Choice of Vandersteen models

speak to John Rutan at Audioconnection. 5s need HUGE room college auditorium size. 

Midrange suckout? Are you referring to Stereophile's measurements? That "problem" is because Atkinson has to measure at 50" in his "quasi-anechoic" technique, and he doesn't always use the manufacturer specified height. This severely handicaps first-order designs in particular. Compare, for example, Stereophile and Soundstage's measurements of the Thiel CS2.4. Stereophile shows a big "suckout" in the upper midrange/lower treble while Soundstage shows near ruler flat response from ~35-20K cycles. Why the difference? Soundstage has a real anechoic chamber and, more importantly, measures at 2 m = 79".

I disagree that the 5’s need a HUGE room. I have a fairly small room and use 5’s and they sound quite good.  A bigger room would be better, but it’s not a necessity.  Having said that, the Quatro Wood may be a better choice for a small room.  I got my 5’s here for $5k several years ago, at the time Quatro Woods were fairly new so very few used for sale and when they came up they were in the $7k range.  The bigger issue is finding a used pair, don’t see them too often so if you are picky about which wood species you want then you may have to have a lot of patience.  Good luck!

agree 5 do not need a massive room
in fact tge 11 bands of bass EQ allow them to work just about anywhere....
RV has an anechoic chamber also , poster just taking a shot he has made before.....facts and engineering seem to get in the the way.....

to the OP
some quick calls to the some Vandersteen dealers might be in order as many do a lively trade business and may even have access to customer units when they trade up
i would try four in particular but there are more:
Johnny R at Audio Connection in NJ
Alan Jones at Hi-Fi Buys in Atlanta
Bruce at Stereo Unlimited in San Diego
Randy at Optimal Enchantment in Santa Monica

Randy has I believe a pair of 5a used in maple or oak right now
i bought a pair in Rosewood from him used some 7 years ago now....
Alan took them in trade for my 7
good luck
pm me if i can help in any way
jim

My brother took me to Casa Guadalahara, if only I knew Stereo Unlimited was a few blocks away...
B