How would you compare these two Vandersteens?

I've only had the chance to listen to these in the shop, and then with different amps, an all BAT system with the big tube monoblocks for the 3A, and an all CJ system for the Quatros. The Quatros had a more transparent midrange, with a deeper more layered soundstage, tighter bass, and more treble detail, but with less warmth than the 3As. The Quatros seemed to steer a mid course between the warmth of the 3As and the etched highs of so many hi-fi speakers. The 3As are taller, and that affects the soundstage height. The 3As have a looser bass sound that I rather liked, actually, giving them a warm and full sound. They seem to image easily with the "good enough" audio shop placement. I probably *should* have tried the 3As at home first, but I went for broke and the Quatros are on their way. Other than the sound, I like bass range EQ and the adjustable "Q" of the bass response. That will help with getting good bass response that, hopefully, won't also bother the neighbors.

How do you think they would sound with a NHT powered sub also being used?

Joe in Mobile

Joe, here's what the Quatro manual has to say:

"Can a subwoofer or subwoofers be added to a system
with Quatros?
The Quatros contain integral subwoofers and there
would be no benefit or advantage to adding separate sub-
woofers. When the Quatros are used in a home theater
system, program the processor to redirect the Low Fre-
quency Effects (LFE) and subwoofer information to the
front channels where it will be reproduced by the Quatro
subwoofers. Vandersteen 2Wq subwoofers can be added if
more bass is needed to accommodate a large room. Please
contact Vandersteen Audio about using parallel woofers."

Seems a bit contradictory to me: "No benefit" vs. "2Wq subwoofers can be added if more bass is needed."

The 3A manual does recommend a subwoofer for movie effects.

I'm curious to see how low the Quatros, with their four 8" woofers and two 250W amps, go in my 8000+ cubic foot room. With my NHT XdW subwoofer (dual 10" woofers; 500W amp) out in the middle of the room, bass drops off quickly under 50 Hz.

Daverz - that is so odd, because I just was discussing the addition of subs with Richard himself regarding the Quatros and 5A's and he told me that he likes even 4 subs in the system. The subs affect the meds and highs making them even more effortless, etc. I would contact Richard and get clarification on this point Magsterone.

I should have read the FAQ on the Vandersteen site before posting. He describes his speaker setup there. In my own defense, it's a looooong document. I learned a lot from it.

http://vandersteen.com/pages/Techpage1.html

Also, this interview clarified for me why he prefers two separate runs of wire per side for bi-wiring (with each run separated by at least an inch) rather than 4 wires in the same sheath:

http://vandersteen.com/pages/PDFdocs.html