I have a a lot of respect for Vandersteen. Driver/frequency integration is fantastic. The bass EQ is an enticing feature, although certainly not full proof in the case of acoustic phase issues. Every audiophile should hear them. Since they are so well marketed, finding a demo is relatively easy.

While some may be sensitive to and able to tease out their step response I am tuned off by the muffled note attacks and to a lesser degrees their limited dynamics. I have auditioned them many times but found something else that has its own pros and cons.  

I want the chord pluck to give me shivers. 

@ovinewar1 

as the pirates say

shiver me timbres.

🤔

To my understanding Dahlquist was the first with that type of speaker design. I owned them many moons ago!

Dahlquist DQ‑10

One should always be wary of pronouncing “firsts,” but, appearing in the early seventies, Jon Dahlquist’s DQ‑10 was to my knowledge the first dynamic speaker to employ multiple drivers in an open-baffle configuration (except the acoustic‑suspension woofer, which was enclosed) staggered for proper time‑alignment and phase coherence, in an attempt to realize the openness and freedom from boxiness that Dahlquist prized in his beloved Quad ESL-57s—with the added advantages of deeper bass and dynamic extension well beyond the Quad. (The physical resemblance to the Quad was both mandated by the design and an intentional homage.) Far from flawless (including conceptually), the DQ-10 was nevertheless a ground-breaking design that preceded dozens of subsequent speakers (perhaps most prominent among them models from KEF, B&W, Spica, Thiel, Vandersteen, and Wilson) continuing up to the present day. Few large, full-range dynamic speakers before or for some time afterward equaled its openness. Paul Seydor

Loudspeaker time alignment

Remember Ed Long,

In 1975 Ed Long^[1] in cooperation with Ronald J. Wickersham invented the first technique to Time-Align a loudspeaker systems. In 1976 Long presented "A Time-Align Technique for Loudspeakers System Design"^[2] at the 54th AES convention demonstrating the use of the Time-Align generator to design improved crossover networks for multi-way loudspeakers systems. This technique relied on subjective evaluation of various square pulses swept through the crossover frequencies. The Time-Align Generator locked the pulse on an oscilloscope so that it could be viewed. The Time-Align technique was employed by Long on the UREI 813 Studio monitor^[3] introduced in 1977. Long also manufactured near field studio monitors from the late 1970s through the 90's utilizing the Time-Align technique. In 1977 Long trademarked Time-Align and later trademarked its derivatives, Time-Aligned and Time-Alignment. (Must include the dash). Long Licensed the Time-Align trademark to UREI, Bag End Loudspeakers and others.

YES