I had the 5As which I considered to be a breakthrough speaker especially for the price. Bought those from Bruce at Stereo Unlimited in Sand Diego. Bruce is a super dealer in every way. A few years later along comes the Model 7. Living in the LA area I heard the 7s at Optimal Enchantment where I met Randy Cooley who I discovered knows more about Vandersteen speakers than anyone else out there.
Purchased the 7s and use them with Aesthetix Atlas Signature mono
blocks (that are being upgraded as I write this to Atlas Eclipse) plus the Aesthetix Io Eclipse phono preamp with volume controls. I believe the best amps for the Model 7s are the Vandersteen, Aesthetix, and Ayre
amps. As for the 7s, is there better speaker out there that will work in an average sized listening room? Not to my knowledge. My tastes are classical and jazz. These speakers will bring the sound of a concert hall
into your living room better than anything I have heard. I have heard Richard Vandersteen say many times that the difference is in the drivers. His perfect piston drivers are simply the best available today. The rest of the 7s design is state of the art as well, but the drivers really set this speaker apart from the rest.
Purchased the 7s and use them with Aesthetix Atlas Signature mono
blocks (that are being upgraded as I write this to Atlas Eclipse) plus the Aesthetix Io Eclipse phono preamp with volume controls. I believe the best amps for the Model 7s are the Vandersteen, Aesthetix, and Ayre
amps. As for the 7s, is there better speaker out there that will work in an average sized listening room? Not to my knowledge. My tastes are classical and jazz. These speakers will bring the sound of a concert hall
into your living room better than anything I have heard. I have heard Richard Vandersteen say many times that the difference is in the drivers. His perfect piston drivers are simply the best available today. The rest of the 7s design is state of the art as well, but the drivers really set this speaker apart from the rest.