5A Vandersteen

just a friendly reminder i have owned and loved the five A...in rosewood.....with 7 filters...try those for grins sometime 

look the 5 and the 5a are and always will be towering achievements of sound and value. BUT the carbon drivers are pure water clear !!!! i know this AFTER living with 7 MK2 and the magical 5 parts in signal path model 7 amps. Yes the 5a will outperform the Quattro CT to about 100 HZ, after that all bets off, so it is a matter of taste and room...and your tuning...I continue to obsess with placement, vandertones, noise reduction, power panel grounding, etc.....fun...and the music just gets better!!!!! fun...BTW, the TREO CT is a real hoot....40 wpc NAIM power, drop dead easy....

and for $3k you can get that carbon tweeter in the VLR-Sig
add a sub later

affordable audio is amazing, lots of great gear out there without spending mega bucks...

also, get the 7 high pass IF you want to improve them..and get hyper nitpicky about setup w Leica disto and making sure floors level, running Vandertones late late at hight when noise floor is hyper low.....

have fun

enjoy the music


Jim

I also had a much much loved pair of 5a and they are from an admitted “ fan “ a towering achievement. The reality is the cost to manufacture the layered MDF “ head “ and the performance of it did hot keep pace with the superior cabinet and equal drivers in the Quattro, especially the CT. YES you do give up the FABULOUS push pull aluminum sub, still available in the mighty seven. I had a massive room and the 5a were a better pick, but when I moved the Quattro CT would have outperformed it in many ways, so I got lucky and bought a pair of 7.... spoiled yes I know...

but a used pair of five a, set up well are freaking amazing...especially in Rosewood....