Von Schweikert VR4 JR Speaker Cables


I am seeking advice on cables for the VR4 JRs. I have the current equipment setup:

Counterpoint SA20 200wpc Tube Hybrid. New Tubes
Denon PRA-2000 Pre-amp
Transparent Reference Interconnects Amp to Pre, Cd to Pre
Denon DCD3520 CD PLayer
MIT MH750 Music Hose 8 foot
Previous Speaker Martin Logan CLSIIz.

The mids and Highs are wide and spacious, not clogged, with a wide stage and presence.

Bass is a little on the boomy side, not tight. Added 25 pounds of lead shot to each speak helped a little but nbot as tight as I think they should be or would like. They sound like they are on wood floors but they are on Concrete subfloor with carpet.

Currently trying Consonance Joplins. Base is extremely tight, but then the mids and highs are narrowed to about three feet in width. Mids and highs sound more accurate but soundstage is almost gone. Running the cables to see if it is break in?

Anyone with any experience with these speakers please comment/advise.
davekosek
Dave, I just ordered a set of Verbatim bi-wires , which are the cables VSA uses , according to the sales manager, Paul Garner. It will take a while to get them and break them in, but I'll give you my impressions when it happens.
Carl
Dave, I'm using Goertz MI2 and have talked to 2 VSA speaker owners who like their Stealth cables.
I assme the speakers are broken in. I'm happy with my AZ Satori Shotguns with my JR's.
Dave , just a thought. They will hold 50 pounds of shot, as that's what I put in mine. Would the extra 25 make a difference, perhaps?
Carl
Add the shot if you have not. I have used two cables with good success. Kimber 8TC and Signal Cable Silver Resolution. I like the Signal Cables best between the two. Also, whatever cables you choose, make sure to bi-wire, it really makes a difference on these speakers. Good Luck,
If you already like the sound of the MH750, why not buy some decent cables for the lower run? You really need to bi-wire those speakers. Currently I'm running MIT MH750SII to the monitors and Taralabs TSII to the bass cabinets. The dual run made a nice improvement over the single wire run.
Acoustic Zen has allways been a very good match with any VSA speaker. Although I am a tried and true MIT man, both my reference 4 SE's (front) and 4jr's (rear) DO NOT LIKE MIT, IMHO. I have heard Pardalas' Kimber on the jr's and can say they mate very well. I use Audioquest type 4 and 6 to bi-wire the long run to my rears to good effect.
Bear in mind both the Jr's and the SE's are a shade to the loose side in the bass.
I would also try stuffing the ports, (I have the jr's ports stuffed currently). This drops a few hz off the low end but WILL tighten them up a bit. Try further from the rear wall also.
JPS superconductor is what my local dealer uses and they match very nicely with the VS's
Jtgale: "...4jr's (rear) DO NOT LIKE MIT, IMHO."

What does that mean exactly? Can you elaborate?
Bearing in mind cables should be thought of as the synergistic link between any two components, and I may have used differing equipment than you...
I used to have 750 shotgun speaker cables that worked wonderfully with some Coincident Technology Total Eclipse, Egglestonworks Fontaine, and assorted Tyler Acoustic and B&W loudspeakers. However, they did not respond well to Vandersteen IIIa sigs and my current VR4 SE's. Exhibiting allmost the exact opposite qualities that MIT usually delivers. The midrange hardened up, soundstage depth was forshortened, along with a distinct lake of air up top. Decidedly NOT the usual MIT traits. I still use Oracle V3.1 between my Sony XA9000ES and BAT pre, and 330 Shotgun from pre to Spectron amp. I now use Acoustic Zen Satori Shotgun for the 4 SE's with a midband to die for! Another great bang for the buck cable product line is the Luminous Audio stuff. I use their Silver Reference, along with the Zen Silver REF for my multichannel IC's.
Again, just because a particular cable does not sound good with a particular speaker, does not make either product less worthy. They just don't "like" each other. This is why cable reviews are frought with difficulty. They must be tried out with a wide array of products.
Thanks for the response. You could have left out all those explicit disclaimers. I wasn't being defensive about my MH750s - I was really interested in your opinion.

The reason I asked is that I have been happy with the MH750 but I've been feeling the urge to try something new. I really loved the MH750 with the Thiels and right now they are good but I have to wonder if there is something better for the VR4jrs. I don't have a pool of comparison cables to swap around so your insight is helpful.

I'm surprised that you still have the 330 in your system if you went away from the MH750. I also have some 330 shotguns and they are really very good but since the speaker upgrade I have prefered the Z-squared toplines and the cryoed VH pulsars. I intend to go back and try them again in a couple of months after I am accustomed to the current configuration.

Chris VenHaus is supposed to be offering a new speaker cable soon and I think I'm going to try that before I buy anything else simply because I like the pulsars so much. Maybe in a few months I can offer a review to help out the original poster.

cheers,
michael
I'm surprised that you still have the 330 in your system if you went away from the MH750.

Yes, well, I'm planning an upgrade to those but, I use a 25' run of IC from pre to amp. For this I need to save a bit...!
Hi fellas, speaking of MIT I just recently put 330 shotguns back in my rig between a CJ premier 14 and Mcintosh 501 monoblocks...I think I prefer them to 350 reference that I took out! I also use 350 SG EVO between dac and preamp and Magnum 2's between amp and Thiel 3.6's.

I think the 330 shotguns and MH750 were perhaps the best bargain in the MIT line, I really don't like they way they are marketing the brand now with so many choices in the various categories...do you need 3 oracles, 3 magnums, and 3 shotguns?
Davekosek, If you are interested, the cables that Von Schweikert are using with their speakers currently, according to Paul Garner, National Sales Manager, are currently listed on Agon used. These are the Verbatim(mis-spelled Verbatium by the seller)10 foot bi-wires. I just ordered a pair last week ,sadly, or I would buy these, but if you are interested, they are priced right. Just a FYI.
Carl