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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My profile is out of date, but my current speakers are QLN 3's, which I very much enjoy.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.

 

 

zlone
fastricky
139 posts
 

@sdl4 Thanks for the listening notes! 

zlone OP
1,337 posts
 

@sdl4 Sorry, forgot to respond to this, thanks for the notes. I remain intrigued by these speakers.

jafant's avatar
jafant
21,599 posts
 

zlone

Stay with QLN.  The Vandy Treo is over-rated and undervalued. Vandersteen's best loudspeaker is the Kento.  Season's Greetings.

 

Happy Listening!

zlone OP
1,337 posts
 

@jafant Thanks. Yeah, for now I am staying put. I have been working on the rest of the system with good results. 

patrickdowns's avatar
patrickdowns
557 posts
 

I have the Vandy Treo CT and love them. Before that I had the 2CE Signature II. I am laughing at "Vandy Treo is over-rated and undervalued". They have been on Absolute Sound’s "Best of the best" list for years. Klaus from Odyssey Audio (I have his amp) says he loves the Treos, and he knows his stuff. I got mine used, like-new for $5K, which was a steal. Paying $11k retail, there is competition for sure, and I don’t know what I would choose. I have read great reviews of the QLN.

There is a member here who has had both the superbly-rated Vandersteen Sevens (with Vandy mono amps) and the Treo CTs for years, and he’s forgotten more about audio than I will ever know. His Sevens were great when I listened to them on a visit, but they didn’t make me feel inadequate about my Treos, which is saying something. There is a common voice to Vandys, consistent as you move up the line. BUT—he’s moved on and replaced the Treos with TAD monitors and loves them. $15k speakers though...50% more than Treos. 

One advantage which was a big selling point for me with the Treos is I have a small room, and they are designed to be placed near the front wall, with their down-firing woofer.. My room is a smallish 11x15’, and I have the speakers about 8 inches from the front wall, on the long wall. About a 9 foot throw to my ears, and they sound great. 

IF you do get Treos, you REALLY want to bi-wire them. Really. They are designed for it, and it makes a difference. Of course, it doubles the cost of cables, and that’s not insignificant with good wires. 

Absolute Sound on the Treo CT:
"A loudspeaker of uncommon musicality and precision. Built upon the R&D that gave birth to the flagship Model Seven, the four-driver, medium-scale Treo CT conveys a single-driver-like coherence that immerses the listener in the very moment the recording was captured. It combines uncanny image specificity, color, and texture with an enveloping sense of air and immersiveness. At least some credit must go to the Model Seven-derived CT (carbon tweeter), which is as transparent and open as it is extended. Basically, a passive version of the Quatro Wood CT, the Treo may not have quite the bass slam of that model, but you’d hardly miss it due to its unflappable resolution of pitch. A true classic. (262)"
https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/high-end-audio-buyers-guide-2024-vandersteen-treo-ct/

FWIW

 

 

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