Vandersteen Question


....just wondering if anyone uses the rear firing tweeters on the big Vandersteens.   Richard designs these with equal phasing....doesn't that rear speaker ruin things?
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When I had my 5's, not the 5A's, I used that rear firing tweeter and liked it, much to the chagrin of my dealer, JohnnyR and Richard. My room had three walls of glass and for some reason the rear tweeter ameliorated some of the issues with the glass. Go figure. I would say try it and then decide if you like it. Good Luck!
EXACTLY!!   I do the same with the glass issues as well.   The rear tweeters do good things for my sound as well.  (Johnny and Richard both hated what I did, but I just wont invite them here)
Every time I try it on my 5ACs, I end up turning them off soon after. My smallish room just doesn’t need the added brightness. It is 12 * 22 * 7, with a nook behind the basement stairs so that part is 16 feet wide. It has two small windows and a door with glass panes, so there’s not much of that, and it is treated with absorbers and diffusers. I have the speakers along the long wall, about 30” out, in a roughly equilateral triangle listening arrangement. In a much larger plush room I might need the boost.
I’ve got original Model 5’s and have tried the rear tweeters on several occasions, but always think it is too bright.  My room is small and there is a concrete block wall behind the speakers so any rear output gets reflected back.  I did have some cotton tapestries directly behind the speakers but that didn’t really change the results.  
..just some extra thoughts.  When using my headphones, the striking of a cymbal, the crack of a claves, etc is very fast...you can hear the strike, and then the sound.  When using no Vandersteen  rear tweeter...its as the headphones, but recessed...listen very carefully to hear it.   When using the tweeter, the body of the stike is there, but the actual strike is "confused".   I'm thinking that the phase is screwed up with that rear tweeter.  My room is very big with 16 ft ceilings....I use the tweeter, but just barely.  Its like sub woofers....if you hear it, its way too loud.