Von Schweikert VR4JR & Tube Amp???

Rob, and merril,

The Best sound I've heard in a number of years came as recently as two years ago or less... with the Jr'S DRIVEN by Thor TA1000 mkII, and 30 wpc mono blocks... new tag = 19K. ...but 30 wpc! I didn't rail the volume though. average to above average levels.. Everything was there... though the bottom end could have been tighter a bit... no shot in them according to the dealer. Also, i think he was using a Chang Light speed unit too.... can't say for sure but likely. Sweet a sound as I've yet to hear in reproduced music. Organic, natural,solid, and full. No abbberations, top to bottom. Au24 wire too, as he was big on that then. 30 watts. Amazing. and not the most efficient speaker either. Wow.

Merril...
the diagnol extends from the corner of the room behind the speakers to the corner of the rectangle closer to the center of the room... sorry I was obtuse. Stand in the corner behind the unit with your back to the 'rear' wall and one shoulder against the side wall... step off eight feet, (five in a small room), then turn towrads the center of the room, or the opposite side wall, or jsut the other speaker... and step off five feet, (three in a smaller room), at that point look back to where you began.... that's the diagonal line to which the units are placed on... just centering the bass onto the line.. keeping the units parrallel to each other.. and the adjacent walls, both rear and sides... will eliminate or almost eliminate two of the three room nodes... (whether in fact this is an absolute or not, I can't say...), and it is a tremendous step in the right direction. As others posted, room treatments are necessary all the time.. though often dismissed... as it's just so murky a deal. IMO. Wher to hang what? How much? etc... Almost need an alchemist... or seance. Shot, and isolation are my next or actually, a curent process for me... a very slow process.. Likely it'll be curtains and foam diffusers behind the curtains... but I thinhk I'm also gonna close off the two halways, and replace the dry wall with 5/8 inch instead of the thin junk I got now...adding some center braces offset between the 16" OC STUDS, ALONG THE WAY.... gOOD LUCK...

OH, AND TOE IN imo IS A PREFFERENCE THING.. ONCE THEY'RE IN PLACE LITTLE IS NEEDED... ALTHOUGH i HAVE HAD AS MUCH AS 5.5 INCHES AT ONE POINT... NOT NOW THOUGH.

Good information blindjim. I agree with all of it. I actually bought the program CARA and read books about room treatment, but I feel like I don't know much more than I did. However, I am happy with placement and treatment. I used compressed fiberglass panels (like Owens - but a generic from india with almost same absorption spec's) - I use them on the back wall and side reflections and book shelves behind me. A bass trap in the corners.

I use a 50wpc amp (30wpc) in triode. In triode it is a little slow. At 50wpc in pentatode it is fast and has good bass.

I think the best set up would be a triode 30 wpc on the mids and highs and a solid state 100wpc + on the bass. But that's just a theory - one day I will try it.

Rob321,
Reply

I've a similar idea in that I would like to add a tube amp, just one time on top to find out aobut it... I spoke with Albert V a few months ago on the phone... he did most of the talking... I was having some difficulty with setup and such... there were some issues which i'll not go into here, but on the whole he made mention of some of his experiences in the speaker line he has and bi amping them... He singled out a combo that in his opinion was as good, or the best, (can't reember which), he said he had ever heard.... BAT VK60 & VK500, with BAT vk5 driving them... well, I'm by chance, two thirds there... I would however rather a 100 wpc doing the work up top, balanced, naturally... but that's just me... gotta juice up these babies as their efficiency ain't too great... were it say, 90, or so... perhaps a mite less would suffice. IMO. ...we'll see what the New Year holds for me. Though this coming year I've plans to do treatments, speaker cables, and finalize the iso tweaking I'm into now...

So just where did you manage those wall treatments from, apart from India? Someone had told me about 'sound board' at Home depot... the threads here led me to another notion of using the Owens Corning insulation in a DIY deally. Did some research, and then decided to avoid the DIY part, as I think my lack of decent vision might get me in a bit of trouble working with insulation materials first hand... Also, in the process of doing the research, I found a spot online, called Guilford of Maine..(http://www.guilfordofmaine.com/).

These folks make a cloth covering that many speaker makers use for their grills... as transparent as you'll find, according to a couple 'Acoustic engineers I spoke with about the country. Patterns, colors, prints, etc, are all available. I figured to cover whatever 'treatment' went up on the wall with something from them.... no clue what, just something other than the limited choices most panels come in... perhaps you might want to check them out. Another spot that has much in the way of 'audio' stuff and room treatments is Parts express..(http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=215), several makers of other peripherals I have spoken with use these folks regularly. Plenty of links about info surrounding the products they sell including 'types, how to's, associated items, etc.

I would like to know about the rear wall & first reflection treatments you found and how much diff they made for you, if you'd not mind of course.

So, do you guys think a BAT VK-55 would be powerrful enough to drive the JR's fully? I am curious about tubes and listen at pretty low volumes -- but I like to have full sound a low volumes.

Pardales...
Geoff Poor of BAT had originally recommended the 55 to me as a bi-amp option... One at first, add one later on…so actually two VK55... and run them bridged to 110 wpc. "Well, sure thing, Geoff!" If I had Geoff's money I'd throw mine away... but he's a great guy and has provided me a lot of good insights along the way... and by the by, their head of sales... go figure... Having heard the JR's with less power, though not at high volume levels, "Drive them?" Sure. Drive them at high levels I'd think so but can't testify to it. With 87db efficiency the JR's, as many others with that level of efficiency, can be hungry for power to develop signals in the upper ranges of the volume happy end of things..and provide a vibrant, and dynamic presentation that will approach a live recreation.

I too listen 90% of the time to levels that allow conversation, or slightly above.... BUT there are those time... and the only thing that controls the volume is my fear of damaging the JR's... as I have sufficient power with the vk500, to get them up there. Another thread here about tube power v. solid state power, addresses that question in general. For I posed the same Q, with some great insights... I've talked with folks that are running N802's with 60 wpc tube amps... heard the JR's on 30 wpc... so it will work... Albert V. designed the JR's with the notion to get the very best sound out of them with bi-amping in mind... but not the rule, and solely optional. Personally, I am thinking to add a vk60, or vk75 up there, and they ain't but 5 to 15 wpc larger in current development than the VK55. Remember the top end of the JR’s is an 8 ohm load... the bottom is 4. that's where Albert gets the 6 ohm overall. He also intended them to be at least bi-wired.

I'd think there are plenty of tube amps driving the JR's...and am curious why more haven't contributed in this particular thread to that extent, indicating their current or past matchups with various amps & the JR’S…. some of the reviews on the JR’s did exactly that…. Good luck!