Thinking about purchasing vandersteen 5's what's a

I've seen used ones for around 50% of retail, but it's true they don't come on the market that often. If you have a pair lined up I wouldn't pay more than 5 to 6K in this market. There are many great speakers selling for well below 50% of retail. The Talon Khorus is an excellent example of a great speaker that's being given away due to our economy. Also, keep in mind that in order for the 5s to be properly set up you will need the test equipment that is provided by the dealer for adjusting the woofers response in your room. If you have not already done so read Robert Harley's review in The Absolute Sound. He covers this in some detail. As another possiblity you should go to the VMPS website (vmpsaudio.com) and read Martin de Wulf's and Peter Moncrieff's reviews of their RM-40. I too was very interested in the model 5s until I read these reviews. Two of the best reviews I've ever read on loudspeakers (and I've read a lot) and both by excellent reviewers with publications that do not advertise...they tell it like it is. Check it out.

I have had my eyes open for a used pair of Vandy Model 5's for more than 18 months, and only seen one pair for sale here on Audiogon. The seller (in New Mexico, as I recall) was having a hard time finding a buyer, and he had reduced his price to $6750, which is the lowest price I've seen for the Model 5's. For a relatively new pair, I'd expect to pay around $7500-8000 for the base model in oak veneer (the sexy wood veneers will run more).

If you don't know this, Vandersteen has just released the upgraded Model 5A (see the link below for more info). The release of the 5A may result in more of the early Model 5's coming onto the used market, and perhaps at lower prices.

You might try contacting John Rutan at Audio Connections in New Jersey. John is, I think, the highest volume Vandersteen dealer in the country, and he gets a lot of speakers traded in.

Link for info on new Vandy Model 5A: http://www.vandersteen.com/pages/Model5ALit.htm

Because of their weight-- 225 lbs. each when packed on their own pallets, and the difficulty packing and shipping them, I think the Vandersteen 5s can be difficult to sell when shipping is involved. I'd guess that most are sold with some kind of local pickup arrangement. For this reason, I thought long and hard before I bought mine, and I intend to keep them indefinitely. They are wonderful speakers. Good Luck. Craig