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Questions for Vandersteen 5A owners...

I finally got to audition 5A's yesterday. Involved 9 hours of driving, but it was worth it. :-)

I realize no speaker is perfect and it's a matter of tradeoffs. I am attracted to Vandersteen because of a strong reputation and the fact that it includes a powered bass module with 11 bands of EQ per speaker. I have a troublesome room. Currently have Aerial model 9s - a great speaker but not ideal for my room.

Anyway, I wanted to post my impressions and see what owners have to say.

1) Larger than life sound. Holy big imagery. High hats sounded like they were 3 feet in diameter.

2) Wide dispersion of sound (i.e. large sweetspot). Vocals stretched from speaker to speaker. Panning of instruments off center was hard to pinpoint.

3) Bass seemed EQd well (couldn't hear any notes being louder than others) but all in all it wasn't as articulate as I expected. Bass was very fat sounding.

4) Problem at loud volumes? It might have been the 200 watt amp, but when the volume was cranked it was very distorted. I notice that Stereophile recommends the speaker but says "won't play as loud as other speakers". I have never experienced a speaker that had a volume limitation per se, so I'm not sure what to expect - distortion or were they simply meaning it wasn't very sensitive? I don't listen to music at crazy volumes, but these would also be used for home theater - where speakers should be able to handle loud peaks. Have any of you noticed this?

5) A lot brighter than I expected and very revealing. Highs sounded less smooth/laid back than I expected (or was used to for that matter). Almost harsh at times. Could have been the recordings, but I played stuff I was very familiar with so I'm puzzled here.

6) Midrange was very nice.

Anyhow, I'm interested in others' perceptions here as I can't audition these in my own home. I do believe that the dealer could set up the bass well in my room, but am generally worried about some of the points above.

Thanks in advance.
madfloyd
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
My dad owns the Wood Quatro and has been back and fourth for auditions of the 5A, I dont agree about the brightness, if anything some say they can be too relaxed, the image is huge but image is easy to pin point when I heard them many times also the speakers are good at dispearing with that minimal baffle, maybe it was the set-up. As far as volume I think its more of the use of first order crossovers that can limit sound but these certainly wont play 115db and thats not something Richard V will ever care about, he is very cautious and even warns of hearing problems with levels greater than 85db, if you buy his speakers expect a personal note in that regard.
How far were the speakers out in the room? I dont think I ever heard some of the image and pin pointing issues you have so that makes me curious of placement and area around them. I am a huge fan of Vandersteens 5A even tho I sadly cant afford them but I think it is one of the truely best values in audio.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
5,112 posts
 
I am using Vandersteen 5A's with Ayre components...very synergistic coupling. I have pinpoint imaging...left to right, and front to back. I noticed that it was good however became very much better when I upgraded the power cords to the amp and preamp. The speakers now disappear - the sound is very lifelike. I am a professional violinist, and shudder at wirey highs. The highs on the 5A's are very lifelike and extremely fast. It gets plenty loud into my large room... 20x44 foot room with 12 foot ceilings. If I can be helpful let me know. If you're in the Scottsdale Arizona area, listen to mine.
guidocorona
4,114 posts
 
Madfloyd, what you describe appears to be a little atypical of well fed and well setup 5As. May I ask what the electronic was, cabling, etc. . .?
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