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Vandersteen 5a battery biased crossovers

I've been using my 5As nearly every day for over 2 and a half years now and I feel they are the best move I ever made in audio. I researched them (and many other speakers)thoroughly before I made my purchase. I must say that everything incorporated in this design makes more sense to me than any other speaker I've encountered(Richard Hardesty's review covers this all very well for those not familiar) The one feature I still wonder about though is the battery biased crossover. How much does this help the sound? I believe that after about 5 years the battery needs to be changed on each crossover. Has anyone here had the 5A long enough that this had to be done? Did you do it yourself or does it require shipping to the factory?( I think the batteries are soldered in place to keep from rattling)Also, has anyone just let this go and not really noticed a difference?
sonofjim
audioconnection
1,271 posts
 
Jeff Jones, I have changed the batteries on dozens of 5 and 5a and have never found a blown battery on one that was within the date noted in the owners manual.

You never said if your batteries were within the recommended date.
Where they new speakers or demos?
I have sold hundreds of Vandersteen speakers and find
them to have the highest quality control standards.
Disparaging a great product should be done carefully
with honesty and should not be trivial.

About the high-pass, if the connection has any noise or a intermittent connection the caps will couple this voltage change into the input of the amplifier with potentially bad results. Again the solid reason for not offering 9V clip on types as you had suggested, hope this clarifies.

My garage opener uses a 9 volt battery and corrosion is a problem. Some speakers end up in very humid conditions or salt air. If it is too much trouble for you, put in the 9V lithium's which last 11 to 12 years. Best JohnnyR
jeff_jones
418 posts
 
Audioconnection - "Disparaging a great product should be done carefully with honesty and should not be trivial."
Seems like you are implying that either I'm not being truthful or else some of the problems I had should be considered trivial and not reported? Every manufacturer has to keep on top of quality control and usually the customer gets feedback more in the way of "thank you for the information and we are sorry you had problems with our product".
Batteries were due for a change in 01/13 and I swapped them 03/13 so I guess I was 2 months past the explosion date :).
audioconnection
1,271 posts
 
Jeff, did you contact(Vandersteen Audio) about this information and get an unsatisfactory response via phone or FAQ? Best JohnnyR
jeff_jones
418 posts
 
Audioconnection - We could just quit and declare peace on the topic if you want to.
Have talked to R.V. in the past, he said he had a reputation as a grouch but I found him personable and straightforward. Have not bugged him about the minor quality control things noted here (screws missing and loose receptacle to plug connections) or the battery thing which really just came up.
My previous comment was in response only to your "Disparaging a great product should be done carefully with honesty and should not be trivial."
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