meadowlark nighthawk/ vandersteen 3a sig

Hey BigTee, as I stated above, "your current speakers are also very good." I agree if you have a high damping factor tube amp the Vadies sing. I was reflecting on personal experience and his equipment. Most likely it is room interaction...

Many reviewers ought to have the 3A's... they are an overachiever at their price point, and have been out for MANY years. I would think it would be a bit unfair to make the comparison on the Nighthawks that have just come into production 5 months ago as to how many reviewers have more of each. However, I too chose this speaker on the premise I felt it was an overachiever for it's price point.

The time and phase aligned speakers of these two companies are much more appealing sonically after having owned and auditioned many other speakers that left you wanting.

Best advice for Keith would be to try to correct the room resonance issues first, and see if what you own (and are paid for!) satisfy you. Room treatment is a major factor in sonics and can really raise your listening satisfaction to the next level. Auditioning is free - however may lead to excessive spending... :)

Also wanted to mention I was seriously considering purchase of these speakers years ago based upon sonics as well as price/performance ratio. However, some of us have to deal with "other" significant factors as well. When my wife saw the Sig 3A's the reply was something along the lines of "there is NO way those ugly square black socks will find a place in our home." Now, I don't always agree with my better half, however I have also become more wise as to which battles are worth the arguement when they have a "definate mind set." This was not a battle I chose to have. Unfortunately some of us must also rely on aesthetics to play a factor in the purchase as well...

Audiofankj, Sometimes I get confused, are we looking at which speaker looks good or one(s) that sound good in this thread. In the looks department, I would certainly give the nod to the Meadowlarks. However, how much of the production cost goes into those cabinets and how much into the drivers and crossovers? Maybe I deal too much in absolute terms. My point of view is the Vandersteen's offer better performance overall for the money in comparison.
In my reviewer blurb, I'm not just talking about the Nighthawks here but any Meadowlark speaker. Time will tell if reviewers swing to the Nighthawk if and when it ever gets reviewed. I do wish they would review more of Meadowlark's speakers.
You know, I heard all of this about the Meadowlark Osprey. What has happened to them? They were touted as a better alternative to the Vandersteen's.
I do feel Meadowlark makes a decent speaker and I'm sure Pat has thought it out. I also feel that the Vandersteen's HAVE benefitted from the years of refinement that comes with a mature product since new models don't come out very often and usually when they do, it's an upgrade. I have always thought that if you design something well to begin with, then small refinements as technology advances is all that is needed.
Sorry, at the price point of the Nighthawk, I don't believe I could throw them in the class of "Over achiever." $7000+ is getting into some pretty spiffy company and with the Vandersteen 3a Signature running at less than half the price ($3495), well, I just don't see it.
Anyway, I do believe any speaker that addresses time and phase is ahead of the game. I'm glad this issue has been addressed by Meadowlark. Time will tell if and when this speaker will take a place as a timeless classic.

I also have Vandersteen 3A signature speakers and would like to emphasize what agaffer said about room treatments. I added Realtraps to my room and heard a more pronounced improvement than any upgrade I ever did. Not only is the bass tighter and cleaner, all frequencies seem to be less muddy. I put six of them in a 14x20x8 room, 3 at wall / ceiling junctures (1 at the front center of the room, 2 at the back), 2 at the front corners of the room and one at another corner in a irregular shaped room. In a dedicated room like mine it works fine, but in our house neither my wife or myself would probably like them in the living room or family room downstairs. In my upstairs listening/theater room, we put up a ceiling to floor black curtain at the front about two feet out from the front wall. This hides the 3 Realtraps at the front of the room.

I grew up around the Vandersteen 3, in various incarnations. In many ways they are my reference for speakers. I really don't hear them as speakers at all unless I listen to something else and directly compare the differences. They'll keep you off the upgrade path unless you already have a chronic case of that disease.

FWIW, I was in Audible Arts in San Jose when the owner was breaking in a new pair of Nighthawks. First off, the speakers are even better looking in person. And as much as I like Vandies, I have to say that even without accounting for break-in issues, the sound of percussion through the Nighthawks was alive and dynamically exciting in a way that edged out the 3a's in this regard. I can't address other types of music as it was a track of strictly percussion instruments, but the attack and subtle dynamic variation was VERY involving.

As far as parts quality goes, I think that Meadowlark has the upper hand in two areas: the nod in the crossover has to go to Meadowlark--they have a low parts count with (what seem to me) extremely well chosen parts and an extreme focus on isolation.

Also, while the quality control and driver matching in the Vandies is world-class, and you definitely get your money's worth, the Nighthawks start with a better tweeter, IMHO.

So, in any case, I haven't heard enough of the Nighthawks to know if they even suit MY tastes better than the Vandies, but I know that I'd give the Nighthawks a serious audition before I bought anything in the price range.