Vandersteen 7 Flagship at CES


The Vandy 7s were introduced at CES and seemed to have created quite a stir.

Vandersteen 7

Any of you hear these speakers and care to report? How do they sound compared to the 5As?
128x128zargon
Randy's listening room and set ups are always exceptional, and I have listened to his successful mating of ARCs and Vandersteens for over 20 years. Looks like I need to plan a trip to Santa Monica soon.
It's getting to the point that an average joe millionare can not afford any of this! Maybe there is peer presure not to make other companys look bad and price too cheap. It is hard to beleive that anything could sound that good.?
I also have been at Randy's and listened to the new system:

Air Tight PC-1
Vector 4
Basis Debut Vacuum with Basis speed controller
Weil Signature IC's
Everest S/C
Arc Reference Phono
ARC Anniversary Edition preamp
ARC Ref 210 amps
Vandersteen 7's

The 7's sounded as good as they looked!!!! The system's ability to recreate the energy/sound of a live piano was very impressive as was the timbre of the instruments inside an airy, large and deep sound stage.
All Vandy do a lot real well. The Vandy's all share a sound pallet that just sounds RIGHT. This goes up and down the product range to the Signature 5a. I haven't heard the sevens.

My Quatro Signature II Woods sure sound a LOT better than Wilson Sasha's, I auditioned, for instance. I sure wish that the Wislon's were better, with 60 grand in tube amps, pre amps, and high-end cables running them. Nope. They were too bright, thin, lacked body and didn't go deep at all. Clinical was the word that best described them with a shallow low-end. They were dynamic sounding, though, and the treble was WAY FORWARD and could go crazy loud. I was hoping to hear that magic "musical" carrot out there that I would lust after over and above my Quatro's. I've "read" good things on the Sasha's, but I didn't "hear" it. The point is, that the "sound" doesn't follow a price. We all have products that we just "read" would meet our expectations and they let us down. What that is depends on what you think you want to hear. This is "entertainment, after all. Twenty speakers will never get your voice right. None will agree on which one is "most" right.

So, I'd just LOVE to hear the sevens. Too bad that the Quatro's sound so good for the money, and I agree, the sevens "read" like they do "sound" fantastic but at a stratospheric price, but let's just leave it at the sound.

We all need that carrot to make this hobby so much fun. If you can get there, great. But most of us are tweaking to get "somewhere" at a factor that includes realistic costs. That's what makes us experiment and learn. The "best" product you want to emulate is the final exam. Listen and compare. I hope you find encouragement in the new products you hear.