I don't know if anyone here even knows of my "keeper" speakers because they are rare. Amrita Audio Reference Standard Towers. They have a 13.5 inch, paper cone cast frame woofer, dual 6.5 inch DynAudio midranges with 3 inch voice coils and a Vifa metal dome tweeter. They're about 48"x14"x16" and I scored them at a local Salvation Army store in 2021 for $500.00 pr.
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@wspohn I’m with you on that 2nd system. My best ever speakers were the Vandersteen 4s, the ones that came right before the 4As. Richard offered to upgrade mine to 4A at a NJ dealer, but I was getting ready to move to a house w/no place to put big speakers (still living here). I couldn’t get over the great sound of those Vandy’s. I used a big tube amp on top (Music Reference RM-9 modded to be pentode/triode switchable--I always used triode) and a big SS amp on the subs. Last year I traded them to a local friend, who set them up in his recording studio. He regularly tells me he’s never heard anything close to these 40+ yr old towers. PS: Now all audio is in my home office (nearfield/desktop). The stars of this show are another elderly pair of speakers: KEF 103.2s, which sound quite amazing here. I heard the big KEFs back in the mid-80s and thought the audio Olympics all came down to Vandersteen and KEF then . . . not sure which would be gold vs which would be silver. |
@destopguy, @wspohn, I've owned three Vandersteen models and agree they are among the most musical and enjoyable of all I heard over the decades. One of the largest and earliest Vandersteen dealers is Stereo Unlimited in San Diego and they've had most models on floor for demos. I also bought a RM-9 from them to drive my last pair. I remember seeing the 4s but don't recall hearing them. A bit of trivia. As he went through the numbers for new models Richard used Quatro for that sequence in the line up since he'd already used 4. If you've never met him he's a bit of a character, but a really good designer. |
@elliottbnewcombjr DBX Soundfield 100.. I had a pair of those. Really cool speakers. Wish I still had them. I never heard them with excellent electronics. Probably had a big Yamaha receiver (R-100) or maybe an Adcom GFA555 at the time. Can't remember. |
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