B&W vs Von Schweikert house sound?

Some people don't prefer the B&W 800 series with the diamond tweeters as they are usually heard at dealers who also carry MacIntosh or Classe.

Unless they are hooked up to Mac 501 monos or Classe CAM 400 monos and at least bi-wired, they can sound constrained and you'll never hear what they are capable of.

I listened to these amps with my 803D mains and wasn't entirely satisfied. The speakers, however, woke up when connected to a Spectron MK2 that has 600/watts of power and I've never heard them sound so good whether at low or medium volumes.

The B&W 800 diamond series are tough to drive as their nominal impedances of 8 ohms drop to 2-3 ohms during play and only a few amps are stable at these impedeances. The Spectron is stable down to 0.1 ohms.

I also have them shotgun wired with Mont Blanc speaeker cables and they sound better with speaker wires that are at least bi-wired.

My 2 cents.

Thanks for the responses so far. I know there are many other speakers out there, but for the purpose of this thread, I'm only interested in comparisons between these two brands. I am not interested in other brands at this time.

I listen to lots of different music, ie, jazz, vocalists like Sinatra and Norah Jones, classic rock, pop, some big band and orchestral music, etc, however, I'm really just generally asking for the characteristics and distinctions between these brands and these particular models.

I own the N803 and the older matrix 803s2. I've listened extensively to the 803D and 802D, and I really like their sound. I personally do think that the B&Ws are lively. I cannot listen to the VSA's, as there is no dealer in NYC/LI area, but I've always admired the reviews and board opinions of these speakers. That's why I'm trying to compare them by others opinions.

Thanks. Look forward to more comparisons.

I am more familiar with the VR4 JR (I own two pair) than the VSA speakers you listed. You have listed quite a range of VSA speakers. While there may be a house sound, you will hear differences across this group in the attributes you listed. Bass tends to be fairly quick for all the VSA speakers listed, but there is generally more impact and abiity to go lower with the VR5 than the VR4.
I find the high end of the Von Schweikert to be less fatiguing than the B&W speakers and somewhat more forgiving of recording quality. The Von Schweikert speakers also seem to be less amp dependent in achieving optimum sound than the B&W speakers you listed. It is difficult for me to make detailed comparisons because of differences in room acoustics, associated equipment and break-in when I have heard these speakers.
You might find an owner in the NYC/LI area willing to provide a demo of Von Schweikert speakers. Try posting in the Von Schweikert forum on Audiocircle.com if you want to pursue this possibility.

If you look at the multitude of threads that are basically people looking to "fix" their B&W issues with a [insert cable, amp, pre-amp, new speaker, etc.] it should tell you something. To my ears they sound good at first but after just a few minutes the sound and lack of musicality wear thin. I have even seen a dealer sneak a sub into demos of his B&Ws.

VSAs in comparison have a smoother but delicate top end, better sound stage, and they dig way deeper with good authority on bass. To me the VSA are better from stem to stern and are pretty great options at their price points. In a 15X18 space the 4JR would be a good option.

I think Maineiac nailed it, plus he has great taste in women. You'll be happy with any pair of Von Schweikerts for many years. The VR-4Sr. certainly helped me get off the crazy upgrade highway, and I owned probably 20 high-end speakers before settling on Von Schweikert. The VR-4Jr. is probably one of the best deals in audio.