meadowlark nighthawk/ vandersteen 3a sig

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.

One issue hear is the price difference in these speakers. You can buy the 3A Sigs with a pair of 2wq subs cheaper than the Meadowlark's. I guess it is good that a speaker that retails for $3495 can be compared to one at $7000+.
I realize looks are better in some cases to some people. However, that cabinet accounts for a big chunk of the cost.
I also must question how the Nighthawk tweeter is superior to the 3A Sig. It is the same tweeter-exactly-used in the Vandersteen Model 5 which sales for $11,000+
The increase in crossover parts in the Vandertseen has to do with phase issues rather than purely crossover.