I owned Vandersteen model 4, they were excellent for that time, probably around 1984. They had twin 12" sub woofers per cabinet that faced each other (isobaric push-pull design).
The bass frequencies emanated from slots at the base of the cabinet which was mostly black grill cloth. Mine came with steel spikes that raised the bottom platform the appropriate distance from the floor for maximum coupling.
These required and came with an outboard crossover that divided the subs from upper frequencies. I bought a second factory crossover and ran them as dual mono for more control.
Back then I choose Counterpoint SA4 mono block OTL for the highs and modified (mono) twin Quad current dumping amps for the subs. These speakers would rattle the room, particularly if you ran the gain on the bass a touch high. They were tremendously fun to listen to and I still have fond memories of them.
If they had a flaw it was in the upper midrange and high frequency at somewhat high volume, a bit more distortion than ideal but that was a LONG time ago. The speaker was great for it's time and I would still take it over Vandy 3A due to bass advantage of the 4.
Wonder what it would sound like today with a better phono cartridge and all the improvements in interconnect and speaker wire?
The bass frequencies emanated from slots at the base of the cabinet which was mostly black grill cloth. Mine came with steel spikes that raised the bottom platform the appropriate distance from the floor for maximum coupling.
These required and came with an outboard crossover that divided the subs from upper frequencies. I bought a second factory crossover and ran them as dual mono for more control.
Back then I choose Counterpoint SA4 mono block OTL for the highs and modified (mono) twin Quad current dumping amps for the subs. These speakers would rattle the room, particularly if you ran the gain on the bass a touch high. They were tremendously fun to listen to and I still have fond memories of them.
If they had a flaw it was in the upper midrange and high frequency at somewhat high volume, a bit more distortion than ideal but that was a LONG time ago. The speaker was great for it's time and I would still take it over Vandy 3A due to bass advantage of the 4.
Wonder what it would sound like today with a better phono cartridge and all the improvements in interconnect and speaker wire?