Von Schweikert VR-33


Can anyone who has actually heard them offers some feedback on there sonic traits? I have speakers which I really love in a well thought out, emotional system, but recent room layout changes have reignited an ongoing speaker placement battle which I'm growing quite tired of.

The thought of placing these things a foot or less away from the wall without concerns about toe or anything like that is exteremly appealing.

Anyone with ACTUAL experience, please share your thoughts. I'd rather this thread not dissolve into crap like the prior vr33 thread.
gopher
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 :)
Thanks for the update.....it is quite amazing how when you get just to a certain point, a few changes will turn the magic on or off. I'll send you a heartfelt wish to get that house and some used Def mk IV's. That's my plan too:).
Wow! sorry to see our Superfly leader move on. But I'm happy for u Gopher, glad to see u enjoying ur music again. That's part of the fun with this hobby of ours.