02-16-10: MusicslugI was there for their "Music Matters" open house too. The Vandy 7's have a very natural tonal balance and energize the room similar to live music. I heard reference to their high price, but didn't catch what that price was.
I heard them at Definitive a couple weeks ago. insanely good. insanely expensive. probably not having the $ is a good thing - if you hear them you'll want them.
I also heard the new Wilson Sashas there; I think the Wilsons and V-7's are excellent speakers but reflect different philosophies. The Wilsons are extremely fast and high-rez. They require the right electronics and meticulous room setup to sound right. My impression was that the Vandy's give you all the music and would be easy to live with.
Then I heard the new B&W 802D (diamond tweeter) in a third room. These rather impressed me. Tonally they sat in between the Sashas and V-7's. With the 600w Classe amps driving them they had good transparency and lots of slam and bass extension. B&W pointed out that with their economy of scale the 802D's only cost $15K but are competitive with more expensive speakers. I'd have to agree. They put out like a $25K speaker.
I also need to post over in the analog forum about this open house because the DPS turntable/tonearm tweaked, regulated, integrated, and marketed in the US by Ayre just kicks @$$. It's about a $12K rig that sounds like a $30K SME.