First round of auditions disappointing

Dislikes: Excessive midbass warmth, slow presentation lacked pace and transient attack, loose bass, total lack of dynamics and punch, compression at higher levels.

Seadweller (Threads)

I've said it before, and I'm saying it again. These faults are primarily due to the room and the set-up. It's not the VR4Jr speakers. I'll lay heavy odds you are going to have the same issues with any speakers you bring in to your system if the set-up remains the same.

I had the first generation VR-4's, so it's quite likely that Von Schweikert's new designs are quite different than mine, which was some 10 years old. Even the VR-4.5 was supposed to have been a marked improvement over the VR-4, and it came less than a year after the VR-4 was introduced. I believe the VR-4.5 went to 9" Eton woofers with cast frames, whereas the woofers in my VR-4's were 8" polypropylene with stamped metal frames. The cross-over point was also evidently changed to cure what was a common complaint, lack of mid-bass punch and dynamics, which slowed the overall presentation of the speaker and made the bass sound tubby because of a "hole" in the spectrum.

I liked the VR-4's enough to keep them for 10+ years, so believe me, they did a lot of things right. I was able to overcome many of the bass issues, but the system still lacked dynamics and impact. They were a very laidback speaker system, and I knew that going in, but I felt their other charasterics outweighed the lack of dynamics.

Eventually, I got bored of the lack of excitement the speakers generated, and found that I no longer listened to the system. That's primarly what prompted me to sell them and start the search.

I'm in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, and the selection here is terrible, so it's very, very unlikely I'll have the luxury of auditioning a speaker in my own home, let alone within 100 miles!

Right, VR4, not VR4Jr. I still reiterate my comment about room and set-up.

You can sometimes arrange in-home auditions by contacting the manufacturers directly. If you don't have a dealer within a certain mile radius, they will often ship you speakers to hear in your home, or they will refer you to a dealer who will do the same.

Also, you can buy used, listen, and re-sell. It's a hassle, but buying speakers in general is a hassle, as you are discovering.

For a while there, I thought Darkmoebius was also a speaker manufacturer link!

Fooled me...

Seadweller (do you frequently sell on Timezone, by the way?),

Specifically which amp, cables & CD player are you using? Sorry for all of the questions, but it will help to recommend speakers that will fit your stated requirements.

Also, you might consider initiating another thread requesting the opportunity to hear systems in the Tampa area. I'm certain that A'goners in that area would be happy to have you over for a listen. In fact, one of them sold a pair of Green Mountain Audio Continuum 3s not long ago. At around $4-5K used, I would recommend putting them on your short list.

And please do let us know which amp/cables/CD you have.