Von Schweikert VR-5SE

Mfontana,

I bet your bass is so much better than using the VAC alone. Cool, nice to hear. Enjoy !

Hi all hey Mfontana
I have the BAT 75se/VR5se set up and wanted to also give bi-amping a try. But ss amp would have to have volume controls so I could match it with my tube amp. What Mfontana are you using to balance out the two amps?

Moemoney,
My Vac has a gain of 38db, the Spectron has a gain of 28db.
From my Pre. I run two sets of cables one set to each amp. If left alone there would be a mismatch in volume the tube amp would play louder than the Spectron. To equal this out I put a pair of Rothwell 10db attenuators on the RCA's right before they enter the Vac amp. This did the trick, anyone who has heard the speakers can't tell there are two different amps running them " they are seamless " I thought the speakers were good before this change but they are now at another level. I bought the attenuators on Audiogon for i think $69.00. My friend has the VR5's also and was not as lucky with this project. He has the Atmasphere Ma1's and tried to mate them with the new PS audio amps but the speeds were off, the OTL's were just to fast for the PS audio amps. I am going to try and get him to contribute to this post, he knows far more than me on the subject.

"The Best Loudspeakers in the World" ...I couldn't agree more.

I own the New Von Schweikert Audio VR-5SE Loudspeaker. The

VR-5SE is the finest loudspeaker at the $30K to $40K price point,

selling at $25K in all finishes. The VR-5SE has a soundstage as if the

recording studio microphones are feeding the loudspeaker directly.

The VR-5SE's ability to mirror the microphone output is a feat that no

other loudspeaker I have ever heard can accomplish...the Quad Electro

Static's came very close, but the VR-5SE is there. The VR-5SE sound-

stage,imaging and dynamic contrasts are second to none, only the

more expense Von Schweikert loudspeaker offerings can compete with

the VR-5SE loudspeaker.

I am using the Atma-Spere MA-1 MK 111 along with the Zero's Impedance

matching transformers bi-wired to the bass section using the 4X setting.

Ideally the VR-5SE would like to see a high current solid state amp, to get

the best performance from the two 9" woofers. I just love the clarity the

OTL'S bring out in this loudspeaker. The MA-1 MK111 are fast and detailed

for a tube amp.

The Solid State amps I would use are the Following:

Pass Labs X600.5, X350.5, X250.5

Pass Labs XA160 and XA 100 using the Zero Impedance matching transformers

using the 4X setting on the Bass.

Bryston 7BSST

Dartzel

Spectron Music Man 3

The VR-5SE can also be bi-amped...although one should use similar amps...

matching amps of different speeds and gains can be tricky.

In conclusion the VR-5SE loudspeaker is a reference tool for any audiophile

wanting to know how good the rest of the systems components are...pre-amp, amp,

digital sources, analog and cabling will have a window to there strengths and weakness.