New Von Schweikert VR SR4 mk11 Cream or Crap ???


It is hard to find a recent review of these speakers.
The few comments I been able to find on the Mk 11 version is that they are either very good or very bad.
All reviews seem to like the bass response, that is a good thing, but what about all the other qualities ?
Like treble, midrange, dynamics, soundstage , etc.

I am really interested in these (I like the way the look )but I have no way to audition them in the southeast corner of Michigan.

So, please anyone that can give an honest opinion of the speakers sonic qualities would be appreciated.

If your comments sound like a winner, I may hop on a plane to hear them somewhere.
128x128ozzy
I have the VR SR4's without the mkII. The factory describes these as very similar to the mkII. They only changed becuase the Aerogel mid was discontinued. Here's a mini review of the SR4. I hope this helps.
My musical taste favors classical, pop and rock. I play classical piano and sing. The most important aspect of sound in descending order for me would be natural and non-fatiguing, excellent portrayal of timber, detail, ability to convey instrument and hall decay, accuracy, fast dynamics, bass fullness and slam, and stage width. Less important for me is stage depth and height. The worst thing a system could do is to be strident, harsh, cold, or muddy.

I have now had my pair of VR4Sr's for nine months. They are gorgeous in African Hazelwood. My wife and I are super pleased with the fit and finish. The separate base and mid/high modules create a sense of lightness, avoiding the large box feel. The available cherry finish looked smeared, but the poplar looked great as well. After break-in a few things are obvious: 1. They can easily fill my 38X22 room with no efforting or shout. 2. They are seamless to my ear across the spectrum, measuring flat at near field listening position except a small hump at 60-80 HZ. I have a concert grand piano in the same room and the sound quality, micro-dynamics, and note decay from the speakers and the piano are quite close. Piano pieces are captivating in detail, depth, clarity, and accuracy. 3. My concern that I did not have a high enough quality front end to do them justice was unfounded. In fact I talked to Von senior himself and he said that they were designed to perform well with an affordable front end. 4. I seem to be sacrificing only sound stage depth and a bit of instrument position with near front wall placement (about 18 inches from the back of the speaker) and they were not too particular about sidewall placement and distance apart. 5. The company has been exceptional to deal with and the packing was intelligent and secure.

Details: Bass, spiked on wood flooring, is tight, articulate, fast and full. Mids are excellent, natural and detailed. Highs are sensitive to quality of the recording, cables, and front end - when all is right, it is detailed, neutral, and sweet in the good sense. For example with silver speaker cables the highs were painfully strident at loud volume, with copper the highs are wonderful. Soundstaging in terms of precise instrument localization has been a challenge with my setup with a TV recessed between the speakers (a blanket over the TV helps). Stage width is fine, extending beyond the speakers and the sweet spot is wide and deep. I like the speakers on all material but they seem most exceptional on solo instrument, voice, small ensemble, jazz, and pop. Orchestral is very good. Heavy, dense rock is only good (too revealing of defects) unless the recording quality is exceptional, such as Dire Straits, then the speakers shine.

In comparison to the VR4’s, the Wilson Sophia’s auditioned with all Marantz equipment sounded a bit sterile, very accurate, and less musical to me. The Krell’s Resolution 2’s sounded less satisfying overall, partly because of bass response.
The VR4SR’s replaced Polk SDA-SRS 2.3’s I had used for ten years. Sounds changed to much closer to live music with more detail and ambience conveyed. The VR’s have renewed my interest in music and I listen almost every night, discovering new beauty in all my favorites. I can able listen at lower volumes and still experience the “That’s fabulous” grin. I know myself well enough to know that if I won the lottery, I’d go out and audition ultra high-end equipment starting with VS products, but short of this I feel that the speakers will satisfy me for a decade. Overtime I may improve my front end and I think the VR’s will handle it. I am very pleased and would recommend that they be on the short list of anyone looking in the under 20K range.

Music used to audition the VR4SR’s plus the Wilson’s and Krell’s
For female vocal Jennifer Warnes, The Well, Famous Blue Raincoat,
For male vocal Bruce Springfield, The Rising, Crosby, Stills…Déjà Vu
For rock Led Zeplin, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits
For classical Bach Fugue in C minor, Rimsky Korsakov Scherazade
For choral Rachmaninoff Vespers
For Jazz and brushes against cymbals, Missouri Sky
For piano Kissin Liszt Transcendental Etudes, Horszowski and Ohlson Works
For violin Scottish Fantasies, Vivaldi Four Seasons
For flute Galoway Christmas

Associated equipment: Aragon 8008BB 200Watt per channel dual mono SS amp, Aragon 28K SS preamp, NorthStar 192 DAC and CD Transport, Guerrilla Silver IC and woofer cable, copper to the mid/tweeter biwired.
I will second the positive opinion of the VR4SR. I too have the MkI version. I also spoke to A.VonSchweikert and was told the only reason for the MkII was a discontinued driver and the crossover had to be revoiced to match the originals. Fit and finish are first rate. I have the cherry finish and have no complaints. These speakers do it all quite well and I have heard nothing in their price range that hands down beats them. Personal tastes are just that and yours are as valid as anyone else's. If the recording contains the information the VR4SR's will deliver it with authority to your ears. You will not find a more accessable company or a bigger bargain in its price range.

Associated equipment: Llano Design A-200 Class A 200 watt amp.
Thor Audio T1000MkII preamp
Meridian G08 cd player
Basis 1400 turntable
Acurus P10 phono pre
Cobalt Cables interconnects and Speaker cable
PS Audio Duet
I heard the Mark I version and was not impressed. I heard the DB-99 at the same demo and it was a far better speaker. I would also say that the VR4 Gen III SE sounds better to my ears than the Sr.

Oz