Considering Vandersteen Treo
My profile is out of date, but my current speakers are QLN 3's, which I very much enjoy. The soundstage is wonderful, and they play nice in my smallish room at 12.5x11. However, they seem to lack some fullness, and not just in the bass category, I can't quite put my finger on what is missing.
To date I have demo'ed Spendor D series, Wilson Sabrina, Audiovector R3 Arrete, Sonus Faber Olympica Nova II and the Vandersteen Treo. Each of them had their merits, but the Treo was the standout among these choices.
Along with good sound, my requirements, and concerns, surround:
- How well they play in smaller rooms without overpowering the room.
- How well they play at lower listening levels, 65-75 dB. I am not a believer that this is entirely a function of speaker sensitivity. Some speakers 'wake up' at certain levels, and can be quite dull at low volume.
- Soundstage, and the ability to disappear. I like a broad soundstage and phase aligned speakers. All of the speakers did pretty well in this category, but the Treo's were better, presumable due to their phase aligned design.
- One concern and actually an annoyance with the Treo's is the speaker connections. I have significant investment in time and money finding speaker cables and I would not be able to use them on the antiquated screw terminal connections forced on owners of these speakers. Anyway...
Just tossing this out there to solicit opinions from those who have heard or own Treo's or QLN's. Let me know your thoughts.
I’ll mention these because Usher speakers are some of the best I’ve heard and are a true bargain for the overall sound/build quality on offer, and these ML-802s are attractively priced although not sure if they’d be too much for your room… Here’s a review of the smaller 801s for an idea of their sound qualities (the reviewer ended up buying the 802s). https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/usher-audio-ml-801/ Just another idea FWIW. |
@parkergetdean I do like British sound, I had KEF Reference One’s and LS50’s before the QLN’s, though based on reading only, I am not sure the Harbeth’s are for me. I am curious though. My goal with smaller floorstanders was to remove the need for a sub, I would like to avoid it. I just think that a 2.5 might give me a bit “fuller” sound all around over a two way. @soix I hear good things about Usher, consistently. Tough to demo though.
|
@fastricky To respond to your post, I'll add a few more comments about the PS Audio Aspen FR10 speakers, first about the mids/highs and then about the bass performance. After listening to the FR10s for over 10 months now, I have become addicted to the sound of planar-magnetic drivers. Most of my listening over the years has involved metal-dome tweeters and cone-based midranges. I've also had the opportunity to listen to electrostatic speakers (e.g., Martin-Logans) and some early versions of speakers using Heil AMTs. However, I've always felt that the highs and lows weren't well integrated in those speakers, which compromised "realism" in the midrange to some extent (at least to my ears). I've also been frustrated that metal-dome tweeters can develop a hardness or edge on some music, which too often caused me to tell myself "you can't handle the truth" -- at least as presented by revealing recordings and equipment. With the clarity and realistic detail presented by the FR10s, I have developed a new-found appreciation for transparency. On the low end, the FR10s do a fantastic job on drums and stand-up bass. In fact, the designer of the Aspen speakers, Chris Brunhaver, is an accomplished bass player himself. For a solid review of the FR10 by a drummer, you might want to watch the YT video by Adrian Alexander from TAS. Adrian is really impressed that the FR10s sound so tight and real, which is what they're supposed to sound like, of course. I hope these comments are helpful. |
@sdl4 I am very curious to hear the Aspens. Based on very little experience, but nonetheless, I am not sure that I am a fan of ribbon tweeters. It might be their limited vertical dispersion compared to more natural dome tweeter. But planers are a different animal. How would you describe their off axis characteristics? If you are not in the sweet spot, how natural does your system sound? |
