Von Schweikert VR-2's

I agree with DMA. We are working with Von Schwiekert on other projects, but I have heard these and I am extremely impressed with performance/price ratio. I think Albert and Kevin are really making things happen from an engineering perspective at this company. It's so much harder to make a great affordable speaker--and I emphasize affordable.

I also agree with Dma except that I think that the rear ambient speaker is awesome. You adjust it according to how big your room is (totally up to your tastes) and you can get imaging like nothing I have ever heard in a speaker in it's price range. The soundstage is huge and best of all there is no sweet spot. You can walk around the room and the imaging does not collapse. I have had mine (in dark cherry) for two months now and am very satisfied. Just remember to fill the cavity with sand (line them with a small garbage bag so if the sand has any moisture it won't mold the inside of your speaker) or lead shot and give them 100 to 300 hours to break in properly.

I went up to the $10K range because Wilson's Sophia was the only speaker that performed in a fashion similar to the VR-2 in my listening sessions(sufficient bass,non-offensive highs,3D soundstage). I was beginning to believe there was no easy, or inexpensive ticket to sonic bliss with my SET amp.
I also questioned the purpose of the rear-ambience speaker, but it significantly enhances the soundstage.
I will be curious to see how the professional reviewers evaluate these speakers. I have owned a few "Class A" rated sets, and none have been as impressive in my setup as the VR-2.

I had high hopes for the VR2 but at the high end show on Friday the VR2's sounded extremely muddy to me. This was a shock. I've always liked the VR line and it seems to keep getting better . A good friend of mine tells me that the VR2's sounded much better later in the weekend.

These shows are really a crapshoot, you depend on the vendor to do an adequate setup, choose useful music, etc. One of my favorites system at CES - Pipedreams and VAC (amazing!!!) - sounded mediocre on Friday morning. Sure wish I could have attended Saturday and Sunday.

Did any of you hear the VR2's at the show? What was your experience?

Thanks,
Art

I heard the VR-2's and on Friday they did sound muddy, but it wasn't the fault of the speaker. There were some interesting dynamics going on in that room (which I will refrain from discussing) and the PARC was not being used at that particular time. The room interaction was causing the muddy sound and I can tell you that when the PARC was connected the sound was much clearer with a far better soundstage. (yes, of course I'm biased to the PARC--but this isn't about the PARC--it's about the room) Keep in mind--if you have a good room you don't need a PARC, it's not compensating for the speaker, but for the room. In those hotel rooms with very solid plaster walls you do need a PARC. Speaker placement and cabling were also serious issues in that room. The cables being used had a PVC dielectric and really sounded bad (the muddiness you heard actually masked some of the cabling problems, but the cables still killed the soundstage that those speakers can deliver). I frankly felt pretty bad for Albert and crew because it was not the performance they are capable of.