Vandersteen 5a vs. B&W 802D vs. Maggie 3.6 vs.?

Telescope -

If you have the PS Audio gaincell preamp, and you like it (please comment on it)- you should consider geting the external power supply if you can find one (its discontinued) Or better yet have Rick Cullen mod the power supply and put rebuilt premium gain cells in your unit - It will be substantialy better. I have always liked PS's gain cells transparency - but thier preamp didn't seem to become popular.

Hi Emailists,

Yes it is the P-200, and so far, I love it. Cannot
really comment on it specifically as I never have
heard it on it's own with other systems. Plus it's BN
so still breaking in.
But, what I am hearing now as a total system it is very
transparent & detailed & taut.
I also love the build quality of the unit...very
solid & well built for the price. Will have to check
with Rick later if I feel the need, but not as of yet.

I dumped my 802D's and got the 5A's. The Vandys are much more musical, have greater air, depth, clarity, etc.etc. There is no comparison. The 802's were stodgy in comparison. You should have all the ancillaries in place, or any speaker will not work well.

Well, after reading everyones input........and thank you one and all..........I've decided to make the necessary trips required to listen to my choices. I am also adding the new Harbeth 40.1's to my list. The overwhelming feedback has been for the Vandersteen line. I actually had a knowledegable dealer recommend I stay with what I have and make some adjustments and xover changes. His advice has helped my system. I have spoken with a couple of dealers that sell all of my choices except Harbeth. Two dealers sell them but did not mention them in our conversations. The positive press and some feedback on this site has opened the window to me listening to the new Harbeth 40.1. I am a little tentatibe here as my speakers just prior to the Vandersteen 3A's were Spendor SP100's. Very pleasant but also very bland in my opinion.

To hear all I need to travel to Indy and Chicago. The good news is I can tie in my listening in Chicago with the Chicago auto show! Not a bad way to go!

I remain a bit perplexed in that I think that the Vandersteen 5A's will provide what I am looking for but I have a strong distaste for having to rely on a dealer for set up. I have always set up all of my own systems and don't like having to rely on any dealer for this. I think Vandersteen is missing the full market by not allowing owners to have his set up discs and instructions. I understand he like to protect his dealers and I appreciate that but his end consumers should be the highest concern. Just my opinion and I would probably feel different if I had a local dealer.

I'd love to hear more from others about the Harbeth 40.1's and how they compare to my other choices as well as the Spendor SP100's.

Again, thanks to all!

I can't say enough good things about the Harbeth's. I owned a pair of Compact 7's for a long while and loved every minute with them. I also owned a pair of Spendor S-100's a while back--also a very musical sounding speaker. While I've only heard the Monitor 40 briefly (not the new 40.1) it struck me as more transparent and revealing than my old Spendors with much greater inner detail and better imaging. There are many similarities as well--the boxes are about the same size, as is the driver configuration. Both have the same BBC house sound with the slightly recessed midrange and lightly rolled off treble (though the Harbeth not so much). I'm a big fan of the M40 though with the current exchange rate and innovative design features I think the Vandy 5A would be my choice in a head to head. (Again, I haven't heard the new 40.1) I just think you get more speaker for your money with the Vandy--one that can adapt to any room and one which pushes the limits of what a dynamic speaker can do. I think it would be interesting to compare the two and would encourage you to do so. I would, however, again suggest you check out the Daedalus Audio Reference series Ulysses or new DA1.1. Either will rival the Harbeth and certainly give the Vandy a run--for less than half the money.