Vandersteen 3a Signatures compared to Treo’s

zimick

Got the dac first as the amp was back ordered and it was a solid gain to me and the amp in unison made a huge leap in my system. Detail, soundstage, depth... and no harshness or too neutral/ dry sounds.

That is what I have read widely (reviews and comments) on the Benchmark. I totally agree with you about "Yes, if the recording is crap then that is magnified, just like it should be in my opinion." I’m not afraid of highly resolving, accurate gear, even if it makes some tracks or records (badly recorded) hard to listen to or to be jettisoned. There’s some 80s music where the recording engineers and producers must have been totally stoned. Ouch!

I guess the only way to find out if the Benchmarks are a good match for my ears is to do a trial. I’m glad to read that their cables are good and reasonably priced. Their preamp with headphone stage is getting rave reviews among headphone fans, and I use cans a lot (my wife doesn’t like it loud, so speakers go idle or low when she’s home, all too often).

I’m like you—Vandersteen guy for a long time. I’ve heard many other speakers, but fortunately (for my wallet and my marriage, which is redundant!) I don’t get the itch to change major components every year or three. If I won the lotto, it would be a different story and I’d probably drive myself half crazy seeking "perfection". As it is, I have a dear friend who has OCD and more money than I, and he drives me crazy watching him seeking perfection. He has Quatro CTs (he moved up from 3a Sigs) which I implored him to get and he LOVES them.

The Treo CT might be the next best thing if you can live without the bass extension. I love them. Or do it in stages ... Treos and then add subs later? One of the guys who works at "my" Vandy dealer just got Treos because he already had Vandy subwoofers, and he’s very happy with that combo.

Cheers PD

@patrickdowns 
I have definitely put some recordings ( I agree on the 80’s engineering at times!) on the background/ car not list!
I fully missed pointing out a , to me , big plus of the benchmark stuff which is the totally quiet sound floor. Dead silence. One of those details that I don’t think you understand until you experience it. I really appreciate it with vocals with little to no backing and other music where the lack of sound is a crucial component.
The more I think about it the Treo’s almost always get recommended to have subs by everyone who is lucky enough to have them which pushes me towards the saving longer and just jumping to Quattros... 
But like you I rarely switch- tend to settle in and enjoy vs chasing tweaks.

IMO I would look for a used pair of 5As.  I got mine for $5K and while I am not a big Vandersteen fan boy, for that price they were hard to beat.  I also build my own components so that had a much bigger impact on the sound then when I have heard them at a dealers showroom.

I had the 3s and they just did not do it for me at the time.  Overall very nice but not the same impact on the sound as the model 5s can be.