Vandersteen 3A Sigs vs Klipsch Forte III

yes Vandersteen works continually to upgrade and improve the product sometimes without official designation, just look at the evolution from model 2 all the way to 2ce signature II.......and those are the major changes......they have sold ( still in production) about a quarter million model 2..... just imagine a small company with an improvement obsessed owner, recording every change by serial #....

i had occasion to chat with Richard this AM, he was out in the shop finishing the build on a set of power amps, not overseeing it - doing the work.....

the big change in the 3 was to 3a sig which put in the 5a tweeter and midrange....the 5a was world class, the 3a gets you close in many dimensions....

flashlight trick is good.

heardthat.....where are you located ?

Tomic601, I'm in the San Francisco south bay area. That's cool u chatted with the Man this am. Flashlight trick is smart helomech. So the woven mid cone is a big improvement mr_m. I'd hate to leave technology on the table with sight unseen speakers. Almost like u have to buy new if u can't get full disclosure and inspection. I can imagine that if Mr V is doing unpublished "tweaks" over the years, a later 3a sig could sonically be better than the same model a few years earlier. That would suck to discover that after the fact. 

You owe it to yourself to at least search out a demo of the Forte III. I think you will be surprised at how much improvement has been made over the original versions.

Oz

I only listen to classical music and a bit of jazz .
Once upon a time i worked for one of the biggest Klipsch dealers in the USA . The only place I would listen to them was from another room , they were that bright .
SOLE exception was the Forte , they had a balance and  "breathed" in such a manner Classical was  good on them even though they were still a bit bright .
I can well imagine the III's might do very well on most anything .
If the 12" of snow in St  Paul ever melts (9 degrees tonight) I plan on trotting
down to klipsch dealer to hear for myself .






s
ole

Schubert, I just picked up ur comments coming off the golf course here in northern California. It was a cool 75° today !! Sorry, can't imagine 9° except when I'm skiing. 
Well you've been around Klipsch enough. Interesting on the Forte being the exception to brightness. I have to hear them. 
I called around the whole bay area today,  65 mile radius, and could not find one dealer carrying the Vandy 2ce Sig II or Sig 3a, and several scoffed when I asked about Klipsch Forte III's. What's the deal? Terrible profit margins with those lines? I have to drive 6 hours or fly to San Diego or LA to audition. 
Tomic601 probably has best solution to save time and $$ and just buy both, do an a/B, and then sell a set.