Bag End TA15 vs. Von Schweikert VS4 series

I may, get blasted but,,, if your a "horn" fan,,, hi-effeciency speaker guy, love the warmth of tubes, esp SET,, want or need terrific low-end punch with seemless driver integration, are thinking Von Schweikert, and lastly, willing to part with approx $10k,,, then you must audition the dB99's from VSA. Contact Rusty at Von Schweikert and learn if there is a VSA dealer in your area that have the 99's on hand for a listen. You won't be disappointed!
See the www.stereotimes.com review by Clememt Perry of the dB99's to wet your appetite. I'm using mine with a VAC Avatar and find the 99's engaging and "alive". Their small footprint and beautiful finish are pleasant on the eyes as well as the ears!

Jack
www.esotericaudiovideo.com

Thanks Jack for the reply.I do not have $10k to drop on those speakers and was looking more at the VR4jr or the older VR4 and then have that modded at the factory.So i was looking to spend in the $4000 range and don't want to over extend the pocket book.I do get alot of slam with my present system and was wondering if these other speakers would deliver the goods or more since i haven't listened to anything this high end in a long time.I think my Bag End cabinets are not slouches however just VERY boxy and large with not alot of aesthetic appeal other then the Birch cabinets.

Well i have to be honest.I went and listened to these VS VR4jr's at a guys house this weekend.He was running consonance SET 211 amps and tube preamp and consonance tube CD player.The speaker was loaded with shot and had the spikes etc..Well i have to say that i was very underwhelmed and expected so much more from these.He has had them for 8 months so the break in factor could not of been the factor.Granted,his tubes may have been going bad or getting older,that i don't know,but i was just not catching anything of what i thought i might after reading all of the high praise regarding this speaker.I know there are so many different variables as well but i would of thought i could hear the root of what this speaker had to offer no matter what and then be able to get that more there with better power cords etc.But what i heard made me put my money back in my pocket and drive home empty handed and i was READY to buy these after reading so many positive things.Guess i just got so use to having my horns delivering me accurate(or what i concider to be-and bag end as these are studio monitors) REALISM.That's the best way i can describe it.I feel like when a violin player is playing on passage that you should be able to feel like they are in the room with you if the recording was meant as such.I wasn't getting any of that from these VS speakers at all.Very masked in my opinion.Ok i will get ready to get blasted now but those were my findings at a persons home setting.Also i should add that i do not see how moving this speaker around to different locations was going to find that magic spot after hearing the general vibe coming from them.No magic was just suddenly going to appear.Now maybe some serious front end changes would do the magic that i will say but i wasn't catching it at all through some fairly very high end gear.
Sticking with my Bag End TA15-birch cabinets for now and living with the size and the sweet yet dynamic sound !!

Good for you! I love my VS speakers, but they aren't for everyone. Everyone should go through the speaker selection like you mentioned above instead of buying what the latest craze is. I like VS and a few other brands because they are to my liking. Chances are there might have been a system mismatch.

Rob

Hey Robm!!
Yeah i hated to write them off so abrubtly and wished i could of listened to them with other components etc. but it was one of those things where you hear like 15 seconds of music and know you aren't in the direction you want to go.Which VS speaker are you using?And what are you driving them with to get your desired sound?