B&W 703 or VR4 jr?


I have a pair of Paradigm Studio 100 v3 that I'm looking to move out of. Looking at either B&W 703s or VR4jrs. I have an Aragon 8008mk2 and a Aragon pre with a Cary 308 cd player. Any thoughts on these speakers? Thanks in advance.
adiorio

Showing 1 response by topspeed

Owning both B&W and VSA products, I'm kind of surprised you're comparing these two speakers because:
1) The VR4jr is $1K more, which is a considerable amount
2) They sound very different IMO

If you like the B&W sound, I think you'd be better off with the N804 as a more direct competitor to the VSA. I recently listened to the 700 range and to my ears they appeared to be voiced more towards the 600 line than the Nauts. The dealer mentioned the problem with the CDM line (which the 700's supplanted) was they were too close to the N800's and would often cannibalize sales. It made better business sense to introduce more of sonic difference. Bottom line, the Nauts are much more refined, transparent, and neutral sounding.

VSA speakers tend to be a richer, fuller sounding speaker than B&W's and have considerably more low end, imo. If the B&W's are Roger Moore, the VSA's are Sean Connery. This is aided in no small part by the VSA dropping to 23hz whereas the N804 falls off at 38hz. Another thing to consider between the two speakers is the VSA's might be more tempermental about placement because of the driver on the back. If you have WAF considerations or space limitations, this could factor heavily into your decision.

I hope this helps and buy what sounds best to you.