Vandersteen 7 Flagship at CES

The Vandersteen 7s were very special indeed. When I heard them at CES, the room was full and not one person coughed, whispered, rustled paper, or left--let alone speak loudly to anyone. Folks were spellbound while listening to two tracks of a live Diana Krall LP--"I've Got You Under My Skin" and another I can't recall--but she certainly got under my skin. And, being mainly a classical listener and be-bop jazz enthusiast, I've never been so captivated by her recordings before. Granted, the associated gear was worldclass--Clearaudio's topline, jukebox-looking table and topclass Aesthetix preamp, phono, and Atlas monos.

The sound was different to my ear than the 5As, which were also grand last year--a great sense of space and separation with lovely detail presented with finesse.

In a way, the 7s seemed to me more coherent, presenting a more lifelike presence. But it wouldn't be quite fair to say with complete authority as I listened to different kinds of music (Mozart choral on the 5As), with different electronics (Joule/Electra monos with Aesthetix preamps) and a full year apart at that.

My 3 cents...

The Vandersteen 7 were very good at CES with a more open treble than I am used to hearing, and better bottom end control. They were vivid and dimensional. But at the price point there is a lot of competition. Would I buy them if I had the money.....tough call, a lot of good stuff near 50K.
I am a ribbon fan....

This demo would have been worth the trip to CES to me. The only speaker I'd like to hear more right now is the 5A upgraded with the full compliment of carbon fiber/balsa drivers to see how close it comes to that level of performance. It will be a while before I can hear (let alone afford)either one. Lucky thing the standard 5A is as good as it is. I envy those of you who got to experience these.

Make no mistake, I love Vandersteens and respect his ideas on proper reproduction of the waveform, but he is charging 45K here...

It uses the same 12" woofer system as the 5A's with a new carbon fiber/balsa wood mix for the midbass, mid and up. Asking him about it, he mentioned the flex that occurs with his previous cone materials that this new combo cures.The balsa (thats right balsawood) is both light/strong and adds damping to the CF and at the same time is rigid end to end where flex is bad for detail/transient. Somehow he found a way to lay the fibers down to maximize what he wanted to do with the CF.

It sounded fabulous of course (Clearaudio/Aesthetix) But he could have offered it on the 5 series since it uses the same compliment of drivers, size and all, alas-.

Still if you have the bucks and appreciate a master of technical knowhow on how to do it right, this is your speaker

Regards
David

The 5a costs $16,700 so a bit of 'carbon fiber/balsa wood mix' for the mid, mid bass and up adds an extra $28,300 to the new 7 model over the 5a?
Sorry, I just can't get excited over a pair of enclosed speakers that cost a wallet s....t....r....e....t....c....h....i....n....g $45,000!!!.
Hope to hear them at a show though one day not with the intention of buying, even if I could afford a pair.*
I am going to start a society for the 'keep it real and in check with reality' group.
Sound wise can they be really worth the huge price increase over the model 5a?

* they maybe the next best thing to sliced bread.