Aerial 7T/6 vs Vandersteen Quatro/Treo/2Ce Sig II

Dave -

ARC, CJ and Rogue Audio to name a few...

Geek,

See if you can audition the new Intuitive Design Speakers. They have a new floor stander coming out for 7K. 7ft transmission line, flat to 28hz, 93db sensitivity.

I have been using this designer speakers since 1992. Huge sound stage, lightning quick, cabinets made from granite so no cabinet resonance. These are about as close to a cross between a cabinet speaker and maggie out there.

I would put them up against any speaker in the 25K price range.

Also see if you can listen to any eXemplar audio gear. John Tucker has a new line out and it's incredible for the $$$. He will be at Rocky Mountain if you can make it.

I realize that both of these brands are pretty boutique, but what they lack in name recognition, they more than make up for it in terms of performance for the $$$

Best of luck.

I have had Vandersteen 5A's driven by Ayre for a number of years....i have heard many systems during that time and none have made me think of changing. (though some have made me laugh)

I just got a used Ayre AX7e from a friend who sold it to me and I can't believe what I've been missing. Sorry,I've heard a ton of great gear in the last few months from Pass ot M/L to Ayre to everything else that's out there it seems. I have heard so many speakers in the under 20k range that my head is spinning. I have Proacs and none of the speakers made so much of a difference that it made me want to sell my Proacs at a loss and then buy a much more expensive speaker. .....that is until I ended up at Audio Connection when I was in town for a family wedding and had a few hours to kill. Richard the proac distributor told me to go there to hear the new Proacs so I did. I heard the D series and they sounded really good. Much better than what I have now and for 3k or so, I was probably ready to just get them after I sold me current gear. Then John ask me to listen to the Vandy Treo's. The set up isn't perfect in the front of his store, but damn did they sound real. Just musical and plenty revealing. They did everything, and it made me realize that I do want and miss real bass. Not tubby boom boom crap, but articulate bass. The piano sounded correct, the voices were beautiful and full of life and air. The plucked strings on the guitar and bass could be heard. I was in shock as I wanted Vandy's when I first heard them in SD in 83 and that's what I went to buy when I was ready in 90 or so. I ended up walking out of the store with Proacs and every family member ended up with the smaller Proacs for their systems too. Now I go in expecting to buy Proacs and I'm saving up and selling off to get Vandy's. The Paradigms Signatures, Dynaudio, Legacy, Focals, B&W, PSB, Clearwave, Saleh as well as many others have been auditioned and none did all that the Vandy's do. I love the Treo, but if I could afford the Quattro I'd go that route. I can barely afford the Treo's, so that's it for me, lol. I didn't like the Aerials or Totems for their respective prices. I heard all the lines demoed with equipment the store though was best. Not sure what it was, but just wasnt' a big fan of either. This is why we all have different ears and need to listen for ourselves. I used to heard all new gear for years and years and I knew the little differences, but things have changed a lot in the last few years and you really need to go listen as much as you can. I'd never buy anything without hearing it now. No way as it's too expensive to make a mistake and you must listen to things as a system I feel. JMHO

Just back from a trip to NJ to see John at Audio connection. Got to meet Mark and "Tony" from this board too. that was awesome. We spent all day and well into the night listening to everything. I can honestly say that the Proacs, Maggies or B&W's didn't come close to any of the Vandy's. The Quatro CT is SPECIAL. I'm getting the Vandy Treo non CT) as I can't afford the CT, but WOW is all I can say. They Quatro is a serious speaker. We heard the differences in the AR CD 7 and 9. The Sky interconnects were an awesome set up with it. Got to hear vinyl too and boy was that a treat. The Quatro CT does so much more than the Treo, but it's a lot more money. The3aSigs were run by the same Ayre and AR gear and they sounded great. You don't have to over spend on speakers when you can get the lower Vandy's and buy great electronics and connect it all with high quality cables.
The Treo's are more refined than the 3aSigs. They don't go quite as deep, but they go plenty deep. i don't think I'll feel like I'm lacking at all. The staging, imaging etc.. are all top draw on all the Vandy's, but what separates them from the others are their musicality. YOu can listen all day and they just sound like you are there. The Maggies floated the soundstage. I know they needed a resister in there as they were H O T on top. We then heard the 3.7 and they were MUCH better, but not my cup of tea. They were very dependent on the electronics. VERY. Non forgiving is the term I'd use. i know the reviews love them, but I have never gone by reviews as most just don't tell the whole story. I'll take the Vandy's that give you the percussive attack and decay. They put space around the notes. That's where they separated themselves. Not knocking the other speakers, but I've owned Proacs forever and have loved them, but the new Vandy's just seem much better.