Why not stack it up against a much more expensive model? I see no reason to not compare what a lower dollar amount can get you compared to a much more expensive model. I did think when reading it that Wilson may write a letter of displeasure about the direct comparison...especially when it appears to outperform the Wilson on a few direct comparisons. My father owns the Wood Quatro and it is an amazing speaker, with the trickle down technology I would say it betters the sock Quatro by upwards of 10% but a majority of the upgrde cost is cosmetic.
Stereophile Review of Quatro Wood
Anyone read the review of the Vandy Quatro Wood in the latest Stereophile? With this effort, Wes Phillips has moved the bar a full notch lower, further diminishing the relevance of the major audiophile rags.
After a (too) lengthy treatment of the design specifics, he touches on a fairly narrow range of performance characteristics and then spends the rest of the review on a useless (and superficial) comparison of the Quatro Wood and the Wilson WATT/Puppy 8--which is way more than double the price. What was he thinking? Why not compare the Quatro to several other similarly priced floorstanding models? How about a comparison with the sock version Quatro or the 5A? At least the consumer could get some sense of where the Quatro Wood falls within the Vandersteen line and whether the wood or the larger 5A is worth the extra bucks.
It's not that I am disappointed--the only reason I keep my subscription to these mags is because they are dirt cheap (a consequence of the inflated subscription figures that the low rate provides) and the record reviews are somewhat helpful. It's just that this particular review has demonstrated just how useless these reviews have become.
After a (too) lengthy treatment of the design specifics, he touches on a fairly narrow range of performance characteristics and then spends the rest of the review on a useless (and superficial) comparison of the Quatro Wood and the Wilson WATT/Puppy 8--which is way more than double the price. What was he thinking? Why not compare the Quatro to several other similarly priced floorstanding models? How about a comparison with the sock version Quatro or the 5A? At least the consumer could get some sense of where the Quatro Wood falls within the Vandersteen line and whether the wood or the larger 5A is worth the extra bucks.
It's not that I am disappointed--the only reason I keep my subscription to these mags is because they are dirt cheap (a consequence of the inflated subscription figures that the low rate provides) and the record reviews are somewhat helpful. It's just that this particular review has demonstrated just how useless these reviews have become.