Vandersteen Quatro speaker - link to info

1. Should be shipping to dealers this month (March 2004)
2. They will cost approximatley $6,500

Now hearing mid to late April.

I'm a bit upset this speaker seems to be nothing more than a scaled down (size) version of 3Asigs + 2wq's.

You lose two 8" base drivers and gain room correction. Sure its a compact package but I was honestly hoping this speaker would bridge the performance gap between 5's and 3Asigs+subs. A gap which I consider to be rather large. With Richard suggesting Bsal should just add subs to his 3Asigs this leads me to believe there is no performance increase with the Quatro outside of the compact package.

The jury is still out so who knows! I still want to hear them of course.

I was at CES and spoke with Richard. I came away with the understanding that the quatro is an attempt to reach a broader faction of audiophiles due to an increased WAF. It will not outperform 3A Sigs and 2WQ's, but has a purpose for the Vandersteen supporter who does not have an understanding wife :-) It looks real nice and can be used in smaller rooms due to its scaled down size. As for the sound, it has the 3A sig stamp!

The cabinet is a lot deeper on the quatro's, which would make me think that maybe there is more insulation for the back wave off the speakers to run through (vs the 3A sig).. which *might* give the quatro an advantage.
Then again, the quatro has two subwoofer drivers in the enclosure with the tweeter and midrange, so maybe that will cause more vibration in the cabinet itself.

Will