[gammajo]

Now that I have gotten some sleep, the most important question arises - does your wife like the way the look and sound?

[Mountainjoe]

Joe - How did you get them in the house. Did you use a furniture dolly with the 4X4 on bottom? How many people helped?
Thanks
Joe

I used a carpet dolly and my wife helped when needed. The hardest part was getting the crates over the threshold of my front door as there's a step up there. It wasn't that bad though - just had to go slowly and carefully.

[Mountainjoe]

Now that I have gotten some sleep, the most important question arises - does your wife like the way the look and sound?

She likes the look - they fit well with our existing decor 

In regards to the sound, she hasn't spent much time listening to them - she's mostly left me alone to "do my thing" as I was setting things up and making adjustments 

[gammajo]

Wife liking the looks is very important at least in my home!

[Mountainjoe]

Wife liking the looks is very important at least in my home!

Yes! I would have gone for one of the faux wood finishes but she didn't like them, so went with piano black for the sake of domestic tranquility 

The relatively small size of the VR55s was also very much a factor in my speaker choice for the same reason 

Cheers, Joe

[htradtk]

Joe, Getting very tempted for me to start looking into this model! Just wait until you get your pair of Ultra cables, can't imagine, enjoy!

Henry

[branislav]

They don't look very tall. What's their image height? One of the most frustrating things for me was insufficient image height, just like the reviews all say, great width and depth, but height challenged....

[jab]

Albert addressed imaging relative to size, in a prior post which is revealing.  At last RMAF, the only restriction was finding an empty seat!

[skolis]

just like the reviews all say, great width and depth, but height challenged....

....source, link or reference please?

[jab]

here ya go!

 http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=post;quote=1394392;topic=131245.0;last_msg=1394449

[skolis]

here ya go!

 http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=post;quote=1394392;topic=131245.0;last_msg=1394449

So sorry, I wasn't clear - I had seen Albert's post.  My question was .... where/ what / when were there reviews that said
the VR55 ( and specifically the VR 55) were "height challenged"..
thx,

[gammajo]

From Branislav -"They don't look very tall. What's their image height? One of the most frustrating things for me was insufficient image height, just like the reviews all say, great width and depth, but height challenged...."

I think Branislav meant when people review speakers in general and not any reviews particularly about the VR55 - this is important to clarify because it is unfair to leave this ambigous as it can be taken as a slur against the 55 that, when in fact this has never been said about the 55. And the 55 has been praise for great imaging in all directions including height.

[gammajo]

Here is a quote taken from Albert Von Schweikert's other post
"When you finally hear the new VR-55 Aktive speaker system (when you close your eyes), you will believe that you are listening to speakers six or seven feet tall.  Although the technology I invented to achieve this is too complex to describe in a short post here, you can believe every word that JAB mentioned about his experience with the VR-55 Aktives at the Denver RMAF show in October. 

The reviewers from The Absolute Sound magazine came to my room numerous times, using our room as their reference.  In private conversations at the end of the show, they indicated that "the VR-55 Aktive's sounded far more realistic than any other speaker at RMAF."  That includes every tall speaker system there from $250,000 on down, from companies like Wilson, Magico, Raidho, Focal, Rockport, et al.  Since so many visitors to my room said I had the best sound, I have to believe that the VR-55 Aktives meet all of my design goals.  By the way, the Show Special pricing published at $49,995/pr has been raised to $59,995/pr due to the final cost analysis of the design.  It is almost as expensive to build as our $100,000/pr VR-9SE Mk2 -- and it takes just as long (12 weeks) since the cabinets have almost 200 parts that are cut and bonded with epoxy adhesive, and assembled in a specialized jig frame.

I hope that all of you wonderful people at Audio Circle get to hear this design, and to do this, we will be bringing the VR-55 Aktive to shows for the next year or two.  It has instantly become our best selling model, so we want folks to experience it for themselves.

Happy Listening!"
[/quote]

[skolis]

this is important to clarify because it is unfair to leave this ambigous as it can be taken as a slur against the 55 that, when in fact this has never been said about the 55. And the 55 has been praise for great imaging in all directions including height.

That's what i thought and just wanted to clarify, mostly 'cuz i think I'm familiar with all the VR55 reviews and have never seen a comment like that. But then, maybe I had missed something....

[Chrisandalex1]

That's what i thought and just wanted to clarify, mostly 'cuz i think I'm familiar with all the VR55 reviews and have never seen a comment like that. But then, maybe I had missed something....

I was surprised by this too.  I have read everything I could find on the VR-55, and have never read anything that suggesting height was an issue. 

[Mountainjoe]

Regarding image height - I don't have much experience with very tall speakers (my wife would never allow it  ) but I didn't feel that the VR55s were lacking in this aspect. The soundstage they present is truly three dimensional - I am able to distinguish the height of instruments within the soundstage, near or far. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by this attribute of the VR55s as my VR4s did not do so well with this aspect of reproduction (they did throw a wide soundstage, but not as deep or tall as other speakers I've heard).

On top of everything, the soundstage is incredibly open and airy, presenting an image that really conveys the space of the recording - this is especially notable on live recordings. I'm guessing this also has to do with my amps and a very quiet system (lots of power conditioning!) but all I can say is the combination is quite remarkable in this regard.

[branislav]

Gammajo, you are correct. I was just curious what peoples impressions are of this speaker image height, I have not heard this speaker or read anything about it to indicate lack of image height. The only reason I mentioned it is because from the pictures they seemed a bit on the shorter side and also I wanted to bring that aspect of musical reproduction into conversation since it's hardly ever mentioned in the reviews (of any speakers) but it has been very important for me and I remember looking down on "performers" in audio shows rather then being on their level or even looking slightly up.

[paul79]

Image height, depth, width, is not just about the speakers. Amps, source, room also contribute to this. For example, I can adjust image height, depth, etc. by simply changing a tube in my amps.

[gammajo]

Branislav - Thanks for the clarification. Yes, image height is a great addition in creating the illusion of being there and worth discussing. whne I get mine in a few weeks I will also comment on this aspect with my room and equipment.

[Albert Von Schweikert]

Greetings Fellow Audiophiles,

Image height of the new VR-55 is truly amazing!  One major reason why listeners at RMAF and here at our factory like the sound is because of the huge sound stage.  Most other designs have problems with the driver's radiation patterns, which cause "beaming" problems that create a sound stage that is only as tall as the tweeter.  My solution was to design a driver complement and baffle shape, when combined with the crossover, enhances the vertical dispersion as well as horizontal dispersion.

In addition, the speaker is built with a tilted front baffle, which aims the drivers up into the air slightly.  When combined with the adjustable spikes, the speaker can be placed so that all dispersion planes are optimized.  When the listener stands and then sits down, there is almost "zero" change in the timbre or focus.  I've owned very tall speakers in the past; some were line sources of dynamic drivers and others were full range electrostatics, like the Acoustat 1+1 and 2+2.   Those speakers imaged well vertically, no matter where your ears were, and so I designed the VR-55 to have the same type of listening "freedom."   Although flat frequency and phase response is very important to me, along with clarity, low distortion, and resolution, a speaker is a loser if it can't simulate the "reality" of a live sound stage.

Show-goers at RMAF remarked that the sound was amazing anywhere in the room, no matter if they were sitting or standing.  At times, we had all six chairs filled, with 10-14 people standing at the rear of the room.  Quite a few listeners remarked that the sound stage image and height were "state of the art."  That certainly pleased me, as I have spent four years on getting this right!

As always,

Happy Listening