Spatial Computer Velocity Bridge VB1

Cdente, I really tried them. I find the sound harsh. I even tried the VB1s with the amp's 4 ohm taps which should have offset some of the brightness I reported above. Still harsh, even hurt my ears a little.

If I didn't know better, I thought I heard some type of sibilance or distortion coming off the right channel. But that's just me. I checked the amp's tubes and all is ok.

I sent an e mail to ARC to get the official reaction, which may be just be, "no opinion at all."

If there are any other ARC tube amp owners out there who have tried the VB1s, I'd sure like to read their comments.

And I will check Audiocircle as you suggest.

Thanks for the tip. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Wow. The exact polar opposite of my experience. Mine were somewhat dull sounding at the beginning and I'm using solid state amps. Clayton's new line of speakers have Beryllium drivers. You would think if there was a problem with these types of drivers it would have been flushed out early on. I'm not aware of any restrictions on use of the VB1's but that does not mean there are none.

Cdente, it could be a compatibility issue with my amp, which is a tube amp that uses output transformers. I really tried it out using different configurations. No luck. ARC has no opinion other than to say as a general matter that the less artifacts in the signal path the better.

That's a real bummer. Do you have another amp to try just to help narrow down root cause? If not then the manufacturer should step in and help identify the issue.

Cdent, no. I only have the one amp.

I called ARC and Kal was just a touch miffed to be distracted with my inquiry. Kal explained that there hundreds of tweaks like this that come down the pike. ARC simply doesn't have the resources to devote any time to these types of inquiries. I felt badly having bothered him. On reflection, I totally understand Kal's point.

As I said, maybe the sound did improve, but my ears are so used to listening to sonic swill that I am not appreciating the improvement. What can I say?? Back to the swill ... charge!!