Vandersteen, Coincident or Green Mountain

Having owned speakers from all 3 lines, I would also highly recommend a quatro audition. They are less visually obtrusive (in fact, they are pretty cool looking) and they sonically surpass the 3A sig/2wq combo in every way.

Green Mountain Audio speakers are the most enjoyable speakers I have owned in 30 years. The music flows and the soundstage is huge. Of course, the best way is an audition. With no dealer close to you, I would not be surprised if Roy could arrange an audition for you with a return policy. It never hurts to ask. Speakers are so critical and all the BS in the world has disappointed many an audiophile and cost us all alot of money. I have not heard the Quatros and would want to do the same with those.
Good luck to you!

Thanks for all the great input. I'm not going to make any changes, at least not for a while without further thought and possibly some auditions. My listed alternatives may very well result in a lateral move, and therefore not worth the hassle of selling and shipping the large 4 speakers I have. I was thinking about Quatros a month ago when I saw a pair at a local dealer and really liked the look of them, so much smaller than the 3A Signatures. Seeing them is what got me thinking about a speaker change. And now there are two pair for sale on Audiogon. I'll listen to them before making any decisions, however I've never found listening in a showroom to provide the definitive answer since nothing sounds the same in your own home, but it helps of course, as does talking to dealers who know what they are talking about. This would be the case for the shop here where I am. Maybe an in-home demo is possible but I doubt it. At any rate a month ago the Quatros seemed to costly, then I saw a used pair of Coincident Super Eclipse speakers (not the latest version) and called Israel Blume about the difference and he convinced me at the price he would deliver a new pair to my door (a nice discount from full retail) these would be the way to go. I enjoyed our correspondence, nice guy and he assured me I wouldn't have the one "problem" I described with my Vandersteen setup. This is the narrowness of the sweet spot, both vertically and horizontally. Not sure how his speakers are able to have the wide sweet spot he described or if they really do. I also asked how he makes them time aligned since most speakers that are have a sloping baffle while the Coincident speakers do not. The answer is the way he implements the D'Appolito alignment. Another nice feature of these speakers is they can be driven by low powered SET and OTL amps since they have such high sensitivity at 92db and nominal impedance of 14 ohms, never dropping below 10. Then I spoke with Roy Johnson of Green Mountain and was equally if not more impressed by him. His description of the Pico Mideo, how it sounds and the science behind it had me thinking of spending more again, but at least less than the Quatros. The Pico Mideos cost $6,500 plus shipping compared to $7,695 I believe for the Quatros with crossovers. And a home demo is possible. You can buy them and return for the cost of shipping both ways. He believes the Pico Mideo will sound much better than the Quatro and explained why but I am unable to remember the details. I'm speaking from memory and aware of the danger of misrepresenting what he said, as well as leaving out most of his explanation, but I think his design is simpler than the Quatro in terms of crossover and the 11-band room compensation controls in each Quatro is problematic from his point of view because of complexity. I apologize to anyone reading this (especially Israel Blume, Roy Johnson and Richard Vandersteen) if I've got it all wrong re: their designs or speaker design in general. I'm just an enthusiast trying to decide between competing speaker implementations who is also a strong believer in phase and time aligned speakers.

(((You can buy them and return for the cost of shipping both ways.)) Ask yourself how much would shipping be both ways and add that up
I bet you your local Vandersteen dealer would be glad to bring Quattros out and trial set up for the same amount.(( Israel Blume about the difference and he convinced me at the price he would deliver a new pair to my door (a nice discount from full retail) these would be the way to go.)) Did you ever wonder why he doesnt sell thru dealers? could it be this is the only way he can sell them? Do you think you were the only one who has the special discount treatment off retail?
Could it be this is the street price they are sold at? (((Not sure how his speakers are able to have the wide sweet spot)) D'Appolito drivers above and below smear/will have a wider sweet spot but so does other speakers 901 different ways.
((but I think his design is simpler than the Quatro in terms of crossover and the 11-band room compensation controls in each Quatro is problematic from his point of view because of complexity.))
What If you purchassed a perfect full range speaker but your room mesures a 12 db Bass lift right ch at 80 hz left ch say a 9 db lift at 67 hz? What can you do?
Room compensation allows a more ideal room response.
This solutions to me makes the most sense.
Cheers Johnnyr

If your room mesures a 12 db Bass lift right ch at 80 hz left ch say a 9 db lift at 67 hz, get some bass traps or other room compensation to tame the sound. What if you move to a spot with no similar problems? You have a speaker with extra circuits in the signal path, not to mention the large amount of parts in the crossover. This would not be a "sideways move at best", but an upgrade.

My Green Mountain Audio Callisto's (if I remember correctly) have 6-9 pieces TOTAL in the crossover; other manufacturers use 20 or more to tame the anomallies in their design. Aside from the low bass, I would put my Callistos up against the 3A's mid/tweet performance anyday, and be confident of their sound-quality superiority. I can only imagine what the Pico's would do (I need to see the dealer for an audition...).