Vandersteen 5Aa Carbon--any 5a owner's opinions?

From what I can find on the 5A carbon, the only difference is the midrange driver upgrade to the carbon/balsa midrange. $8600 seems like a lot for that. I had thought that all drivers would be changed to the new ones for that price. I guess at that rate by the time you replace all the drivers the 7s start to look like the better move for the money.
As good as my 5As sound, I'm not sure I could justify either one. I need to have a long audition with the 7s sometime.

I'm sort of resurrecting this thread to see if anyone has doe the 5A to 5a Carbon upgrade and, if so, what the impressions have been. My 5As are due for the battery changes, seven years really flew by. I can send the components to Vandersteen and change the batteries or bit the bullet and send the whole speaker pair in for the upgrade which would kill two birds with one stone.

The 7s are just way beyond what I could justify expense-wise but if this upgrade would bring the 5A up a notch I would consider the cost of that worthwhile. Thanks in advance for any input.

Rower,
Thanks for your input. You've obviously had a chance to hear the 5A Carbon at some point. I've never had any objection to the midrange on my 5As but if the new driver makes it notably better it's definitely worthwhile. The biggest downside to the upgrade process is how long I'd be without my beloved speakers.

I need to find a pair of 5A Carbons and 7s to audition for myself which for me would involve traveling somewhere. Anyone know which dealers have either set up? It sounds like Audio Connection in New Jersey may be one. Pearl Audio in Portland? I'd rather hear them at a dealer than a show.

Thanks for your input Stanley. I love my 5As as well. It doesn't really matter whether the 7 is a little or a lot better in my case because, even after selling the 5As, the difference in price is just too much.

I'll continue to consider the Carbon upgrade even though I really have no place to audition them for several reasons.

1. After seven years of steady use, I like the idea of knowledgable workers taking them down and testing every component to make sure it's working as it should. They build it back up as if it were a brand new 5A Carbon. This of course would also take care of the crossover batteries which are due for a change. According to Richard, this labor is a large part of the cost. It's actually more labor intensive than building a new pair.

2. According to my dealer in Minneapolis, the upgrade renews the warranty as for a new pair of speakers. It also includes dealer setup again which wouldn't hurt to recheck.

3. I trust Richard's judgement and doubt he would offer an upgrade he didn't feel was substantially worthwhile. This is a break even venture for him at best, he was actually losing money on it before he raised the price, so I really doubt he has much motivation to try to exaggerate the improvements to anyone. As Richard put it, plenty of people spend more than the cost of the upgrade on power conditioners, cables and the like for much less, or any, benefit.

I don't know why the model 7 drivers were not used for the tweeter and mid bass drivers as well. I suspect it has to do with cost/benefit ratio but I want to hear Richard's take on this before I make the final decision on whether or not to do this.

Thanks Chargerfan. If only the 7s were somewhere around the $30K mark, it might be a consideration for me. If the Carbon upgrade would really take the 5A halfway to the same level it would be a steal IMO.

I do wonder though if there may ever be an updated version of the 5A with all of the carbon fiber drivers, 5A Carbon Sig? Pure conjecture of course, and the price would certainly inch closer to the Model 7.

The 5A is still listed on the Vandersteen price section at $19,000/pair. The 5A Carbon is at $24,000. The 7 takes you to $48,000. The slope steepens quickly. This is why if the carbon upgrade indeed gives half the improvement as the jump to the 7 it's a relative bargain.

Well, I do know now that John has a pair of 7s in New Jersey. I'm going to try to set up an audition there this spring when I'm out that way anyway. I think it's the best place to hear them anyway. Many speak of John almost as highly as they do of Vandersteen himself. Probably one of the top Vandersteen dealers in the country.

My fear is I will be smitten with the 7s. Two speaker designers in history have really captured my allegiance, John Dunlavy and Richard Vandersteen. Sadly, we'll never know what else Dunlavy may have come up with. The 7s though embody all of Vandersteens innovations, fusion subwoofer, minimum baffle enclosures, 1st order crossovers, transmission lines, perfect piston drivers and carbon fiber layered enclosures. So much for early retirement. Work keeps us young (and out of trouble).