Vandersteen Quatro CT

Karl, I've got the ceramic Quatro Woods in black, also.  They sound magical to me.  I had a pair of the original Quatro cloth speakers, and found the Woods to be much more articulate, but still retaining the Vandersteen phase coherence and midrange sweetness.  I haven't heard the Quatro CT's but I would guess they are better for some listeners. (I have heard the 7's in Santa Monica - best speakers I've ever heard...) The ugly truth, however, is that I'm 61 and the ceramic tweeters may be a better match for my gradual hearing roll-off above 6K Hz.  (Sad but inevitable issue for all us baby-boomer audiophiles).

I have found a way to get better bass than even the larger Vandersteen speakers (5CT and 7) can manage, with a just pair of Quatros.  Get the Audiokinesis SWARM distributed subwoofer system ($2800.00) and you can leave the Quatro EQ system flat OR drop the response at 80 Hz down by 3dB per octave.  You'll need to drive the SWARM 950W amp separately with your preamp (use a splitter) and adjust the subwoofer levels and HF roll-off at 50-80 Hz with the SWARM amp.  Flat, non-resonant bass in any room down to below 20 Hz.  In addition, as you point out, speakers bigger than the Quatros are visually intrusive, even in a fairly large room.  The SWARM subwoofers are comparatively small - just one foot square by two feet tall.  

You can't get truly flat bass in any typical listening room with just two woofer locations - even with great, equalized woofers and a lot of room treatment.  The SWARM / Quatro combination gives you six locations which can be arranged to eliminate all the nodes and anti-nodes formed by standing waves in your room.  Simply the most realistic bass reproduction I've ever heard.

The one thing I can say with confidence...I have NEVER heard a properly set up pair of Vandersteens sound anything other than musical.  If you are into this endeavor for the music, pick the Vandys you can afford, set them up with care and enjoy the music.

Hifiman, I completely agree.  I've heard most of the top speakers out there under 100k and I've heard a ton of the esoteric's too and yes the 7 mk 2 are still my favorites and it's not close.  I'm still trying to sell my original Treo's to upgrade to the Quatro.  I've heard Vandy's with subs on them and my favorite by far are still using Vandersteen subs. They have been specifically made to mate with his speakers and the way his amps mate with your own amplifier to not change the sound characteristic seems to be the key.  Not putting down other subs at all as they can sound excellent, just saying that if you are spending the money on a Treo or higher, you really need to go hear the Vandersteen subs before making a decision.  He really does know what he's doing, lol.  Glad that he's got a transition plan in place for when he retires, if he ever does. He's still young and LOVES this business and music.  It's cool that his kids are so involved and loving it too.  He still will answer the phone when folks call in with good questions on his gear.  That's so rare for the size company he has.  

I just heard this speaker for the first time and thought it was very nice.  It's definitely a step up from the Treos.

Lim, are you talking about the Quatro's being a step up from the Treo's or the 3a's?