vandersteen 5 to 5a

The upgrade is more than worth the cost. I was amazed when I got them and they worked in. The sound is at least 40% better IMHO. As for the parts, what would you do with them?

mikej.i would take the sub amps and build two sub-woofers just for fun,as i have other systems to play with.how long was your turn around time.thanks.

The power supply is the only change in the sub amp. You'd have to build the rest of the amplifier to do that... Probably not worth it IMHO. Just buy a pair of V2Ws or a digital Velodyne.

The difference in the new, stock price between the 5's and 5a's is $3,300 according to the Vandy site. If the upgrade cost is $5,000-$5,700 (exclusive of any shipping cost), as I read here, it would seem a bit steep if the components are all modular and replace easily. Wonder why the price difference, or am I missing something?

There were a couple of versions of the Model 5 - it has changed over its life. The variation in price on the upgrade is due to the change in price of the Model 5 - when it first came out it was around $9500/pr, IIRC. Part of the cost of the upgrade is some physical modification work that must be done to the Model 5. The older the speaker the cheaper it was to purchase, and the more work needs to be done to it to bring it up to Model 5A specs. Thus the additional cost.

That's the way it was explained to me, anyway.