I heard those 4's many times. I forgot they were powered subs. They were a big ass speaker for sure. |
Thanks for the reference to that interview - hadn't seen it before.
RV worked out his theory on a model you rarely hear about, in the 1980s - the Vandersteen 4 and later 4A (which as a significant improvement over the 4). Didn't make many - something like a couple of hundred pair, I think, and they now come up for sale at ridiculously low prices because no one knows what they are and they were never reviewed.
I liked my 4As so much I still have them after a quarter century, albeit in my 3rd system, because I just couldn't bring myself the sell them. If you ever see any for sale, give them serious consideration as they still provide a bigger slice of audio reality than many much more current speakers.
Like his current models, they have an on board sub (a push/pull pair) with a high quality cap to roll off the bass to the other drivers, and the sub bass requires separate power amp(s)
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I'm getting mine for a dance (j/k) lol...
That arm is so special. Have heard it a few times and wow is it good. Let me know if you start a thread. |
maybe we should start an AJ Conti / Basis appreciation thread....
the Basis arm is a no brainer and a move I may well make when / IF one in decent shape come available...
right now I am using a nice Cardas power cable I picked up for a song.....
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I'm so jealous. Richard must like Cowboy Junkies as all Vandy dealers show with that song, lmao...I love it!!!!
M, that table is sick. I was friendly wiht AJ after I got it and he said that the only upgrade it needed was his Vector 4 arm. I tried to find one in good shape, but no one sells those things used, lol. He said that with that arm, it will outperform any under 20k table he's heard. Now, that's HIS baby, but I now many who have said the same thing. He said that it's not overkill for that table Jim has now. That alone says a ton.
Jim, I know you will eventually get that arm and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it, lol. I actually have one of AJ's power cords that he sold me for cost before he left us and it made a nice difference in my DAC. I love the new AQ cables better, but AJ was a great engineer for sure. |
rocking system 7 and 7 this eve.....
1.2 Kilowatts per side...100% Vandersteen power.......subs and main...
Cowboy Junkies.......
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Basis 1400
Rega 300 OEM arm with Basis silver wiring...
Etna Delos
HRS isolation base...
expertly setup by maestro Robert Quick of Stereo Unlimited in San Diego......
lucky and blessed I am....indeed....
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Ct. I saw and listened to that 'table you sold to Jim. That 'table is a thing of beauty and sounds absolutely awesome!!! |
I"m glad that Jim is enjoying MY Basis TT ;).......er...now YOURS, lmao....Soooo happy that you are enjoying it. One of the best buys in all of audio.
It was the 3.6 driver set if I recall. Richard (the former distributor) sent them along. |
Hey Jim, Got that Crosby album too. On vinyl. Great music! |
listening to 7 and 7 right now.....Crosby
If I Could only remember my name.....magical stuff....deeply layered, big soundstage....sweet extended treble.....
ah....
no dark tubes required...but i got a few in tge signal chain...7 in the phono, 4 in the DAC, 6 in the preamp, 2 in each monoblock.....ha
tubes salemans dream......IF you get to Seattle, come hear them....
back to the music |
I actually moved from the Supertowers to the Proac Response Two’s, which I liked quite a lot and kept for many years - - much more forgiving in the highs.
And I enjoyed a pair of Vandersteen Quatro’s for five years. Those are great, well balanced speakers that reward you for dialing them in just right. I would love to try a pair of 7’s in my home! |
Ct. From your last post, I now understand why you kept them so long. Can't remember the exact model number/letter, but I think it was the models 3.5 and 3.6 Proacs that sounded absolutely wonderful to me. A very fine loudspeaker! |
Guys, the reason he sold them to me for 1000 was to get rid of them for the newer version with the fabric tweeter. That was a very good speaker. After a few years my surrounds fried (all of the older Proacs had that problem). I got a full set of them from the distributor, but they were for the newer towers. We also got the newer tweeters along with the proper crossovers. We wired them up with MIT internal cables and Cardas silver solder if I recall correctly. New WBT binding posts also. Basically we rebuilt the speakers and they were special after that. I still had to use tubes on them though. They disappeared just like all his speakers did. The sound was MUCH closer to his reference speaker sound after we installed those drivers and crossovers. The wire made a huge difference.
I had my preamp and mono blocks rewired as well as upgrading all the caps and resistors, lol. Great designs taken to another level, but these Vandy's just crush the ProAcs. I will say that the new ProAc ribbons are the smoothest ribbon tweeters I've heard so far. They just seem to really lack in any deep bass. Even the 40's don't do it for me compared to the Steen's (even my old Treo's) |
jbrrp1,
The Proac Supertower wasn't actually a bad design. I just couldn't get past that hard, sterile, titanium dome MB tweeter. |
This turn brings me back! In the early 90’s I switched from Vandersteen 2C’s (which were the speakers that first brought me into the high end) to Proac Supertowers (I believe I was influenced by a review by Jack English...). Those speakers brought more information, which the 2C’s somewhat lacked, and they were challenging speakers to tame! In fact, too challenging, as I ended up trading them out within a year for a more forgiving speaker. Darker tubes, definitely were the only way to go! |
Tim, you nailed it. It did a few things great. I HAD to use tubes that sounded like tubes, lmao. I became good friends with the owner. Irony is that he sold Vandy's, but didn't love them. I wish I had been more up to date at that point, but I wasn't. I almost wish I had gotten the later Spendors as they were very musical. He also had the Apogee's. |
Ct. Was that the Proac Supertower? The one with two 7" woofers flanking a MB titanium dome tweeter? If so, I auditioned that one in my home a long time ago. Very hard loudspeaker to find love for. IMO
Best,
Tim |
Jim, I lost your contact info. Please resend. Thanks. Yes, I'm a fan boy, but I also love other products as we all do.
I just think he's nailed in IRT his overall approach. He knows where the compromises probably sound best for the majority of listeners. I know that so many very famous musicians, reviewers and producers have his speakers in their personal home systems and that really says a lot. I never would buy because of that, but I'd surely audition because of it. I went into a store af ew years back to purchase a new set of Proac's and wound up with Vandersteen's instead. Thats' the POLAR opposite of when I went into a store in RI in teh 90's to get the 3's and walked out with Proac towers that I regretted from day one. Kept them for a LONG time though. lol.
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You rabid fanboy.....
love his products and thinking....
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