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
@repulso I think your post is spot on :-) much mutual respect and admiration between RM and RV, RM was a very early Vandersteen dealer on the East Coast. The RM-9 amp in its variants is an superb pairing - I have the RM-9 w RAM tubes EL-34... running the Treo CT...

Bob - I have been pondering your question... I have heard MX-R non twenty in a variety of rooms and systems over the years including them running the 7’s. I myself ran 5a with the VX-R and then 7’s ( Mk2) and ultimately upgraded to the Twenty. I have about 1k hours on the HPA-7 amps, which in some sense is unfair on two dimensions: price and optimization for load. I have very slowly been working on a review of sorts of the M7 amp, but never get to it because I am listening not writing..
I think your going to have to go have a listen....
all fun :-)))
Hey Bob, that's a perfectly good idea going for the pair of Sub 3's. I talked to tomic601 about this and he seemed to think it's a great idea.
I want to do this also, but being retired creates some financial limitations.
Although it's not out of the range of possibility. It's a work in progress for me. lol.
I am lucky in that my house sits on a concrete slab....the floors are travertine tiles on the slab and don’t vibrate. I tried replacing the spikes of my 5A’s with similar gizmos....they absolutely ruined the sound....flattened the sonic picture, removed the bass, decreased the width. I quickly returned to the spikes. ...just shows to go ya.
Thanks @stringreen. @stringreen. I ended up screwing the Isoacoustic footers into the feet of my equipment racks.  I think getting the Quatros back near the side walls reduced the effect of the footers.  I just have the speakers on little Herbies audio picks so I can position them without destroying the wood floors.