Von Schweikert VR-6 or Wilson Audio Watt/Puppies 5


Dear friends,
I am on the second hand market for speakers with a budget of about $ 4-5 k. The shortest list I made puts a real dilemma: Von Schweikert VR 6 or Wilson Watt/Puppies 5,1. They will be driven by low power Push/Pull tube amplifier (Audio Note). Will be used mostly for rock and roll, pop, classic and jazz.
nikmilkov
Whoa, the VR-6 is 96 dB efficient! That is impressive. Barring anything strange in the impedance plots, I imagine that it would work great with the type of amp you describe.
The VR-6 also has a nominal impedance of 4ohms. Who knows how low the impedance dips while playing real music?

Two very different sounding speakers. The VR-6 is smooth and very forgiving of upstream electronics while the Wilson is very transparent, analytical and ruthlessly revealing.

Will the new Von Schweikert Audio even service or support the VR-6 if needed?
Thanks for giving me tips. Will check about the service but frankly don't believe there is still any about the VS. For Wilsons would be easier. However it seems most of you tend to recommend the Schweikerts.
Not sure where the question about service for Von Schweikerts comes from. I have VR-4 Gen IIs and Von Schweikert still provides service for them. Von Schweikert also offers upgrades for older models that allow them to approach the performance of newer models. If you have concerns about this, I'd recommend calling or e-mailing Von Schweikert. I have had some lovely conversations with Albert when calling with questions about these older VR-4s that I have.

As for their ability to be driven by a low power push pull tube amp, the question of impedance dips on the VR-6 is a good one, but I do see that VR-6's specs page lists the minimum power as 5W RMS (max is 500W, should you so choose).
Regarding service for the VR6's, give Albert a call. I'm sure they'll be happy to maintain these speakers.

As for power, I'm driving them with a pair of modified Kronzilla DM monoblocks. These use the T-1610 tubes biased conservatively to produce 45 watts per channel. These SET output tubes will drive the VR6's to any volume to which I care to subject myself.

I find the VR6's to also be very revealing of upstreamm electronics, cables, etc. I once had loaned my Masterbuilt power cords to a friend, so was using Shunyatas. When I got them back and got my system set up, it just didn't sound right. I had accidentally not connected one of the Materbuilt powercords to the PS Audio DAC-II (instead to another secondary component). Once I switched powercords on the DAC, the problem was solved. That's pretty revealing.