JFANTctsooner
Good to see you as always. Thank You for addressing Vandy subwoofer(s) and their application in audio systems. I enjoyed reading about M.I.T. and Transparent cabling as well. I hope you are ready for Spring.
Happy Listening!
First off, grills and designers are a funny thing. Most want you to take them off and others say don't. I was always told by my dealer who sold and owns the last of Jim's designs (the larger ones), to never take the grills off and he designed and voiced them with grills.
Vandersteen's also use grills that shouldn't be removed. I've never once taken the grills off my TReo's (sold) or Quatro's. They have special heavy felt that are there for the upper drivers. It makes a large difference as a dealer proved when I was auditioning them.
As for the MIT vs Transparent deal, feel free to DM me and I'll share my phone. I knew the owners and designers of both back when the split happened. It was so ugly. My dealer was the only one left who sold both lines. After he sold and got out around 2001 or so, they forced folks to make a decision one way or the other. Transparent has done a much much better job of moving forward than MIT has IMHO. That said, I'll take the AQ's that Garth Powell has designed over any of the exotics etc...