Vandersteen updates and amplifiers


Seeking experience and advice. I have the Vandersteen Quatro Wood (non-CT) and have enjoyed them on a large variety of music for the past 7 years or so. I have been able to hear changes with improvements in upstream gear and tweaks. I use a Pass Labs XP-27 phono - XP-22 Pre and the good ol XA 30.5 to power the Quatro. Balanced M5 boxes.  

Two things recently elevated the performance of the Vandersteen's in my room. First was the addition of Isoacoustic Gaia I footers. I was pretty skeptical about using these as Vandersteen designs to couple the speakers to the floor. These footers are supposed to decouple. But I felt is was worth trying because the speakers are positioned on a suspended wooden floor above a storage area in my house. I had to use the more expensive Gaia I because the 110 lb Quatro has to be supported with just 3 footers. Also, I had to buy 8 not 6 footers. It was not difficult to maintain the appropriate tilt angle by adjusting the footers. Be aware that the rear spike threads are different than the front. After many weeks of use, I think they are a significant improvement. The quality of the imaging and the tonal richness of the midrange expanded to my ears. More palpable presence in the room, better separation of instruments so that you can hear into the recording better. The bass quality changed almost like adjusting the Q. The bass may be a little less high impact and certainly less is transmitted into the floor, but overall bass better integrated into the music.

The second change was the addition of an HRS S platform under the Pass XA 30.5. This is the only component of the system that is near the speakers and in the high acoustic energy zone. Improvements in detail and clarity were not subtle. Very impressed!

So, fellow audiogoners, what might be the next steps for me if I choose to stick with the Vandersteen sound. I hear good things about Vandersteen M5 HPA mono's. This would eliminate the M5 boxes and the Pass XA 30.5. For the same price I could probably trade in the XA 30.5 for a more powerful .8 series amp.  Anyone with experience want to share? I would also consider updating to the Quatro CT if that would be a similar jump in performance. The Quatro seems to be the right size for my medium/large room. 
karl_desch
@karl_desch 

I am also heading to Classic Audio Loudspeakers at the end of the month. Getting the T1.5s. 
I have always been intrigued by the Vandersteens and their technology. What type of amplification do the Vandersteen Quattros like? High power Solid state, low watt OTL or SET, or high watt tube amps? Currently have McIntosh MC2301s. 
I’ll let other Vandersteen users chime here as well.  Upper level Vandersteen’s have powered subwoofer sections and roll off bass below 100 Hz before the power amp. This combined with a nominal impedance of 8 and no nasty phase angles makes them relatively easy to drive.  However they are not efficient speakers like the Classic Audio.  I think owner’s generally have good luck with higher powered tubes like Audio Research or solid state.  I have used Pass Labs and older Threshold amps on the Vandersteens that I’ve owned. More recently Vandersteen has designed their own monoblock amps that use bipolar output transistors and no global negative feedback.
Just an update.  I hooked up a pristine old Marantz 8 (not 8b) and swapped out the Pass XA 30.5.  I had to do some XLR to RCA conversions in order to use the amp with my current M5-HP crossover. I used the multimeter measurements to get the appropriate voltage drop at 100 Hz.  JohhnyR @audioconnection has described the method in these forums in the past. The Marantz 8 needs a good hour to warm up and start sounding balanced. This is a very easy to listen to amplifier and I can totally see why people have described it as musical.  It has tones of tone and individual instruments are presented with more body and presence than I remember hearing with the Pass. The highs are extended enough without ever sounding etched. The bass is definitely different and a touch slower than with the Pass. But extended and distinct in a very musical way. The amp had some trouble when pressed into high volume service where the normally distinct and clear images get slightly jumbled. But this was rare.

Overall, although I don't think this is the answer for my system, I would really like to explore tube amplifier options now.  I am looking for suggestions for mono blocks that accept balanced inputs (and are preferably actually balanced amps). I currently use a 25ft run of XLR cables between the Pass XP-22 pre and the XA 30.5. Power doesn't have to be super high.

Atma-sphere M60 or Novacron?
BAT VK 150SE?
Quicksilver V4? (not balanced correct?)
Doshi V3.0?

Anyone with experience driving Vandersteen with tubed power amps? I still want to hear what the newer Vandersteen M5-HPA sound like too.


The Quicksilver V4’s can be purchased with balanced inputs. I used a pair for 15 years before moving to Aesthetix gear. 
@joey54. Thanks, I saw that they do this for a charge, but I'm also assuming that this is a transformer coupled converter, not balanced circuitry throughout.  What did you move to in the Aesthetix line and what did that change do for you soundwise?