setting etc. However, I will say that this dealer is a meticulous audiophile. I agree the best scenario is to maintain amp signature and have placement independence. However, if you have to choose one the the former is much better to have than the latter. I'm having the same experience with the rear tweeter on my DB99's. I hardly ever use it. As for 2:30am posts, we are all crazy about the hobby. Best....