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Vandersteen-like "In-between" speakers

I have a pair of Vandersteen 3A signature speakers that came on loan from my brother and I have to give them up in about a month. I am using them with a McCormack DNA-225 and they sound great. I have heard from others that Vandersteen works well with McCormack.

I don't want to spend more money than I have to, but I have about $6K set aside to buy my own speakers. This amount is much more than the 3A signatures. There is no way that I can stretch to buy the Vandersteen 5 or 5A's. A friend of mine has them and they are fantastic.

Can anyone suggest a speaker in my price range, which falls between 3A and 5A, that will give me the same "flavor" as the Vandersteens and will mate well with McCormack? I listen to all kinds of music except very little classical - mostly rock, jazz, bluegrass, vocals.
motdathird
vedric
46 posts
 
Mikej do you have insider information on the new Vandersteens? I've read nothing that indicates the Quatro is a 3ASig with integrated 2WQ subs. In fact considering it's 4 driver design and enclosure size my best guess is that it's a standalone 4 way full range passive design. This seems a logical progression from the Reference Monitor which was never released. Rumor was Richard was never satisfied with the low frequency response of the Ref Mon.

I'm hoping this new Quatro has more in common with the 5A than the 3ASig. It looks to be a 5A without the wood veneered enclosure, slightly smaller midbass driver, and with a single 8" driver in place of the active 12" +EQ system in the 5A. Will be interesting to hear more.

stevecham
3,340 posts
 
I agree with Sidssp's suggestion. Go with what you know works and the subs will get you most of the way to the 5As. Also the Thiel and Meadowlark suggestions are good ones but if you went with Thiel CS6 (my speakers) you might need to upgrade the amp as well.
wberdan
86 posts
 
I agree with Vedric and would think the Quatro would be a 4 way design.. It doesnt make sense to me for it to be a 3A/2Wq combo. Without some form of bass contouring, it would probably not have smooth bass response... and with bass contouring it is essentially a cheaper model 5. My guess is it is a 5 set up for bass like the 3A Signature (using the acoustic coupler, or however vandersteen describes it). I hope it uses the same drivers and crossover as the 5A, but I kind of doubt it.
The depth of the top part of the quatro cabinet in the picture I would say is approximetely the same as a model 5/5A, and way larger than a 3A Signature would need to be, even with an integrated sub.

Will
wberdan
86 posts
 
Motdathird- I would put serious thought into demoing and maybe getting the 3A Signatures and two 2Wq subwoofers if you have the space for the subs in your room... If not then I would consider buying the 3A Signatures and spending the rest on music you enjoy, or maybe some upgrades elsewhere in your system

Will
chanifin
9 posts
 
I know this is off topic, but I wanted to ask for a little advice related to the 3A sigs. I have a pair of 3's that I bought used a couple years ago that I reallt like and I'm curious about the difference between those and the 3A signatures. I know all about the driver differences etc.. but I's like some input on the sound difference. Is it (as I suspect) an absolute must upgrade?
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