Any feedback on Von Schweikert VR4Gen.III

I have had many of Albert designs and every one of them has been at least a best buys it their time.

thomas

I got the standard, non-HSE version and cannot comment on any differences since I have not heard them. The Gen III are large and heavy (130 lbs each). I think the dimensions are listed on his website. My opinion is they are not suitable for a small, say 10' x 10' room. YMMV
Patrick

I've been thinking of getting either the vr 3.5s
or the vr4 Gen III. Haven't heard either one yet
but I heard the original vr4's, loved them but was put off by their size. I was wondering if you bought the standard model or the HSE with howland crossover. Also if you heard both
and what the difference was.
thanks

I got mine about 2 weeks ago. I also had to wait 4 months. They are not even close to being broken in as my wife wasn't too happy when I said I was going to leave them on high volume with a cd in repeat mode when I went to work. The last thing I need is my wife resenting me upgrading my hobby as I haven't bought my new pre/amp yet. At the same time, I am breaking in new cables and IC's. I am still experimenting with position as well, although they seem unusually flexible in this regard. There is no VS dealer near me, so I did something really stupid. I bought them without ever having heard them. Was I worried about my hard earned 5K (got a center channel for HT too)? You betcha. After about 40 hours I can say they sound better than I had ever hoped. They are amazing. Great big soundstage now and I can already hear it starting to open up more; the speakers are starting to dissapear. Clear, neutral, and tight. Out of the box, the system sounded too bright but this was due to my components. I got a Cary 303 and that solved that. I was driving them with a 15 year old Adcom 555 amp while I saved enough for replacement. For the heck of it I hooked it up to a Marantz SR-18 which in 2 channel is more powerful than the Adcom. I could be imagining it, but things sounded crisper and less fatiguing. I cannot wait for more upgraded components. It is a joy to know that as good as they sound now, they will only get better. YMMV
Happy Listening!
Patrick

Any VSA speaker should be seriously considered as they are an excellent buy.The Gen IIS work best with a large room to get their full benefit.With the addition of the soft dome tweeter and the benfits of new driver technology all VSAs are a huge jump from their predecessors.

I took delivery of my VR4 Gen III's just 3 weeks ago & have been trying to burn them in. Sad to say I only have about 20 hours of hard break in time on them but the manual recommends 100 hours of LOUD VOLUME run in. My dealer said his display pair took about that long, so that's what I'm shooting for. I've been stuck at home for the past few months-so without going into detail I'll just say I'm working on it.

I auditioned these & was very pleased with the increased bass & high freq. response along with a big soundstage.

This past week I managed to get 3 hours of loud electronic music on them Thursday & then listened to some Diana Krall. Very nice as they are listenable after a hard run. I know things will improve & I'll be able to sit without fatigue for hours on end like I used to. I am trying to get the final position worked out during the next few weeks & will adjust a little here & there before I put the spikes on. With my wall 2 wall carpet that will tighten the bass up another notch but it already is sounding good.

I also have to mention that the first few hours that I cranked them up my Ayre V-3, although it has the latest upgrades & is 7 1/2 years old, had that electronic smell like it was burning in. I mentioned this to my dealer & he said the Ayre probably had never been driven that hard before & indeed was burning in. Reinforces that word, burning in, for the non-believers. The smell went away after two sessions. Due to space constraints I can't face them & put the cables out of phase for break in.

The music that I've played & have been able to sit down & listen to had bigger bass-meaning lower freq. response & presence. Big bass was an absolute requirement for me & I now have it. Even at this early stage it is not boomy & will tighten up even more. The high freq. response is very pleasing although I have the fill tweeter turned down almost all the way. I just can't stand brightness at all & will have to work on it. I also was just tonight able to move the speakers away from the wall to stay & they are only 17" away from the back wall. When listening before I had to pull them out then push them back because a vent was too close to one of the speakers. I rectified the situation although I only have about 6 more inches more to move out.

I had to wait 4 months for these speakers because of the demand right before the price increase. Also, this is the first retail purchase I've made other than a $150.00 IC in 11 years. Everything else has been used, demo or auction. That in itself says something. I can't give you the full review but going on what I heard at the dealers showroom, which was more like a living room than any other showroom I've ever been in & he used the same IC's & one set of the true bi-wire cables I have. That gave me a pretty accurate representation of the things to come.

Also, my living room is 22' x 11.5' x 8' & I moved my listening chair back & now sit 14' from the speakers. Great imaging. I wasn't so sure I should have bought them before taking delivery because buying retail is something I haven't done in a very long time & I also found it hard to come up with 4k but I'm glad I did it. Definitely takes my system to the next level.