von Schweikert VR-4 vs Vandersteen 5A

Highly placed audiophiles have told me that the Vandersteens lack "excitement" and that one should prefer the VR-4s. According to the recent article in TAS, the perception of lack of excitement could be the result of unfamiliarity with how a time coherent speaker sounds, i.e. the treble doesn't hit you first.

What do you think?