It's quite encouraging to hear a story like this. I too am a Vandersteen owner (the other end of the speaker line from Stringreen .... 1C's) and a customer of John Rutan (my Rogue Audio Cronus was bought through Audio Connections.) Over the years, I've had several telephone conversations with both gentlemen, always very happy with their guidance and thoughtful ideas on how to get the best musical sound from my system. I'd also like to add that Mark O'Brien and Nick at Rogue Audio have also been extremely helpful whenever I needed to contact them about my amplifier. It's just nice to know that the sometimes lost art of quality customer service is still alive and well.
Vandersteen Supreme Support
I have been enjoying my Vandersteen 5A's, but have had reservations about some issues that I've attributed to the room in my new house. I got a call from Richard Vandersteen the other day who heard I was not completely satisfied with my speakers (how he heard of that, I don't know)...anyway, he offered to help gain additional performance from them. With the kind help from John Rutan from Audio Connection in Verona, New Jersey (from whom I first purchased the speakers), and Richard Vandersteen, we tracked down and corrected the room problems. Richard made a number of calls, giving me steps to accomplish proper performance. Under his tutalage, we found a number of peaks, valleys, and phase problems with the room, Richard giving instructions on how to reduce these issues. The result is absolutely startling. The speakers are playing with an ease, and clarity, I haven't heard before. I have to say that someone who writes on these posts, came to hear my speakers a number of months ago, before these corrections and was so impressed that he offered to buy my speakers, and when I turned him down, he bought a pair of his own. The difference now is quite astonishing. Many, many thanks to Richard and John for their tips and efforts.