Shaky, I have to ask you a question. In all honesty, when was the last time you sat down in a dealers showroom and listened to the brand new version of either of those VAndersteen speakers?
I too thought that was the case until I sat and listened with an open mind. I hadn't heard them in a few years and I listened to posters like you who bad mouthed them as bland, no excitment etc... Boy am I glad I listened to them. I went into the first audition NOT wanting to like them, but they were anything but bland or polite. They are natural and flat. They are time and phase coherent with no smear so you can look into the music. The detail is there, but it doesn't hit you like a Mack truck unless that's what is recorded.
Too many audiophiles think a speaker has to stand out and hit you, but that's not what live music is. With the correct system match, you hear everything and that includes the bite of the sax or the percussion of the piano. Strings sound real. I can easily tell the type of string used on the guitar or other instuments.
I heard a system of all Tidal speakers and amps with some outragously expensive pure silver cables and cords that were done right. The music was served up by the Aurender W2 I believe it was called. Doug White in Philly was the person who sells these products and he wins best of show just like Vandersteen does at so many shows. That system would be boring to you Shaky. You wouldn't like it at all as it's flat from top to bottom. The thing is, I put it in the same category as Vandersteen driven by ARC, Aesthetix or Ayre Ref gear. I've heard a top end pair of Rockports and also Avalon that I'd put into this class. Nothing was missing. Veils were lifted and all that was left was you and the music. Dougs room was in a built out garage and it wasn't too special. He just did it properly and it blew me away in the same way the 7's blow me away.
Shaky, I'm a mark for great sound and I don't care who gives it to me. I travel a lot and I hear a ton of gear that is discussed on these boards. Much of it I don't love, but it appeals to the mass market. The problem is that folks listen to people who haven't listened to a certain version of something and take it for granted. As much as I stand up for Vandersteen, Ayre, Tidal, ARC, CJ, Aesthetix, AQ and the list goes on, I actually have listened to most of the products discussed on the boards recently and can compare fairly. I also am the first to tell anyone asking questions that it's MY EAR and they need to go listen for themselves.
I get that you have it out personally for Richard Vandersteen because he wasn't friendly to a buddy of yours or maybe it was to you. I can't keep folks biasis straight. If you liked him maybe you wouldn't make so many incorrect statements about a product you probably have never even heard.
JMHO...flame on guys
Back to the real topic at hand. Anyone who's been around audio will tell you that if you aren't happy with a product after all of these years, go audition something new and get what makes you happy rather than chasing your tail for another 4 years. There to so many products to chose from now and with all the new advances in materials, there will be something that you will like I'm sure. Go listen to some live music before you audition and give all brands a fair shake (see what I did there Shaky, lol). Let us know what you are hearing. You have some really great gear as a foundtion. Have fun with it.
