Initial impressions of my new Vandersteen Quatro's in Audi Havana Black
I will post pics when I get more time on them. I had them delivered and set up by Johnny Rutan of Audio Connections. He moved them out to the corners of the room and close up against the back wall. I love the look as does my wife. I also LOVE the HUGE soundstage these things can now throw. NO SUCK OUT either. I was shocked at that aspect. I was scared to death when he started them in the corner of the room. I have a very difficult room for bass as it's an open floor plan. I lose a lot of bass on the right channel as it's by a stair case. I'm putting up a temp wall by the railing. I am using a screen right now, but I need treatment of some sort still.
That said, it only has about 30 hours or so and it's already starting to sweeten up. I'm hearing so many things that I haven't heard in the room before. I'm hearing bass passages that hasn't been there before. On one passage of a Bela Fleck song, the room just moved. The thing is that I've heard so many of these songs on Wilson's and Magico's and B&W"s and Focals, Paradigms, Legacy's and so many other speakers, but the tonality of the Vandersteen bass is just special. It's so accurate. What so many don't know is that the way he designed the bass amp, you still have the same sound as YOUR main amp. Not sure how he does it, but he does. You don't hear the difference.
I think that the reason some don't get the Vandersteen's at first listen is because it's not like other speakers. We aren't used to hearing a speaker that isn't 'hifi' sounding. Its very organic. To me, it's like analog vs digital. Both can sound GREAT, but digital is still digital and that's why vinyl and reel to reel are still going strong after all of these years. Kind of reminds me of a plasma TV vs the LCD TV's when I went to purchase mine. I was originally taken by the brightest TV's in the showroom, but I keep going back and watching all the Plasma's in the darker room that Magnolia was showing them in. I wanted the Pioneer, but could only afford the Panasonic's. I have two of them and love them. People actually ask me why their TV doesn't look as good. I first ask if they had it calibrated professionally. The answer is always no and then tell them it's a plasma.
Set up isn't fun for me, so Johnny does it for me. I'm digging my new set up and will write more later, but i am Jonesing to go up to the loft to listen some more. I'm really loving the organic sounds of my system right now. All genres too which is just awesome. Not taking any digs at others systems, just loving mine. We all hear differently and I get that.
Hi admin! lol. Thanks for getting back on that. It's rare to see that on a large forum like this. :)
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@gdnrbob This is a glitch within our system. I have asked a Developer to take a look at it to see if we can correct it. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. I agree it is annoying.
Ok, I think I updated my system and put the right pics in. Please let me know if you guys can see it under my system. Thanks.
I removed my Basis 1400 TT with Benz Glider, Aesthetix Rhea (recently updated with new power supply and tubes), ultrasonic cleaner (never used), AQ Water balanced 2m cable (maybe 1.5m) and the custom TT isolation platform as I'm going to sell all of them. If Bob had seen the vinyl gear and can vouch that I take good care of my stuff.
Are any other members noticing a long blue script over the OP's tag? I use Google Chrome, and I noticed this started happening a couple of month's ago to posters ID. I thought it was something Audiogon was doing, but I am not sure. Bob
Been too busy with other peoples stuff lately. Been doing a lot of listening just to relax, lol. I have to get pics up, I know. It will be one at a time as they are so far apart, lol.
One of the reasons I moved to the Treo's was those honking Sound Anchor stands on the 3a sigs. @tomic601 If the speakers are 3a sigs, then they are the current model. I know Mr. V constantly upgrades his speakers, so if they have a higher serial number, they should be as close to SOTA. If they are older models, then the buyer should negotiate a suitable price. Either way, the differences will be subtle. Bob
Tom, as usual we are in total agreement. No question that the base is essential. I don't know any owners who don't agree with that either. I heard the newest 2's with that 1900 Belles integrated amp. What a system starter. Synergy is always important.
I had 3a Sig for a decade in a much larger room....you dont say how close to back wall you will be? Do they come with the IMO essential big sound anchor stands ? Do you have an amp that can control the formidable low end ? I would much rather get the best current model II vs unknown used model 3 in a small room Just my buck fifty....
@ctsooner +1 I had the 3A Signatures for many years and found them very good on symphonic music which makes up a decent amount of my listening. Set-up is crucial. Once you find the right location in your room with the proper tilt-back you will be good to go. Good luck!
1. not sure. What year are they? 2. his speakers have always been so neutral and the threes will move more air than the Treo's, just don't expect to get the same tightness etc... Compared to much of the stuff out there now days, I personally feel the soundstage is as good or bigger and that's on the older ones. 3. As far as separation, 8' is fine. Just go to the site and make sure you set them up properly with the proper tilt back. They will sound like a point source and are time and phase correct as you know, so they won't smear. That will give you the layering of any genre you want.
The newer the better IMHO. They will make changes and not change the nomenclature of the speaker, so a 20 year old 3 isn't your best buy. I'd much rather have a newer 2 that has the newer drivers that filtered down from the original Quatro's. THAT would be a good deal. If it's not that, personally, I'd try to save for a pair of new 2's, but that's still more. I'm sure that you will get a good deal within your budget and get a great speaker. If you know the serial numbers, sometimes they can help you on their site in the ask Richard area.
@schubert 1.Yes, $1800 is a good price. 2. Great for symphonic music. Though I had the 2w subs. 3. Mine were closer together, but far from the rear walls. The sound was excellent. A lot depends upon your room. FWIW, if you can get a pair of Treo's, it would make a better move. Bob
1. Yes, assuming full working condition. 2. Not sure, not my genre. But killer on jazz, rock, pop. 3. 7 feet is probably a bit close. Have you tried doing the maths in the Vandy manual?
Is 1800 $ a good price for decent pr Vandy Sig 3A"s ?
And are they really good for Symphonic music or not? Jury seems out on that . Oh, as I can get them no more that 8 ft apart and 7 ft away in my condo is that a no-go?
I almost went with the Treo CT’s with a REL Gibraltar G2 sub but the Quatros with the extremely tunable subwoofers was a better choice as I’ve lived with single subs most of my audio journey and wanted stereo subs. The REL G2 is augmenting a pair of Genesis 500’s to great effect which says a lot about the G2 to be able to blend seamlessly with servo subs :)
Mr M and I are on the same page, lmao. Bob was teasing, that's for sure. Bob knows how happy we are, but IF an upgrade is worth it, then we figure out if we can or will afford it. Personally, I love the sound of the Diamond cable. I will also use a Diamond ethernet cable when I get my full system and network set up. It's all worth it, lol.
"I think we are chasing our tails looking for the 'ultimate' upgrade and forget that we are so far ahead sound-wise, and forget how fortunate we are." I just said something similar in a post about upgrading my amp and couldn't agree more with your statement.
@mr_m Yes, I know, I was just being sarcastic. But, sometimes, I think we are chasing our tails looking for the 'ultimate' upgrade and forget that we are so far ahead sound-wise, and forget how fortunate we are. Bob
I would love to have a second Vandy 2Wq sub to go along with my Treo Ct's. But it isn't feasible right now due to financial restrictions and my wife. lol. That combo brings you scary close to the Quattro's. IMHO.
Yes, Bob. We can and do. It's just the nature of the hobby that keeps you on "the lookout" so to speak. I may audition 10 different components over a span of time and buy only one, or many times, none. It's saying to myself "what If I did this?" This to me, is what makes this hobby exciting. Even after 45 years of this hobby I never get bored with it. With each little improvement, no matter how small, if it is audible and good, it keeps me listening to the music longer and longer. To me, that's what it's all about....
Any views on the the AQ Diamond vs Coffee? I have the Coffee and they sound really good to me. I haven't had any real desire to upgrade but now that you guys are talking about it, hmm...makes me wonder :)
A very good upgrade to the AQ DBS interconnects is to grab some Walker Audio resonance control discs and place them either side of the IC’s at the components outputs, remove the batteries from the cables and place them on the discs. (wish we could just post pics)
In my system it's a huge leap. Warmer more organic and much more detail. There is a reason for the price difference imho. That said the Carbon is one of the top cables to me in its range and higher. I'd take it any day over some of the 500 plus USB cables. Jmho
I can attest to ctsooner's woodworking ability. He knows his stuff. @ctsooner I would definitely wait on cable upgrades and let you cables do their magic. As Tomic posted, sometimes you can get too much of a good thing. Bob
Love all the woods. I build furniture for fun and have worked with many cool figured woods. If I had done the wood Quatro’s, I would have asked Richard’s veneer guy if I could just send him a flinch of the wood that I wanted. I have a great veneer guy (the one he uses is as good as it gets btw) so I could have chosen the most figured, quilted type. I also thought about asking if the could do a carbon fiber look for the Quatro’s. I wonder if folks would want to have painted cabinets and show off a bit of the carbon fiber that the 7’s are made of?
I do love the fact that for an uncharge, you can chose any auto paint on the market. I know a dealer who’s next 7’s will be in Ferrari Red with a matching amp. Very cool if you ask me, but I love the Havana Black.
Interesting on the WEL as I spoke with someone yesterday who said he may send me a pair to see if I like it or not. I need a new USB cable first and foremost. I LOVE the Diamond. I do wish I had the TotalDac cable to try out with the Diamond though. That would be an interesting listen. I’ve heard the TotalDac cable in the past and LOVED it. So far, those have been my two favorite cables.
I was told the WEL cables will be the most revealing you can get, but with gobs of warmth. Interesting that they weren't for you. Maybe the Wild or WBY would be best.
CT - my first hit is free crack addict creating Audioquest dealer in Atlanta loaned me a set of WEL top of the line balanced from ARC pre to Ayre power amp when I had the 5a i sent them back.... the detail was stunning but I thought they overemphasized pick and finger noise at the expense of musicality - having said that ignoring the $ on certain material they were crazy good... like how can I send my dude $100 a month under the table so to speak.. good
I have 5A's in a wood called Kowazinga.....whenever I get guests in the house they exclaim how beautiful those things are... I had a furniture refinisher in the house for some scratches on the coffee table, who couldn't resist taking closer look with admiration.
Bob, same room. Yes, they are close to the corners and I'm building a portable wall for the staircase that's next to it. I will be making that soon, but I have a temp deal there now. I'm sure that it's not the best sound wise, but once I get the perm solution in there, it will be fine. I'm going to probably use the green glue to bond two 3/4" drywall pieces together and dress it up with nice wood surrounding the edges. As long as I can do it and not have it vibrate I can make it work. I'm liking the larger soundstage we like that it's not way in the room.
Ayre installed the crossover in the AX5/20 for me Bob. No outside box or pigtails. I can have them take it out when I go to sell it or sell it with the Quatro's if I ever upgrade.
@ctsooner Are the speakers still in the same room that I saw when I bought the Treo's? If so, you mentioned that they are now closer to the walls. Correct? What about the staircase? Do they block that or are they out from the walls enough to not be an issue. Regarding the Ayre, you said it was configured to allow your not using the Vandy crossovers. How did they do that? Bob
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