Von Schweikert or Westlake Audio

Bebopman, I have heard both; the VS at a freind's home and the Westlake at a customer's studio. Between these two choices I would personally opt for the VS.

The Westlake is a good studio monitor but I don't find it very engaging or exciting. Lots of detail, yes. But not nearly as muscially involving as the VS; at least to my ears.

Thanks for the infomation.Have u any idea what amp n pream your friend was using to drive his VS.Do VS speakers required a lot of power to control the bass.

Von Schweickerts love good clean power - the Plinius SA Reference should work well. Many VSA owners end up monoblocking or bi-amping for best results.

Thanks for the info.Is one SA reference sufficient or I need 2 of those?Which monoblocks would work well other than SA Reference?

"sufficient" is a relative word. More power is always better. There have been excellent results obtained from Pass Labs and McIntosh (solid state) as well as VAC and VTL(tubes), among many others.

There is an excellent VSA thread on Audiocircle that you can easily access from the VSA website under "contacts" and then "meet VSA customers". It is the perfect place to get additional info re: what would work best. The guys there are very helpful and have lots of VSA experience - it is an excellent place to get the guidance you seek.

Bebopman, my friend with the VR 4SEs is currently using BAT VK-150 monoblocks. Sounds awesome.

One of the posters above mentioned that VSA speakers love power. True, but (as always) it also depends on your room and what type of music you listen to. I have tried my modest CJ Premier 11A with the 4SEs, and while it certainly did not have the bass slam of the VK-150 it sounded very good overall. I actually preferred it to the BAT amp for midrange liquidity.

That's one of the great things abut the VS 4 speakers - they are about as versatle a speaker as I have ever heard. They can rock with tremendous bass slam, but also exhibit delicacy and subtleties in small, quiet musical passages. Great speakers if they work for you in your room.

Thanks for coming back to me BR.I looked up the BAT website but unfortunately Bat is not sold in my country or in the region where I live.I wondered if anyone out there has actually heard of the Plinius SA Reference driving the VR4 with their latest Tautoru pream.I heard the amp is really best value for money coz it out performs a lot of other stereo power amps which r sold for more money.Yes,I do like tubes.I can get my hands on the big VTLs(there is a VTL dealer here)but that is a bit out of my budget for the time being.I had also thought about the MAC 501 monoblocks but they sound a bit laid back for my taste.Plus they do cost more than the SA Reference.Anyway,thanks

Bebopman, what type of music do you listen to (is your A'gon name a clue)? If you don't listen to hard rock and heavy metal on a regular basis you have lots of options. Are you thinking tubes or SS?

How r u today BR?I tend to lean towards SS.I listen mainly to jazz n latin music.But sometimes I also listen to rock n pop music like rap,trance,disco n so on.I would not mind tubes if they can give me a good punchy bass coz I like to crank up the volume.The VS dealer in my town is using the CJ solid state.I audition a couple of times n found that with the CJ 350,I cannot turn the volume real loud(I like live music).I do not hear much bass coming out from the 350.The mid n the high were very liquid as u mentioned.I was told the SA Reference has immence power it can even drive the 7 foot tall pipedreams by Nearfield Acoustic.And the sound is rather refined coz it is running on pure class A.Anyhow,the SA Reference is a temporary solution for me coz I will upgrade the amp to the migthy Boulder 2060(which also run in pure class A)in late 2010 or early 2011 when I get my money.Any thoughts on the 2060?Have a nice day

Bebopmen, I do not have any direct experience with Boulder amps but lots of folks here on A'gon seem to like them. Personally, I have had good experience with both CJ and McCormack DNA SS amps. I also had a Krell amp that I used for years with a pair of Apogee ribons. Not as smooth and liquid as the McCormack, but plenty of bass slam. Many folks praise the Plinius amps, and years ago a friend of mine had a great big Classe unit that I remember as impressing me.

As I said before, there are lots of good choices in the SS world. Whare are you located? It it easy to find/ship used gear? That way you might be able to try before you buy - you can always sell something that you ultimately decide not to keep.

I'll second McCormack. Used a DNA-500 on Legacy Whispers and then briefly on VSA VR-7se's. Lots of power, great musicality for solid state.