Vandersteen 5a's - an upgrade from Vienna mahlers?

I'm compelled to say, be very careful to demo any Vanderstein before purchase. For an hour or two, put the engineering and technical erotica away from sight in a drawer, and listen to your music. Obviously the thing to do with any speaker, but good to keep in mind particularly when considering a product line like this with such a devoted following.

Sincerely,

-Bill.

"I love Audiogon." As someone fairly new to Audiogon(member since Jan. 2005) I have to say "I love Audigon." It is a thread like this one that really makes me appreciate the knowlegde that goes into this hobby. I have never heard the speakers in question, but the 5A's have for a while been my "dream" speaker because I love quality and I love Bass. Reading and learning through these posts just makes me love the hobby more.

Unfortunately, you can't put up all the technical stuff with a Vandersteen because setup takes some doings. Let me ask this one simple question, when going to a dealer, how many dealer "Associates" have ever measured your ear height at the listening position? If the speaker is not tilted back and set up to YOUR ear height, you will NEVER hear what any Vandy speaker truly offers!

I ended upgrading from the MC-207 to the Mcintosh MC-402 to drive my Mahlers and they took on an entire new level of control and sonic delight!

Hi Bigtee,

The ear height measurement is not that critical if the rest of the set up is spot on. The 5As simply have too large of a "sweet spot". Yes, it helps, but I've not noticed a big difference between one washer and two as an example. (This goes for the Model 2s as well.)

Sincerely,
Michael