Hi CT, sadly no. He's still burning it in. He used the AR as a transport and a Berkeley Alpha DAC, plus he adjusted the speakers. Richfield, thank you for making me aware that those are the mark 1 I heard.
With the change in setup and adding in the Berkely DAC the speakers improved dramatically. This time I was engaged. I spent the 2+ hours listening to music and not the speakers. This audition pushed them up to the top 3 in my search. I think I still liked the Coltrane Tenors more, but it was very close. Unfortunately there is no conceivable way to A/B them. The Dynaudio Consequence Ultimate are also in the top 3 but I need to hear them with proper powered amplification before I can make a call on them.
I found the Vandy 7 a tad veiled on the upper registers. It was subtle and didn't really effect my overall impression. They just didn't extend with the accuracy and finesse that the Coltrane Tenor did. Interestingly, it was the same on the low end. The Tenors maintained a better sense of control, impact, extension and finesse in the lower registers than the Vandy. I think the forward firing long excursion twin 8's with down firing port helped to keep the room further from the equation then the down firing, side vented Vandy's. I felt the rumble and heard all the notes, they were right and proper and had both accurate rise and decay but I didn't get that punch in the chest when expected like I did with the Tenors. I also felt that on rare occasions the base became disconnected from the rest of the music, like I could hear that it was being amplified by a different amplifier; the tone subtly shifted and it became identifiable that there was a subwoofer and monitor, and not just a speaker. Other then that, they did everything right.
I can say without hesitation that John knows how to set up a room and he is a great guy who really loves this stuff, and loves music!
After my recent audition I could easily say that I could live forever with either the Tenor or the Vandy 7/2 (I can only assume the Vandy 7/2 would correct at least some of my issues). Which is great because it gives me choices and flexibility to negotiate and see where the better deal lies.
I will be going back to hear the Dynaudio CU next Friday with solid state. And I need to hear the Avalon Isis as well, but the store can't get me in until early September (sigh).
Then there's the T&F Isis, the BMC Arcadia, The Goldmund Wisnon wants me to hear and a few others. Without jumping on a plane, hearing any of those (other then the Goldmund) just won't happen. And if I find several I love without needing to fly somewhere then I'm not going to spend the time and money to fly. Of course, if I hear something in the future that i like more I can always flip and upgrade. But with the performance I hear out of the Tenor, Vandy 7 and potentially Dynaudio CU and Avalon Isis I can't imagine I would get any better elsewhere.
I'm going to call the T&F distributor and speak with him. I'm not driving 3.5 hours to hear the RA when I'm positive it won't give me the base extension I'm after (I emailed and spoke with Mr. Friedl and he agreed that the Isis would probably suit my needs better although the RA would sound great without that bottomless extension). And there is no place to hear the BMC Arcadia without flying to hear it (which is a shame because I negotiated a killer deal for a pair if I wanted them).
And I'm also processing Wisnon's relentless suggestions as they come in. Lol. Man that guy knows about a lot of gear!!!!
