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Vandersteen Quattro review in Stereophile

Some of you may recall the rather heated discussion that occured in this forum some months back stimulated from a "Watchdog" piece by Richard Hardesty that made it to these pages where he slammed the Wilson Maxx speakers.
Hardesty has been and still is a very avid supporter of Vandersteen designed speakers.
It was with great interest that I read Michael Fremer's review of the Quattro. It was a very positive review and he did bring up the previous thread that was generated here.
He admitted that maybe Hardesty was right about the sound of the Vandersteen's and declared the Quattro one of, if not the, best bargains in audio speakers. He also admitted that it was better in some ways{which are actually important to me} than the Wilson Maxx( a speaker I personally respect but don't particularly like for the money) and offered up a lot for much less money($44,000 vs $7500 including the required filters.)
It is not my point here to bring all this back up but to say I was glad to see that Fremer and Stereophile do honest reviews and I think he handled the previous disagreement well (after he heard for himself) with what I would consider somewhat of an admission that maybe Hardesty isn't as nuts as he was originally made out to be. I have always thought Fremer wrote excellent reviews and I had a feel for where he was coming from even though I certainly didn't agree with everything he said. I was disappointed how he responded to Hardesty but I'm truly glad to see his appreciation of what Vandersteen can do for a lot less money. Now he needs to review the 5a (or the soon to be released 5a Signature.) I think he would find, when properly set up like all Vandersteen's speakers, a real treasure for the money.
bigtee
drubin
3,240 posts
 
The price difference between the two Quattros shows you how much cabinet contributes to speaker costs and why Vandersteen has always represented such a good value (but not such an attractive speaker).

I would have a hard time putting the non-wood Quattro in my living room. I think the shape and proportions of the Quattro are all wrong aesthetically, but the wood makes it more palatable. How does it affect the sound, I wonder?
tarsando
578 posts
 
"apples and oranges"?....The high-end goal of accurate reproduction of recorded music would seem to be similar.
keithr
950 posts
 
Tarsando-- i tend to believe there is no perfect speaker, and designers opt to voice how they see accurate reproduction. the problem is they think different of what "accurate" reproduction is. otherwise Thiels would sound like Vandys.

i've heard Vandys a zillion times, and while i think they are great speakers, they don't have the resolution i hear in other brands. that said Vandys have a natural coherancy that others don't have. pick your poison. ymmv. sounded great at HE2006 in both rooms i heard them.

i'm with Drubin---the sock look just isn't aeshetically pleasing to me and the wood cabinet version woudl be more appealing to me. then again, people think my Sophias look like silver robots, so its a very personal decision!

KeithR
undertow
1,032 posts
 
I always liked Vandersteen's approch.. and resonable pricing, as for appearence I think that I recognize that people have aesthetic issues with many devices, but I gave up on that long ago in turn for better pricing and buying something more as a "Tool" to get this audio nut job done, yeah wifes and all that can be an issue, but screw that give me another 10,000 in performance over 10,000 in an exotic finish. So I like the respect given to the little guy in the end. But thats just me:)
rolloff
128 posts
 
Interesting how different we all seem to "hear."
KiethR says " i've heard Vandys a zillion times, and while i think they are great speakers, they don't have the resolution i hear in other brands."
To me, the ability of the Vandy's to reproduce an acurate resolution lies in their ability to image. I was actually out of the audiophile treadmill for over 15 years. Then I went to the last HES in SF looking to get some ideas on upgrading my old Vandy's. When I walked into the room playing the Sophia's I knew that was the type of sound I liked in my Vandys' and that they were a potential replacement speaker because they sounded like my Vandy's. But then, to each his/her own.

Rolloff




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