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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
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. . .?
zargon's avatar
zargon
453 posts
 
Madfloyd, I have owned the 5As for several years and have had them set up in two different rooms using ARC tube equipment. I have also assisted friends and associates in the setups of several other 5A/room combinations, some including 2 channel and home theater, with a variety of SS and tube equipment.

What I have experienced is that when you get the room right, and when using appropriate electronics and well recorded source material, these speakers dissappear and create a high, wide, and deep sound stage with a uniquely holographic image. They have a very realistic sound over a wide dynamic range and play louder than you would ever need with no hint of distortion.

Locations of instruments are precise, for example down to inches when hearing the finger plucking a string. The bass is solid, tight and tuneful, and the mids, especially vocals, are extremely realistic and beautifully presented. Highs are delicate and precise with no sense of harshness or distortion. The entire spectrum is very well integrated and cohesive.

As to your observations above, when I hear "fat" sounding bass, it is usually the room contribution and this can not be totally eliminated with the EQ controls alone. Distortion at high volumes can come from a number of sources including electronics and media, however, the use of the high pass filter between the preamp and amp reduces the power demands on the amp and makes these speakers quite easy to drive. My ears are also very sensitive to any high end shrill, etchiness, or distortion and I can listen to these speakers for hours with no fatique.

Obviously, I am sold on the 5As and would highly recommend them. The engineering advancements and workmanship of these speakers is quite astounding. I would also welcome you to visit and listen for yourself if you are in my area. Feel free to email for more information as well.

PS, I am just a passionate audiophile, and not in the audio business.
mtdking
157 posts
 
I went and listened to the 5A at my local dealer and I thought they sounded OK nothing special. The room looked fine and saw no reason whey they should have sounded just OK. I since moved on to Wilson Watt Puppy, Aerial 20T and Kharma speakers but never was real happy with any of them. I went back to the dealer again 3 years later and listened to the 5a again. They sounded better buy not great. I bought them anyways because they sounded better then what I had.

The dealer came out and set them up which didn't take too long. Pretty easy and much easier then everybody makes it sound. They sounded the same in the dealers room as they did in my room. I listened to them and let them break in and after about 1 month I decided to take the time and set them up myself. Long story short. The dealer set them up to what he thought sounded good. That is why it sounded the same as his room. He didn't follow Vandersteen instructions 100% so i went back and redid everything. After me taking 4 hours making adjustments WOW. The best speaker I have ever heard. They just gets better with time.

My point is if you buy 5A take the time and read the manual and set them up yourself to your likings. You will be rewarded.

BTW I thought the Watt Puppies were harder to set up.
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
Mtd, cool story and I never would have guessed that would happen but it makes sense..........it looks like th OP heard something that just wasnt right.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
5,112 posts
 
Mtdking et al... I think dealers really TRY to set up speakers and turntables, but they really can't spend the time to do it really right. If you follow Vandersteen's very time consuming, but very accurate setup directions, you'll win. Even more complicated and time consuming is turntable setup. I've spent months with it, and am now on my way to fine tune it even further.
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