Von Schweikert VR-33

Well I guess those VR-33s aren't going to work out for you?

Shakey

Shakey,

I've actually gone full circle on them. When I got them I disliked them. They were polite and boring with my Torii, though I heard potential. I tried a handful of solid state amps to try with them including an Alchemist Forsetti Signature (Tim de Parvinchi design), Pass Aleph clone, Virtue TWO.2, and probably something else I'm forgetting to no avail.

I finally resolved to get rid of them and actually posted them for sale on a number of forums but then mistakenly made a small change as to which power cord was on which component (flip flopped amp/pre without realizing) and heard more potential.

It inspired me to keep trying stuff and a buddy brought over an Music Reference RM-9 with some fancy 6550 tubes and EH 6ca7s and both made these speakers SING.

I'm trying to sell off a bunch of gear now, including my Zu Soul Superflys and Decware Torii to fund this upgrade and create a budget for a better suited amplifier for it and, in the meantime I'm borrowing the Redgum RGi35 solid state integrated I'd bought then sold to a friend... Son of a gun, this pairing is damn musical!! Similar to the synergy I found with the Redgum RGi120 and my Zus...

In any event, I like them a lot and could see loving them in the future. Placement is a dream plus theres an added bonus--I don't really hear much difference with my room treatments, so I'm selling them off, much to the wife's pleasure.

When the dust settles I should have a pretty good budget for a new amp, but in the meantime I'm in no rush with the Redgum kicking butt.

EDIT: I guess it was more 180 than 360, lol

Hi Gopher,
It sounds like quite a power cord you have there! How would you compare the VR-33's to the Zu's? What are they best at? In what areas are the Zu's superior?

I'm glad you're happy! Be well man:)

Morgan,

The power cords are good, but they aren't really the moral of the story. It was that a subtle change was able to make me realize the potential and keep soldiering on to find something I liked when I previously wasn't impressed.

In a quick nutshell:

VR-33s are significantly more laid back in character and not quite as dynamic, though they aren't poor in that regard--the Zus are just VERY dynamic

The VR-33s throw a much bigger sound stage, but with noticeably less precise imaging.

The Zus have a more harmonically developed, meatiness to them and capture texture of gruff voices a bit better (Gil Scott Herron, Tom Waits, Ray Charles, etc) but the VR-33 is still full bodied and pleasant.

The VR-33s tweeter is more relaxed but equally detailed, a bit more refined. Theres also a little more upper midrange refinement in the VR-33s

The Zus have more punch in the bass, but the VR-33s have more bass information going significantly deeper.

The Zus may have been a splash more engaging emotionally for me, but are a bear to set up perfectly while the VR-33s are 5 inches from my front wall and sounding darn good.

The Zus are more versatile speakers whereas the VR-33s are pretty good all around, but may err towards the polite. If I want to throw on indie or hip hop (which I do with the Zus) its less at home on the VR-33s.

For my current situation, I'm going to keep the VR-33s, they're perfect for a living room. When I move and get a home w/ dedicated listening space... well, hopefully Zu Def 4s will have hit the used market :)