[pardales]

I have had my 33's for almost 3 months now. I probably have well over 500 hours on them and have finalized their placement using the Cardas speaker set-up formulas and my XLO Test and Burn-in CD.

I feel like the speakers are basically broken in and I have listened to all my standards many times, as well as internet radio, and everyday background music. IMHO they needed ALL of 500 hours to break-in and begin sounding their best.

I am currently driving them with a Van Asltine control amp or a Dayens Ampino, driven by a Hegel HD2 USB DAC playing ALAC files from Pure Music 1.8a. Morrow MA2 IC's and quality copper speaker cables. I use a Wireworld Silver Starlight USB cable. My room is 36x36 with a very high ceiling. For the past 6 years (and in a musch smaller and differnt room) I have owned various single-driver speakers from Lowther, Audio Nirvana, Tonian Labs, and Horn Shoppe, driven mostly by NOS DAC's and low powered tube amps (Almarro, Vaughn Carina, Miniwatt). The last two years I have had Horn Shoppe Model 1's and CUBE, and the Miniwatt S1. Had the Tranquility DAC for about 1 year as well in this set-up.

The 33's offer a very full, layered sound that does not leave me desiring anything significant I can think of. I have bass like I have never had before and am discovering lower frequency sounds in familiar recordings that I did not know were present. The midrange is full, rich, with nice layering and texture, voices seem real, the highs are crisp and extended, and instruments sound, essentially right.

At times I get that "your there" feeling, with a really good recording, and even mediocre recordings are perfectly enjoyable.

I took a chance on these with the hope that what is a sizable investment, for me, would pay off with a high quality speaker that I could keep for a long time. I'm still going to experiment with a few DAC's but i'm basically there. I have tried a few different amps and cables recently and was easily able to hear differences through the 33's. A quality speaker.   

The 33's are the closest thing to full range I have ever owned, and they are definitely the best speakers I have ever owned. I look for every moment I can to sit and enjoy the music.

[Mass. Wine Guy]

At times I get that "your there" feeling, with a really good recording, and even mediocre recordings are perfectly enjoyable.

What about your there? What's special about your there? My there is nice, too, when it's here.

[JLM]

Pardales,

I’m truly curious as to what moved you from single driver designs to the VR33.

I read that the mid-woofers are rated to cover 7 and a half octaves and the speaker uses all 1st order crossovers well away from the ear sensitive midrange, so I understand the association with single driver designs.  The review I first stumbled onto spoke of their “bloody coherency”.  And I think I understand the D’Appolito concept, but there is two of them (oh the dread of it all).   

Obviously these will provide more bass than any of those single driver designs and tiny amps (including Ed’s small “bass augmenter”).  This amount of bass would be a revelation to most single driver fans.

I’m also confused.  Although I use the Cardas room proportion and speaker/listener layout for my single driver speakers (and love it), these speakers apparently are designed to be located 3 – 20 inches from the front wall.  So I wonder how your implementation of the Cardas concept jives with the designer’s intention for mid/woofer and tweeter integration as well as bass reinforcement.  It would seem too that the D’Appolito array would be quite high for near field use from a normal seated position.

Did you experience imaging depth with the speakers close to the front wall?

To compare, my Bob Brines FTA-2000's, with Behringer DEQ and EnABL would cost about the same, use AlNiCo magnets, don't go quite as low, perhaps look nicer, but sit out into the room.

[pardales]

Pardales,

I’m truly curious as to what moved you from single driver designs to the VR33.

I read that the mid-woofers are rated to cover 7 and a half octaves and the speaker uses all 1st order crossovers well away from the ear sensitive midrange, so I understand the association with single driver designs.  The review I first stumbled onto spoke of their “bloody coherency”.  And I think I understand the D’Appolito concept, but there is two of them (oh the dread of it all).   

Obviously these will provide more bass than any of those single driver designs and tiny amps (including Ed’s small “bass augmenter”).  This amount of bass would be a revelation to most single driver fans.

I’m also confused.  Although I use the Cardas room proportion and speaker/listener layout for my single driver speakers (and love it), these speakers apparently are designed to be located 3 – 20 inches from the front wall.  So I wonder how your implementation of the Cardas concept jives with the designer’s intention for mid/woofer and tweeter integration as well as bass reinforcement.  It would seem too that the D’Appolito array would be quite high for near field use from a normal seated position.

Did you experience imaging depth with the speakers close to the front wall?

To compare, my Bob Brines FTA-2000's, with Behringer DEQ and EnABL would cost about the same, use AlNiCo magnets, don't go quite as low, perhaps look nicer, but sit out into the room.

1. Well, for one, I wanted bass, and the bass IS a revelation. Secondly, I just could not get the Horns to sound right in my new room. I had owned VR-2's and VR-4JR's many years ago so was not a stranger to VSA speakers. 33's just seemed worth a try and I was ready for something different.

2. I just followed the Cardas formula and put them in place. Then I used my test CD and it confirmed the placement was good. I have them 16" from the wall behind them so am in the range you mentioned. I have not tried to position them closer to the wall but given their design probably could. The height might be too high for near-field, I don't know. I do not sit near field though.

I do have an unusually large living/listening room these days. This is a different room that I had all my single driver/SET set-ups. So making any kind of direct comparison is difficult. I sit a full 12-14 feet from the front of the speakers. The speakers are approximately 10' from the each side wall and 16" from the wall behind them. The distance between speakers is about 10'.

I feel I have good depth of field and can easily place where instruments and vocalists are with recordings that admit of this possibility. There are some recordings where the speakers disappear more than others and some where I can definitely hear the sound coming from the speakers (no disappearing act). There are some recordings where the sound comes from outside the speakers -- meaning to the left and right of the actual speaker box, above and behind them too.

The 33's don't sound like single drivers. They are wonderfully coherent but my current system is really a different animal than my what I've had over the last 6 years.

[JLM]

Thanks for the reply.

1. Yes, deep bass is foundational.  I've heard The Horns several times and typically they didn't "sound right" (like everyone seemed to go GAGA about).  I've never liked "fussy" equipment.

2. Confused.  The Cardas approach has the speakers 0.447 times the room width away from the front wall and the same dimension between speakers and between each speaker and the listening position.  So in my 13 ft wide room the speakers are 5.81 ft from the front wall and from each other and from THE chair.  Your room is very large, a real plus.

The VR33 do seem impressive on many counts.  Enjoy.