Not sure of your whereabouts but if anywhere near Chicago, a trip to Van L Speakerworks-773.769.0773 (http://www.vanlspeakerworks.com/) is strongly recommended.
The company's base model is the quartet which markets foraround $3200. My estimation is this speaker can easily hold its own against $10,000+ speakers. The Quartet uses a proprietary crossover that uses very high-end caps, coils and resistors and is designed to re-create the 3-dimensional image found in live performances. This circuit called the Ambient Recovery has 3 levels and can be defeated by simply not using the 3rd wire needed for activation.
The result is an imense depth of stage as well as width. Image width extends (depending upon source quality) easily 3' beyond both L & R speaker all while not requiring the speakers to be toed inwards (not recommended by Van L). Presenation is very 3-D. I have not heard anything like this and will recommend these as a serious contender for your choice. The base drivers are also of a proprietary dual motor design, they're very fast and capapble of base easily found in enclosures more than twice the size. Base models use ScanSpeak fluid-cooled tweeters. Van L can also accomodate upgrades and mods to the base model.
I own a rather "hybridized" verion that went a litte, well, beyond the base unit's specs. These have Deuland VSF copper foil caps, cast inductors, ScanSpeak Revelator tweeters, silver/gold wiring (Siltech) & WBT connectors. My first 30 second exposure with the base unit resulted in a 50% down payment because I knew what I was hearing was very special. I've always subscribed to the known brands for a long time but the Quartet has shown that smaller, local companies have the freedom to, in this case, produce a a product without the constraint of target marketing. It should also be noted that the Quartet is the result of a 5+ year R&D project.
Van L Speakerworks is developing a new transmission line floor standing unit for the $2K market. The prototype is showing hints of another amazing product.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Scott
The company's base model is the quartet which markets foraround $3200. My estimation is this speaker can easily hold its own against $10,000+ speakers. The Quartet uses a proprietary crossover that uses very high-end caps, coils and resistors and is designed to re-create the 3-dimensional image found in live performances. This circuit called the Ambient Recovery has 3 levels and can be defeated by simply not using the 3rd wire needed for activation.
The result is an imense depth of stage as well as width. Image width extends (depending upon source quality) easily 3' beyond both L & R speaker all while not requiring the speakers to be toed inwards (not recommended by Van L). Presenation is very 3-D. I have not heard anything like this and will recommend these as a serious contender for your choice. The base drivers are also of a proprietary dual motor design, they're very fast and capapble of base easily found in enclosures more than twice the size. Base models use ScanSpeak fluid-cooled tweeters. Van L can also accomodate upgrades and mods to the base model.
I own a rather "hybridized" verion that went a litte, well, beyond the base unit's specs. These have Deuland VSF copper foil caps, cast inductors, ScanSpeak Revelator tweeters, silver/gold wiring (Siltech) & WBT connectors. My first 30 second exposure with the base unit resulted in a 50% down payment because I knew what I was hearing was very special. I've always subscribed to the known brands for a long time but the Quartet has shown that smaller, local companies have the freedom to, in this case, produce a a product without the constraint of target marketing. It should also be noted that the Quartet is the result of a 5+ year R&D project.
Van L Speakerworks is developing a new transmission line floor standing unit for the $2K market. The prototype is showing hints of another amazing product.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Scott