[MichaelHiFi]

I have to ask the question. I'm intrigued by the Super V. I owned and loved the LS6. The LS9 is in my crosshairs. But I cannot help but be intimidated by its sheer size. It's like the 135 gallon aquarium I owned long ago. I'd dream of earthquakes with the tank crashing to the ground,  cichlids flopping on the floor, water inches deep covering the carpets and hardwood.    We practically sit on an active fault line.

I've been Vandersteen speaker fan and almost bought the Quatro's some time ago but wanted the 5A's which were over my financial abilities. When I look at the Super 7, it's really nothing like the 5A's but one might say it's at least in the same species. It might be better. I didn't like the 45K dollar Vandy 7 I heard at all but it probably was the room.

Knowing the sound of the LS6's, I wonder who can tell me specifically, the differences and perhaps more importantly, the type of music that would shine on the Super 7's. Given the fact that I'm ampless and own a set of Danny Richie cross-over designed speakers, The Decade D1's, it might help me with a choice of tube amplifier.

Speaking with Tyler, (Tyler Acoustics), he mentioned that some D1 owners were installing plate amps to drive the bass drivers. I thought that a horrible idea at first but then it seemed to make sense if one wanted to let go of that studio mastering ruler flat response and deliver some additional impact in the bass regions.

Look forward to some opinions. 

[SoCalWJS]

I've got the LS-6'es in a system that consists of Oppo 95, Modwright LS 100, Emotiva XPA-1's, connected by fairly basic cables, minor room treatments in a difficult 15' x 17' room.
I heard the Super V's at RMAF in a system that had Mach2Music/Ammarra, dB DAC, Dodd pre, Dodd and Reference Amps, 2 sealed servo subs,  high quality interconnects, power line treatment, and heavy room treatments in a room measuring roughly 19' x 26".

Apples and oranges really.

The Super V's sounded incredible.

I am striving to get my sound to head in the direction of what I heard at the show, but doubt I will get there in the room I am in. The soundstage of the Super V's had a depth that I have not heard outside of MEGA $$$ systems. Precise imaging. Width of sounstage was waaay beyond the speakers. Tight, plentiful Bass. A fairly wide sweet spot. Vocals that were natural with ease of intelligiblility. Instruments of every type sounded great. Listened several times - at least once each day, so I heard a lot of different music, and there was no type that sounded bad.
It was the imaging that really amazed me. They truly can be an incredible speaker.
I honestly don't know if the LS'es sound this good with similar associated gear or not.

The Super V's were very impressive.

[HAL]

I have heard the Super-V's, LS-6's and LS-9's all at RMAF over the years.  The rooms have always been acoustically treated very well and always sound excellent to me.   The associated equipment in every case was very different.  The LS-6's and LS-9's were driven with the Dodd Audio blue and chrome battery preamp and monster monoblocks that he custom build for Danny.  The LS-6's were very very good, but the LS-9's were just better at handling all that was given to them to reproduce. 

The Super-V's were driven by Gary's Battery Buffer or new Battery Preamp this year with his battery powered PA or the Reference Line Monoblock power amps.   Sounded excelent again in a well treated listening room.

They are very different speakers, but in acoustically well treated rooms and setup by the designer, they all sound great. 

I would start working on the room acoustics and really see what the LS-6's can do in your setup.  They are great speakers.  Lots of very good items now available to do this at reasonable cost.

I did buy the pair of Super-V's from RMAF2009.  I would have been just as happy with the LS-9's in my setup.  They just were not available at the time.  I am no woodworker and doing either kit without a finished cabinet was not something I could do.

Hope this helps. 

[S Clark]

In my experience, the V's do the bottom octave slightly better than the 9's (and 6's have the same sonic signature as the 9's), have equal detail, different in the mids (V's may be more analytical, I slightly prefer the 9's), image more accurately, and are probably easier to adjust a room to.  However, the 9's do orchestral works with a realism that the V's can't match.  Concert hall ambiance and dynamics are their strong points. If you are a big symphonic classical guy, buy the Line Sources, if you are listening mostly to jazz quartets or girl w/guitar, get the V's.
Either speaker can be stunningly good.
The V's are one helluva lot easier to build out, and don't dominate the room.  If you have the 9's in the room, they are the focus of attention.

Scott

[MichaelHiFi]

We listen to everything but Hip-Hop and Country Western. What we look for is good dynamic range, bass that is detailed, tight tuneful and full and of course those extended airy highs that don't make you run out of the room. Female vocals have to be right. I'm getting tired of skinny vocalists 

Rock and Roll is probably first on our play lists followed by Female artists, New Age, Classic Rock, Neil Young, Jazz, Classical, then electronica.

Where does Radiohead fit in? That group was amazing on the LS6's OMFG.

Thanks for the suggestions. What was the sensitivity of the 9's?

[Danny Richie]

Both are really good but different. Apples and Oranges for sure.

In a large room, well treated, and set up right the LS-9's can be blissful, and really tough to top. They also need a decent amount of power, control, and drive to really shine. So plan on a decent amp budget.

The thing I like about the Super-V is how well they work in any room no matter how small. They require very little power and are very easy to drive. So amplification cost can be much lower. I have to give the edge in bass response to the Super-V as well. They not only go lower, but don't load the room and are completely controllable from 200Hz and down. Dynamics are incredible in the Super-V as well. 

[S Clark]

We listen to everything but Hip-Hop and Country Western. What we look for is good dynamic range, bass that is detailed, tight tuneful and full and of course those extended airy highs that don't make you run out of the room. Female vocals have to be right. I'm getting tired of skinny vocalists 

Rock and Roll is probably first on our play lists followed by Female artists, New Age, Classic Rock, Neil Young, Jazz, Classical, then electronica.

Where does Radiohead fit in? That group was amazing on the LS6's OMFG.

Thanks for the suggestions. What was the sensitivity of the 9's?

If the 6's were OMFG, then the 9's are OMFG+.  However, I think I'd recommend the V's for you.  If nothing else, the V's are a pretty easy build, and the 9's most definitely are not. 
As far as the efficiency of the 9's, it's pretty high, but with line sources that's not the right question.  I think control is the key, as back EMF is high.  Repeated conversations with Gary Dodd, and my experience as well, indicates that they need as much 200 wpc to really shine, and let's face it, if you have something like the 9's, you want them to shine.  The V's can shine with 12 watts.  There is a big $ difference in good options for 12 w and 200 w.
As Danny indicated, these are different speakers.  If Beethovan symphonies are not your daily fare, I'd build the V's.
They are more versatile.

Scott

[MichaelHiFi]

The wife and I agree, the V's are the speaker for me.

Now I need to find appropriate amp(s).

My interest so far is in the following.

Moscode 402AU. Probably don't need the power as the bass drivers are plate powered?

Audio Note Interstage kit. Hell if I'm building the speakers, why not build a high end tube amp? 

Dodd. Don't know a friggin thing about them other than they are powered by batteries - I think. Oh ya, and they usually have wooden boxes

Cary. How can you go wrong with a pair of Cary monoblocks?

PrimaLuna Dialogue- I like the functionality, the cages, and the sound when paired with NOLA's - Doh!

Butler TBD 2250. Another interesting hybrid that owners love and others are afraid of. Cheap too relatively.

Manley. They look cool.

Lamm. Help me to afford 

What do I do with the Decade D1's? They sit silent with no amp to drive them 

[simon wagstaff]

I have an AVA U70 tube amp. I really think it sounds wonderful. I am thinking it might be a good match also.

[Tyson]

I probably wouldn't go SET with the Super V's, but an good quality PP would be a good choice.  There are a TON of good options out there.  Something designed to use KT88's would be my first choice, but KT77's, K66's, 6550's, and EL34's are all great audio tubes.

OH, one thing you MUST keep in mind is that the amp needs to be low gain and very quiet - with a speaker as efficient as the Super V's, you will hear any/all noise generated by your amp or even your preamp.  I have the V2's and it's a concern even with them.  But, once you get something that's nice and quiet, the V's match up VERY well with tube amps.  Perhaps the best I've heard in combo with tubes.

[ebag4]

The wife and I agree, the V's are the speaker for me.

Now I need to find appropriate amp(s).

An excellent choice I am sure.  I love my V1s and would really like to hear a pair of the SuperVs.  I drive my V1s with 3.5 watts of 2a3 goodness, a Bottlehead Stereomour, they are a nice match in my small room.  The 2a3 will play much louder than I would ever listen.

Best of luck with your build and please document it with pics!

Ed

edit: just saw Tyson's response, just goes to show there is no consensus in audio  .

[Tyson]

Oh, don't get me wrong, the Super V's would be a better choice for an SET than almost any other speaker out there, but I think that SET's need to be used in a fully active setup to really, really shine.  Unless you are talking about something like the 20 watt Kronzilla or something, then bring on the Super V's!!!

[PDR]

I use the Musical Paradise MP-401 on my V-1s.......a whopping 15w!!..

I have never heard the Supers as well....but want to.

Seems if I have the bottom end already one day I might rebuild.....the 1s just sound so dang good right now I have no upgradeitis.

Good luck with your build.....remember, pictures are mandatory.....

Perry

[rockdrummer]

Ed, does your speaker have a separate tweeter? or does it have the coax with the hollowed out area behind the 12" mid? I thought the old v1 had a rear firing tweeter that was in a totally separate housing. what are the differences between the v1 and the superv?    ben

[ebag4]

Ed, does your speaker have a separate tweeter? or does it have the coax with the hollowed out area behind the 12" mid? I thought the old v1 had a rear firing tweeter that was in a totally separate housing. what are the differences between the v1 and the superv?    ben

Ben, I bought the coaxes for the V1s shortly after Danny designed them.  In the interim between purchasing the coaxes and the bass section Danny came out with the removal of the back of the compression chamber.  Since I had not yet completed my build I swapped the necessary crossover components with Danny and cut out the back of the chamber myself.

The V1 and SuperV use differnt P-Audio drivers.  The SuperV has a 2" tweeter and the V1 uses a 1".  Of course the crossovers are different as well.

Best,
Ed

[rockdrummer]

Oh I see. I have looked at your build pics several times and think they look awesome. 

My experience tells me after you plan for treatments and other gear, go with the best waf factor. If my wife agreed with me on the superv, I would tear my pants grabbing my wallet;)
Ben

[nickd]

I currently use the Ayon Spirit III in Triode to drive my Super V's.

It's 30 WPC in triode mode and has that reach out and touch it realism. It will also make the Super V shake my 14' 6"w X 21'd room. When I really want to rock I just flip the switch to Ultra-linear, where more than 60 WPC are on tap to make a drum kit really come alive.

This spring when it starts to warm back up, I will put in my PBN EB-1 "Super-Amp" for solid state bliss. The Super V doesn't need the power the EB-1 puts out but as the say in racing, "there is no substitute for power" The Super V's are serios contenders for S.O.T.A. when fed from ultra high end up stream gear.

We live a blessed life for sure.

[SoCalWJS]

The wife and I agree, the V's are the speaker for me.

Now I need to find appropriate amp(s).

My interest so far is in the following.

Moscode 402AU. Probably don't need the power as the bass drivers are plate powered?

Audio Note Interstage kit. Hell if I'm building the speakers, why not build a high end tube amp? 

Dodd. Don't know a friggin thing about them other than they are powered by batteries - I think. Oh ya, and they usually have wooden boxes

Cary. How can you go wrong with a pair of Cary monoblocks?

PrimaLuna Dialogue- I like the functionality, the cages, and the sound when paired with NOLA's - Doh!

Butler TBD 2250. Another interesting hybrid that owners love and others are afraid of. Cheap too relatively.

Manley. They look cool.

Lamm. Help me to afford 

What do I do with the Decade D1's? They sit silent with no amp to drive them 

Michael, do you still have the Cary Pre? I'd shure look at the Cary amps if you can audition them after you get the speakers.

[MichaelHiFi]

Wow great suggestions. From what I get out of these posts, there is simply no single amp that sings best with these speakers. High power simply isn't necessary but quality could bring the best out of the V's.

I like the idea of being able to switch between triode and ultra-linear. Hum 

[MichaelHiFi]

I have the Allnic L3000 preamp. Wish I could afford the Allnic amps. Their phono stage is on my wish list too. Couldn't be happier with Allnic and David Beetles.