I have not listened to the DB-99 and M15 side by side. I have listened to them both though. I like the M15 better and feel it is a better value. I owned the VonSchweikert VR-4jr ($4000 list at the time) and, at the time, felt that the DB-99 ($12000 list at the time) was superior to the VR-4jr. I did not, however, feel it was so much better as to warrant three times the price of the VR-4jr. The M15 ($8500 list), on the other hand, betters the DB-99 to my ear and does so at only a little more than twice the list of my VR-4jr. The M15 is the first speaker over $5000 that I would try and stretch my budget for.
As to the M15 sound
If you feel the VR-4jr is lacking in the area of detail and/or musical excitement the M15 may be just the ticket. I am impressed with how low and powerful the M15 bass is and yet it is also very fast/tight. The mids/highs provide plenty of micro detail and yet manage to stay non-fatiguing for me and still convey the overall sense of the music (the detail serves the music and does not draw my attention to the point of distraction). There is an overall immediacy to the performance that I had not experienced in a loudspeaker prior to auditioning the M15. You get a front row seat
or perhaps you are sitting on the edge of the stage even! Some may not like this perspective and I generally have not liked speakers with that perspective in the past. But the M15 manages to give me an up front sound without the in your face feeling or Ive got to turn it down or run away now! sense. The sound envelops me and draws me in. Me likey!!
Enjoy!
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