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Vandersteen 5a, 15 years old vs. new Vandersteen Quatro Wood (upgrade or downgrade)

I currently have a Vandersteen 5A purchased about 15 years ago in great condition. My  equipment  is Thor 150 watt  tube EL-34 monoblocks with a Thor linestage, Sony SACD player and a middle of the road VPI turntable. Was reading about the Vandersteen Quatro Wood CT which I believe retails for $15,000.00. The wood has the carbon tweeter, my 5A's do not. The Quatro also has a 250 watt amplifier for the built in sub while my 5A's have a 400 watt amp.  If I purchased a new Quatro Wood and sold my 5a's would the resulting sound be better overall in my 8 1/2 by 15 foot room?
 My rationale for considering this upgrade, is that I would be getting a speaker with all new parts and would obtain a new warranty.  Any thoughts would be helpful.  In short is todays' Quatro Wood CT a better sounding speaker than my old 5A?  Would this change be an upgrade and would it yield an improvement in sound to justify the cost?

Thank you. 

M

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rpeluso
1,050 posts
 
FWIW, I have a pair of 5A loudspeakers, probably ~9 years old, and would not think of ever trading them in, certainly not for a Quatro.  Like stringreen I love them, and while there may be subtle differences in the CT, I don't think its worth the cost.  Nothing is absolute, but I absolutely love these speakers.  Johnny might advise you to think about a purchase of vandy amps.
cedargrover
302 posts
 
I have 3A Signatures, which have the same midrange and tweeter as your vintage 5a (if memory serves).  All I can say is that after demoing Quatros I wished I had spent the extra $9K for them, and it all had to do with high frequency clarity (not bass).

So my simple advise is to demo them.  If you’re in NJ Johnny Rutan has them set up with Audio Research amplification, to truly great effect.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,911 posts
 
Tough call. I am going to assume your DBS batts in the low pass and the crossovers are fresh. I think RV would question in your smaller room IF the 5a push pull bass driver is superior to the Quattro. In the right room it is. The carbon tweeter is super sweet, I have the 7 mk2 and the Treo CT. I listen for hours on end fatigue free. I had 5a and 3a sig for years w mostly SS power amps but arc and Mac tube preamps. Vandersteen often shows w arc and VTL tube amps, RV loves tubes. His big power amps have a tube front end.
give him a call, he picks up the phone.
the advice you got on considering his 5 high pass power amps is spot on, just heard them w Kento... they are so sweet:-)
best of luck in your journey, enjoy the music
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,911 posts
 
Cedar - yes the 5a and 3a- sig do have common tweeter and mid. The powered bass takes so much strain off the amp that upper frequency benefits by an amazing amount, add in a better crossover, more ridged cabinet and its no contest. The 3a signature is a might fine speaker, my brother has my old pair w ARC pre and Threshold power - they sing
m-db's avatar
m-db
972 posts
 
What everyone else said.
I'm thinking the other end, what phono cartridge are your using now?
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