Are the folks at Vandersteen ok?

Blindjim......interesting read.   I agree everyone should be nicer to each other.  On the other hand you don't really know the situation Stereo5 et al is talking about. Dealing with the public can be very tricky and nuance has a great deal to do in communication with typed words...  There are many that have good experiences with Vandersteen.  He answers questions on his website continually, can always be contacted by phone if he's in his office, and in truth has provided great value with his products at nearly every price point/performance level, and is apt to stay in business for many years.   He provides updates to his products when economically feasible for his customers.  He attends seminars around the country.  Vandersteen is valuable for us in the audiophile community, and I and many others wish him continued success.

Indeed I'll go into bat for Richard V--I, as a complete noob at a CES
asked his opinion on one of his products and he answered courteously
and precise to the point --all I you've asked for-- 

considering one of his staff in the room whispered to me he had just been fined $400 for moving a Wardrobe in the Room without informing the officials

Nope top bloke!

team

I'm sitting here listening to my newly repaired Vandersteen model 3, very thankful for the incredibly quick repair performed on my tweeter (they received it, fixed it and shipped it the same day). They saved my weekend listening! Thanks Richard, Ray and All at Vandersteen......

reubent,

Sounds like you got a great deal and a great speaker. One of my few memorable dealer listening experiences is from years ago, listening to the Vandersteen 3s, ARC Classic 60, Mark Levinson preamp, Linn LP12 in a fairly large room.

All we really know, is.... if Ricahrd Vandersteen were a Hot Porn Star, at least one of us would diligently wait in the rain for a set of his speakers.