Van L Speakerworks Quartet

I haven't been to his shop for a few years now, but I can tell you that John has been working hard on these for a long,long...long time. Based on the various incarnations of the Quartet that I have heard, I'm eager to stop in for a listen.

i've idled away several afternoons at his shop and have always been impressed with the quartet; i still own and use a smaller van l monitor from the mid 90s. i haven't heard a simultaneous a/b of the quartets with others, but i've heard enough of 'em to opine that they're on a par with the psb synchrony and paradigm signature s2 (two of my faves)--all share the same qualities of seamless driver integration and big soundstage. keep in mind that the quartets aren't really full-range--they propably extend down to 50hz or so--and depending on your tastes might use a sub.

I own a pair of recently manufactured QUARTETTES with all of the possible upgrades available. If you visit VanL SPEAKERWORKS, don't be put off by the somewhat disarrayed appearance of the place. John is a genius speaker designer, but somewhat of a disorderly shopkeeper. Be that as it may, his primary current speaker design outpreforms anything I've heard unless you go into the "stratophere" costing products. Even then, there is nothing that creates a soundstage like the QUARTETTES. Totally 3 dimensional. These are big monitor speakers. Approximately 25" in height. Beautiful cabinets but limited finishes. They need good stands. His patented "AMBIENCE RECOVERY CIRCUITRY" is the secret to the whole thing. For the price he is asking, there is absolutely NOTHING that even comes close; - - and I've been in the evolutionary audio business since the 50's.

Here is his e-mail "johnvanl@sbcglobal.net"

An addendum to my comments previously submitted.

For those of you who (after listening) do not think the QUARTETTES have enough BASS extension and power, John also has a proprietary matching sub-woofer created specifically to pair with the QUARTETTES. The finish matches, together with the styling, and, of course, completely eliminates the need for stands, in as much as they are ONLY sold in pairs. In paino gloss black they make a striking pair, mated with the QUARTETTES. They are self powered, of course. Rear firing in design. Frankly I keep my sub turned off most of the time because I have found that 90% of my listening does not require subs, and the bass power and extension is all a man could ask for. ! But for the "power crazed" it's a match made in heaven.

THAT'S ALL

I was just at the Chicago AXPONA audio show and heard the new Silhouettes. They sounded crazy good. In my opinion, some of the best sound at the show. I liked them even more than some $200,000 speakers there.

http://www.vanlspeakerworks.com