[TCGB]

Good Day to All:

I'm obviously a newbie and I'm joining to learn more and glean what I can about Albert's fine speakers.  I've put about a dozen hours so far into reading as much info as I can find in anticipation of actually owning a fine pair of these speakers some day.  Undoubteldy they'll be a used pair since my budget isn't limitless.  Still, even a nice used pair will most likely be preferable to me than a new pair of non Schweikert speakers.  I've taken the time to read many of the posts in this section and I'm truly impressed with the information offered by and the friendliness of the participants.  I hope to someday make a meaningful contribution but for now I'll just sit back and learn what I can.  Thanks Delacroix for taking the time and putting in the effort to make this site a reality.  I'm sure that I'm speaking for most everyone involved when I show my appreciation.  Take care and God bless...

[Delacroix]

Welcome aboard!!   Let us know if you have specific questions but for sure, tell us about your current system and interests in audio. Lots of great folks here (and at large on AC) who can inform and entertain!

[TCGB]

I'm somewhat new to VSA speakers and I'm trying to learn as much as I can.  I'm realizing, though, that my equipment may not be "up to the task" of properly driving a pair of VSA speakers.  I'm currenty using a black-rack mount vintage SAE system from the mid-seventies consisting of a solid state 200 wpc 2400L amp, an SAE 2100 pre-amp, and finally an SAE 8000 tuner.  My turntable is a Dennon DP-1200 and my CD player is a Cambridge Audio Azur 640C.  My current speakers are B & W 604 S3 units in Sorrento.  I realize that this is a Mid-Fi system but for the time that I have to devote to the hobby, it's served me well over the years.  What I'm saying is that I don't actually have the time to devote to simply listening to music for hours on end but when I can listen, I appreciate a beautiful system.  I've heard some systems that are very impressive, to be sure, but not within my affordability range.  As I started off by saying when I joined, I'm just looking to learn at this point.  I'm happy to find a nice blog like this that focuses on Von Sweikert Audio speakers.  I'm very impressed with the quality that Albert has created in his entire line-up.  Take care and God bless.


TCGB


 

[jimdgoulding]

Very good speakers.  One thing, regardless of other things, must include the placement of our speakers.  Somebody help this man. 

[JackD201]

I started with B&W 604 S1s! What a coincidence! 

If you can snag a pair of VR-4 Gen IIs or Gen IIIs, I think you will find they go very well with 80's and 90's solid state amps like your SAEs.

Welcome aboard! 

[TCGB]

Thanks for the welcome Jack!  As I mentioned I'm happy to be here and my name is Dave.  I have a little story to share with the group and it's time to come clean!  I first saw a pair of gen 1 VSA VR-4 speakers posted in my local Craigslist for sale in early to mid August.  The owner was located only a matter of 15 minutes from my home in my same town.  I made an appointment and then went over to his apartment to have a listen.  He was driving them with only a small receiver with low watts/channel.  Despite that, I was quite impressed with what I heard and I knew that these were speakers that I wanted to own.  I negotiated with that owner in an attempt to purchase them with the funds that I had available, which wasn't as much as I needed, and knew that I wasn't going to be able to buy them unless he would accept my current B & W 604 S3 speakers in trade.  Unfortunately he wasn't interested when he found out that they were the Sorrento finish because he was only interested in a black finish.  So, a "cash only" negotiation went on for several days.  I finally told him, after we settled on a cash price that was $200 less than his asking price, that I would come up with the necessary funds within a week.  This was on a Friday evening and he agreed to hold the VR-4's for me for a full week.  Unfortunately for me, another buyer stepped forward two days after our "gentleman's agreement" and paid the seller full price.  I didn't find out about this until I saw the speakers pictured here on this VSA blog about 10 days ago.  The user's name is Fitness 1 here on the blog and he submitted a picture of the speakers which I believe is still posted.  He lives about 125 miles from me and I contacted him via this blog and told him the whole story about how I was in line to buy the speakers and thought that I had a week to come up with the money.  This new owner of the VR-4's did trade a pair of black-finished speakers to the former owner of the VSA speakers (who I was supposed to buy them from) and this allowed him to move some speakers that he wanted to sell.  He then decided to sell the VR-4's to me almost immediately as he had some upcoming purchases to make and he decided that my cash offer was too good to pass up.  Anyway, I made a deal with him, at a higher price that I had negotiated with the original seller, and picked them up last weekend.  I've yet to set them up because my SAE 2100 preamp is being repaired due to a bleed-through of the source materials.  When I turn on the tuner and have the CD player running at the same time I got the tuner coming out of one channel and the CD playing out of the other channel no matter whether the source selector was set on "tuner" or "CD".  Very strange to say the least!  Anyway, I've also spoken to Damon Von Schweikert now a few times to get tips on how to set the VR-4's up and I'm anxious to do that but I have to wait until my preamp is up and running again.  I also ordered a set of spikes from Madisound on Damen's advice since these speakers didn't come with an owner's manual, original boxes, or spikes.  The VR-4's do not have the "silver wire upgrade" as previously advertised by the second seller that I bought them from (fitness 1) although I noticed that he altered his listing on Audio Gon once I informed of that information.  I knew this because Damon told me how to tell the difference and when I pressed the original seller about this he told me that he had the back of the speaker apart and the wires were not comprised of a clear dielectric with silver core wire running through it which is the way you can verify the silver wire upgrade.  I believe that the current wiring is the high-quality copper wire that VSA used when these speakers were built in the mid-nineties.  Furthermore, I'm sure that with 200 watts/channel they'll come alive but I also realize that the placement has to be right and I have a fairly large living room so hopefully this will all work out.  The second seller that I bought these from had a small listening room and I"m sure these speakers will "open up" in a larger space.  I guess I'll find that out once I'm finally able to set them up.  By the way, I'm truly impressed and pleased that I can pick up the phone and call VSA and actually speak to the owner's son!  How many companies in the world can you do that with?  This is customer service at it's best folks!  I think that I'll be a VSA speaker user for years to come.  Incidentally, my new speakers look fabulous and the optional dark cherry finish is almost perfect.  The tops still shine like new and there are precious few nicks or defects in the wooden bases that comprised the bottom of the speakers.  There are, however, a few snags here and there in the black socks but Damon says that it isn't too terribly difficult to change those out although I have to "cool it" for a while until I can come up with the $200 cost for the new socks.  Then of course there's the "self installation" part that may prove to be a slight challenge to me although I understand that the kit comes with complete instructions and it sounds like I can handle it.  My B & W 604 S3's are currently for sale on eBay and if they sell I'll then be able to order the sock kit.  If these beautiful VR-4's have a new set of socks installed they'll be one heck of nice pair of speakers and they'll blend in well with the nicest living room furniture available.  Again, time will tell and we'll see how it all works out but for right now I'm taking it one step at a time, and slowly at that.  Finally, I'm happy to be here on this blog and I'm still hoping to learn from other more experienced VSA speaker users.  Thanks for having me!  Well, now you all know "the rest of the story"!

[JackD201]

You didn't just get to talk to the owners son. Damon is the CEO 

[TCGB]

Damon was very accommodating and helped me with every question that I had.  He also invited me to call back if I had any further questions.  As I mentioned, that's very impressive and beyond the service I expected when I first called the company.  In fact, I have to say that this was one of the factors of why I pursued these VR-4 speakers so aggressively.  I knew that if I had questions or problems I would get the help that I needed.  Furthermore, it's also why I think I'll be an owner of VSA products for a long time to come.  Take care and God bless...

[Albert Von Schweikert]

Hello Dave,
Welcome to the VSA Owners Circle!  I think you're going to have some fun with your newly acquired VR-4's.
Happy Listening,
Albert

[srb]

"Just looking to learn..."
 
1,000+ word paragraphs (Reply #5) are really hard to read!
 
Steve

[TCGB]

Good Day Steve,

I knew that someone would feel that way and yes, I agree, those long stories are sometimes boring and tedious to read.  I felt I had to get my story out on how I acquired these beautiful speakers and believe me, as long as it took to compose, edit, and spell-check, I won't be doing that again anytime soon!  I apologize to all those who actually took the time to read the whole thing and I thank them for their efforts!  Take care and God bless...

TCGB
(Dave)

[srb]

I knew that someone would feel that way and yes, I agree, those long stories are sometimes boring and tedious to read.

No Dave, I wasn't implying that it was a long or boring story, just that the judicious use of the Enter key to break the giant text block into paragraphs would make it a lot easier to read.  Something about VR4 speakers, right?
 
Steve

[TCGB]

Yes, Steve, you're absolutely right once again.  I type quite a few emails daily with multiple paragraphs and I should've done that here too.  To be honest, this is the first time that I've ever participated in a blog so I didn't even think about the correct use of paragraphs.  Thanks for clarifying your original comment.  As I said previously, I won't be spending that much time on another response anytime soon but if my responses are more than a full paragraph you can bet that my use of the English language will be more accurate!    Take care and God bless.

Dave