Vandersteen 3A Sig vs. Meadowlark Osprey

Follow up on Ospreys: After talking with Pat, his opinion, and one that will be confirmed in a forthcoming review, is that Osprey out performs Shearwater in almost every aspect. More dynamic. More bass extension. More believable. However, it is a bit larger. Ron, I hope this feedback helps. If you need more input, I suggest that you call Pat. Cheers!

Cellorover, If this is true - the Osprey being better head and shoulders over the Shearwater, it kind of seems like perhaps the Shearwater is 'done' i.e. perhaps it will be discontinued. Who will buy it if the same price Osprey is significantly better?

As far as some of the comments above that the Meadowlarks are missing that certain something... I disagree. Any one of their speakers that I have heard from Kestrals to Blue Herons easily compare to same cost competitors and often trounce them thoroughly. Ron, I would suggest you still keep the Ospreys as a potential candidate until you give them a good audition. I am also in need of speakers and am eagerly awaiting my dealer getting these in. Should be interesting.

I am a little puzzled by comments above about many manufacturers tilting up the treble on their speakers. My understanding of the conventional wisdom is that just the opposite is true. For example, Jim Theil, whose speakers are often criticized for being too bright, adheres strictly to a flat treble response despite the criticism, while many other manufacturers roll off the highs somewhat to achieve a sound that most of us prefer. Who's telling the truth?

See the current thread---"Are there any absolute truths." I think this thread pretty much tells the story.

I'm not sure this discussion is going anywhere positive; nevertheless, let me put my 2cents into the fray, because I am also interested in the Ospreys in the hope they will "ultimately" solve my need for a very hi-end speaker for not a lot of money. (I am hoping I can buy them for 15% off of list) I have heard the Vandersteens several times; sorry, only the 2CE's and the 3's; both were good sounding speakers, driven by Krell the first time and then Bryston every other time. They sounded, I believe, better with the Bryston. Overall, they sounded warm, generally neutral, with deep bass that became blurred rather than remaining clear. Their sound to say the least was "romantic" They almost reminded me of the old IMF line, whose Studio Master was one of the finest speakers I have ever heard---nevertheless, that is irrelevant to this discussion because of the amount of time that has elapsed since IMF was in business. As much as I liked the V's in those auditions, I wasn't running home to get my credit card and the wife's approval. They just did not sound transparent enough, or more importantly, coherent enough. I have never heard any of the Meadowlark speakers, though they come highly recommended with one caveat--- they tend to sound a tad laid back, and also forgiving. These are just the observations of other GON members, and a few owners on Audioreview. Overall, I get the impression they are generally neutral, dynamic with good bass extension. I have rarely seen adjectives, like coherent (from top to bottom)unboxy, highly transparent used to describe many of their speakers, like the Kestral or Shearwater, or the HR series. I don't know about the Heron "i", or Nightingales,because I have seen little to no press on them. The issue of Pat M's new design producing a new and different sound must be taken with a grain of salt. Speaker designers improve their products in areas of bass response, accuracy, soundstaging but the fundamental sound signature remains the same. B&W speakers which I owned for 10 years beginning in 1991, sounded very similar(but,also better) to my friend's B&W DM607 which he purchased in 1977 and still happily uses in his basement family room as a second system. I am sure this is true for Thiel, Vandersteen, and Meadowlark.... I wish the Ospreys are cracked up to be as great as the company is claiming, and possibly a bit more. For me, that would be a speaker that is accurate , but also highly musical. A speaker whose high end shimmers and is quick and open, with mids that are almost electrostatic in their presentation. More than likely, the Ospreys will be just good to very good, not great, awesome, killer, etc, etc, and have refined the musical and sonic qualities that its designer continues to believe live music possesess and is its spirit.