Von Schweikert VR-1 & VRS-1 or VR-2?

Placement near to or away from the rear wall is a primary consideration, with the VR2's requiring clearance of several feet away from the rear wall, and the VR1's working best when placed close to the rear wall. The room you will be using and its inherent placement restrictions may dictate which system will sound best. Do a search and/or read the reviews on the Von Schweikert website. The reviews will inform you quite well as to the placement issues involved. Also, many users of 2-channel satellite/sub systems often advocate the use of two subs for optimal sound, so the cost of a truly apples-to-apples comparison may be slightly different than your original estimate.

Tvad is right. The VR-2's require a lot of breathing room for optimum performance. Therefore, it will surely depend on the size of your room. If you have a small room or a lot of space restrictions, VR-1's + sub will be your best bet. Instead of moving around 2 floorstanders, you just need to worry about sub placement.

I'm just sick enough to feel that even the 2's need a sub! But another VERY good combo, for just a bit more, would be two LCR-15's with the VRS-1 subwoofer.

I recently emailed back and forth with an audio reviewer who heard the VR1 and the VR2 -- he told me the audio dealer he was listening to both speakers with said his customers prefer the VR1 monitors combined with the VR1 subwoofer. I found that quite interesting.