Vandersteen Speakers.. Are All Other Speaker Makers Doing It Wrong ?

The question is of course in reference to loudspeakers with multiple dynamic drivers and crossovers.

Electrostatic, magnetic-planar, and ribbon designs can be a different kettle of fish. For instance:

- The QUAD 63 gained notoriety for---amongst other attributes---the ability to recreate a square wave, which requires extremely good---close to perfect---time coherency.

- The Eminent Technology LFT-8b features inventor/designer/builder Bruce Thigpen’s Linear Field Transducer, a push-pull magnetic-planar driver which he employs to reproduce all frequencies from 180Hz to 10kHz, with NO crossover! The midrange (LFT) to tweeter (a ribbon) crossover at 10kHZ is symmetrical 1st-order, as is the 180Hz LFT to dynamic woofer.

On the other hand, Magnepan’s crossovers flip the polarity (180 degree opposite each other) of the various drivers in most of its’ models. Few Magnepan owners have heard---or are even aware---of the ET LFT-8b, but it is considerably superior---imo---to the MG1.7i, and about the same price ($2499/pr).

NO!

I have had several Vandersteen speakers ,they used to be a great value , not by todays standards , the Xovers inside always average at best , Maybe the $30 k 

speaker they are good , and drivers ,not even sure who makes them .

look at Dynaudio for a great example of excellent engineering and a excellent value in all ranges, when he started going from gtratvalue to $50 k Way over priced.

i dissected the trios onetime fora friend rebuilding theXover and the drivers were not That robust imo, and X over most certainly didnot have good quality parts.

i am critical since I do my own rebuilds in most speakers the Xovers which is the 

heart of the speaker are average at best , I look at Magico ,annd Marten 2 great example the A5 Magico uses  the mid grade Mundorf Evo caps those are a bit above average quality  for $25 k youshould get at least their Supreme  line ,Marten has exactly the same and they get 50% off on parts go figure.

i have both vandies and thiels, the babies of each family. the vandies, even the smallest models, NEED a LARGE listening room, the dealer's listening room was about 20' by 40', they sounded as designed in that large space [holographic imaging, on the mellow side of neutral]. but if you are in a small room, they lose their imaging magic and become boxy and very shouty around the crossover point. the Thiel's, OTOH, work just fine in my little listening room [14' wide and a bit deeper than that], they throw a stereo image almost totally independent of of the speakers' apparent locations, also on the mellow side of neutral but with no shoutiness whatsoever. i sit about 7 feet from the Thiel's but the vandies didn't sound ok until i sat at almost twice that distance from them.

I've listened to the Magico speakers and I don't think they're that great, I prefer the monitor audio platinum Gen 2.