I own 5A carbons and I plan to upgrade to the model 7 as soon as I can write the check. Sooner or later they will be mine :-)
I settled on Vandersteens after a lot of listening at shows and some at dealers. For comparison, the 5A carbon has the carbon clad balsa wood driver but only for the midrange, while the model 7 uses them everywhere except the powered bass unit. The powered bass units are the same in the 5A and model 7 except the cabinets are different.
I am grateful for the current popularity of trade shows or I might not have “discovered” Vandersteens. There are no dealers nearby. I was expecting to like some other lines more; you do really have to find your own taste. After attending RMAF and other shows a few times the model 7s distinguished themselves – they sounded fantastic and they managed to do that in the hotel rooms most everyone else blames for bad sound. Relaxed, unforced natural sound, phenomenal bass and “no loss of fine detail” (sorry to steal your line Audio Physic, but it really fits).
Perhaps the best tribute I can give the 5A carbons is how my wife reacted shortly after John Rutan of Audio Connection set them up in our living room. For 25+ years she has been mildly interested in my hi-fi thing. Sometimes we listened together but mostly she used the system for background music. I came home to find her in the sweet spot with the lights dimmed and a candle going. She then proceeded to tell me about all of the music I just “had to hear on these speakers.” No previous upgrades *ever* elicited *anything* like that kind of interest.
I don’t know of another full range speaker (other than the model 7s) where the rear of the speaker could be 18 inches from the narrow wall in our 11x22 foot living room and produce what I’m hearing. By that I mean unbelievably good bass all the way down and a holographic presentation that sounds alive with a good recording. The 11 band equalizer evens out in room bass response and I think the fact that it’s a powered bass unit helps the system sound like it has unlimited headroom. The balsa wood midrange is amazing and it does give you a taste of the model 7. I thought the 5A carbons sounded more like the model 7s than the Quattro Wood CT (which is itself a nice speaker). The key thing is that I didn’t think I could get this kind of performance in a non-dedicated listening room without DSP given the limited speaker placement options. John assured me it could be done and boy was he right!
Subsequent listening with the model 7s shows them to be more of a piece and even higher resolution. Comparisons are difficult of course since the electronics were better than mine. They sound “softer” at first until you hear a rim shot or cymbal or brass instrument. They have the advantage of using the same super low distortion balsa wood drivers everywhere and a better cabinet so it makes sense. Now to just keep saving up….
Some tracks for your enjoyment:
Scala & Kolancy Brothers, Nothing Else Matters (ladies choir covering Metallica)
Lorde, Pure Heroine, Tennis Court
London Grammar, Hey Now
Ludovico Einaudi, Time Lapse, In a Time Lapse
track# 2 from http://www.amazon.com/Organ-Concerto-Symphony-1-Poulenc/dp/B000000AUI/ref=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1433098608&sr=1-6&keywords=poulenc+organ+concerto
I settled on Vandersteens after a lot of listening at shows and some at dealers. For comparison, the 5A carbon has the carbon clad balsa wood driver but only for the midrange, while the model 7 uses them everywhere except the powered bass unit. The powered bass units are the same in the 5A and model 7 except the cabinets are different.
I am grateful for the current popularity of trade shows or I might not have “discovered” Vandersteens. There are no dealers nearby. I was expecting to like some other lines more; you do really have to find your own taste. After attending RMAF and other shows a few times the model 7s distinguished themselves – they sounded fantastic and they managed to do that in the hotel rooms most everyone else blames for bad sound. Relaxed, unforced natural sound, phenomenal bass and “no loss of fine detail” (sorry to steal your line Audio Physic, but it really fits).
Perhaps the best tribute I can give the 5A carbons is how my wife reacted shortly after John Rutan of Audio Connection set them up in our living room. For 25+ years she has been mildly interested in my hi-fi thing. Sometimes we listened together but mostly she used the system for background music. I came home to find her in the sweet spot with the lights dimmed and a candle going. She then proceeded to tell me about all of the music I just “had to hear on these speakers.” No previous upgrades *ever* elicited *anything* like that kind of interest.
I don’t know of another full range speaker (other than the model 7s) where the rear of the speaker could be 18 inches from the narrow wall in our 11x22 foot living room and produce what I’m hearing. By that I mean unbelievably good bass all the way down and a holographic presentation that sounds alive with a good recording. The 11 band equalizer evens out in room bass response and I think the fact that it’s a powered bass unit helps the system sound like it has unlimited headroom. The balsa wood midrange is amazing and it does give you a taste of the model 7. I thought the 5A carbons sounded more like the model 7s than the Quattro Wood CT (which is itself a nice speaker). The key thing is that I didn’t think I could get this kind of performance in a non-dedicated listening room without DSP given the limited speaker placement options. John assured me it could be done and boy was he right!
Subsequent listening with the model 7s shows them to be more of a piece and even higher resolution. Comparisons are difficult of course since the electronics were better than mine. They sound “softer” at first until you hear a rim shot or cymbal or brass instrument. They have the advantage of using the same super low distortion balsa wood drivers everywhere and a better cabinet so it makes sense. Now to just keep saving up….
Some tracks for your enjoyment:
Scala & Kolancy Brothers, Nothing Else Matters (ladies choir covering Metallica)
Lorde, Pure Heroine, Tennis Court
London Grammar, Hey Now
Ludovico Einaudi, Time Lapse, In a Time Lapse
track# 2 from http://www.amazon.com/Organ-Concerto-Symphony-1-Poulenc/dp/B000000AUI/ref=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1433098608&sr=1-6&keywords=poulenc+organ+concerto