Shcipo makes some good points, however, I am not a Vandersteen fan, the Vandersteeners are zelots who have a rather fight than switch mentality, as far as I am concerned there should be zero brand loyalty only to creating musical realism, what brand is immaterial, sure I love my stuff, but if someone can show me something else that I like better out with the old and in with the new!
With that being said, I think both of these brands are way over rated. The build and materials quality of a Wilson are far superior to what Richard puts into a pair of 5As, that however that doesn't mean that the 5A's don't sound good.
Every time I listen to both of these speakers I can pick both of them apart and tell you what I hear they both do wrong, again that doesn't mean you can't build a good and satisfying system around either one.
I believe there are other speakers that do what Wilson does right with less of what Wilson does wrong, don't get me wrong Wilson's are superb speakers, so are Vandersteen's it all depends on what you believe is the better match for your personal tastes.
And forget the deal mentality, the best deal is finding what works for you, most people are dumping 7s as the new Sophia sounds better for about $5k more than a used pair of 7s! Get what works for you and don't be tempted just by price, I have had some of my components for close to 15 years, if I kept buying and selling I would have lost way more in both time and money than by finding an occasional stalwart component!
