[Bretson]

Hi Guys,

I just received my Von Schweikert Unifield 2's about 2 months back.  I wanted to play them for a while before I posted to be sure what I was hearing was real. I bought them on a whim without having previously heard a set, but from reviews I ascertained that this is more or less what I was looking for.  I was considering installing a revolving door on the front of my house with how many speakers I have had in and out over the past three years.  I thought the Uni 2's would be just about right though... Just a feeling.  I am so glad that I made the jump as these are the best sounding speakers I have ever heard regardless of price.  No speaker I have heard has created such a realistic sound with acoustic instruments.  You can almost feel the strings on guitars and bows on cellos. 

One of the best features of these speakers is that if having friends or family over, you can turn these on in a separate room and play the music at relatively low levels while retaining some fine detail.  For your reference, here are the speakers that these have bested in my system listed in order of quality and sound preference:

1. VSA Unifield 2
2. Usher Mini Dancer 2
3. Revel Ultima Studio 2 (Though these sounded much better in my brothers house.  He has a larger room with 15ft ceilings.  In fact these were far superior to his Focal Scala Utopias in terms of the sound stage.  I can answer some questions on this later if you'd like)
3. (tie) Focal 1028be
4. Paradigm Inspiration
5. Klipsch Heresy iii
6. PMC EB1i

I have compared these to my brothers collection as well including some focal scala utopias and the Uni 2's still come out on top.  These produce as much bass as the scala's believe it or not.

These babies are here to stay.

[Delacroix]

Welcome aboard Bretson -- very interesting observations. You've certainly tried a few models on your room! Agree, matching speaker to room size is important (And yes, those Revels are great too but they do need space).  What's your partnering gear? (enquiring minds in this circle will want to know

[ricardojoa]

How do these unifield 2 have any internal volume with 2.75" panels on the cabs when the two drivers require internal volune and in a transmission design?

[Bretson]

Partnering Gear is as follows:

Mcintosh c2500
Mcintosh MC402
Mcintosh MEN220 (No Room Correction is required for the VSA...seriously)  It may be getting sold shortly.
Rega RP7 w DynaVector DX3 Cartridge
Nordost Frey XLR interconnects and Speaker Wire
Consonance D-Linear 15 Power Conditioner (Highly Recommended)
Mac Mini
Aurum Cantus V3M Speaker stand with the VSA Uni 2.

Delacroix, you are absolutely right.  The revel's need some room to rumble.  In my house they make even the lowest bass inputs drone and rattle.  This being said I have not gotten into room treatments too thoroughly.  This is strictly an optics thing.  I understand that it would help the sound quality but I refuse to start hanging egg cartons off my walls.

Though the mac has tone controls, I find the sound to be the best when running in pass through.  There was many more components in and out before I went to Mac gear.  Admittedly, the best sounding amp that I have tried is my brothers Krell KSA250 class A, but it is simply too big and too hot for my listening area.  One day it'll be class A all the way though.

[JLM]

Thanks for posting.  Take a look at the Acoustics Circle if you feel the need (the right setup can mitigate much of the need) and GIK room treatments (very much more effective than egg crate foam and better looking with custom appearance options available).
 
Wish VSA speakers hadn't got so expensive.

[robin67]

Is the Unifield cabinet custom built ? It shares the same shape as a parts express cabinet
Just wondering not meaning it in a neg way

[es347]

Is the Unifield cabinet custom built ? It shares the same shape as a parts express cabinet
Just wondering not meaning it in a neg way

.

[robin67]

Do you know that 100% ? Because the more I look at them the more I believe they are . I'm not going to trash a guys post it was just a question . Ill move on

[Bretson]

Hi Guys,

That's actually very funny.  I think that is that cabinet they use.  They are identical to the ones shown.  The only thing reassuring me that they have had some work done is that they do not have any cabinet resonance whatsoever.  I suppose this could be done by putting some dynamat,dynaliner inside, etc. 

Though I did get a good price on my speakers, this has turned my world upside down.  It makes me wonder then why they took so long to build aside from procurement of parts.

Again, these are the best sounding speakers I've had in my system.  If you guys could do some DIY im sure you may get comparable results.  At least I know where to get back up grills!

Interesting post.  Thanks.

[WGH]

The Parts Express cabinets is a great way to DIY an affordable speaker but it will never be a Unifield 2. One obvious reason is the Uni 2 measures 10" x 17" x 14" and the Parts Express cabinets don't come in that size. Second the Unifield 2 uses triple wall laminate construction which goes far beyond dynamat (or even No-Rez). Being a Jr. Member is still no excuse for not doing the slightest bit of research before posting, but I'll help you guys out anyway.

First a review of the Unifield Two MK2
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/von-schweikert-audio-unifield-two-mk2-1/?page=2

Then read an in depth article by Albert Von Schweikert about the Triple Wall Laminate Construction
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=70291.0


The UniField Series, shown above, the total wall thickness is 2.5" (63mm).

And finally you can easily DIY the triple wall construction with amazing results but I would never attempt it on curved cabinet walls. Here is how I did it on a pair of Von Schweikert VR2's:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=72808.0

Wayne

[robin67]

Hi Guys,

That's actually very funny.  I think that is that cabinet they use.  They are identical to the ones shown.  The only thing reassuring me that they have had some work done is that they do not have any cabinet resonance whatsoever.  I suppose this could be done by putting some dynamat,dynaliner inside, etc. 

Though I did get a good price on my speakers, this has turned my world upside down.  It makes me wonder then why they took so long to build aside from procurement of parts.

Again, these are the best sounding speakers I've had in my system.  If you guys could do some DIY im sure you may get comparable results.  At least I know where to get back up grills!

Interesting post.  Thanks.

Sorry didn't mean to turn your world upside down , I just looked at there site and even the subs use this cabinet along with one of there centers . Also you are correct most people that use these cabinets line them with no rez or something .

[robin67]

The Parts Express cabinets is a great way to DIY an affordable speaker but it will never be a Unifield 2. One obvious reason is the Uni 2 measures 10" x 17" x 14" and the Parts Express cabinets don't come in that size. Second the Unifield 2 uses triple wall laminate construction which goes far beyond dynamat (or even No-Rez). Being a Jr. Member is still no excuse for not doing the slightest bit of research before posting, but I'll help you guys out anyway.

First a review of the Unifield Two MK2
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/von-schweikert-audio-unifield-two-mk2-1/?page=2

Then read an in depth article by Albert Von Schweikert about the Triple Wall Laminate Construction
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=70291.0


The UniField Series, shown above, the total wall thickness is 2.5" (63mm).

And finally you can easily DIY the triple wall construction with amazing results but I would never attempt it on curved cabinet walls. Here is how I did it on a pair of Von Schweikert VR2's:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=72808.0

Wayne

    Being a Jr. Member is still no excuse for not doing the slightest bit of research before posting        Now that's funny it is what it is you cant change that , how much research does it take ? 

[Bretson]

Thank you professors.

Don't forget, I actually shelled out for the Uni 2's.  I've seen the pics and done the research and scoured the forums.  This thread is the first I've seen of the parts express cabinets however. 

Let me finish here.  Albert and team.  Thank you for the great product!

[Folsom]

Given that the shape is a good shape, it's expected to see it all over, PE or not.

Some manufacturers use the cabinets. But generally speaking by the time they're done the only thing that has happened is they saved $300-1000 by starting with a basic shell made with the efficiency of scale. Then you save $. Otherwise they no longer have the same baffle and the entire inside has been done up, maybe to the point of the VSA's. The money gets spent on the drivers and crossovers so you can have something you otherwise may not be able to afford.

It's not wrong, it's just that sadly not everyone can afford to pay the serious money for the care of small manufacturing skilled professionals; whom also need money live. It's a strange favor to the buyer. People want everything, and try to shape whatever it is to their budget, so at some point costs must be cut if the budget is to low. Alternatively perhaps they could just put themselves into massive amounts of debt they can't sustain....

I've read a wide mix on the Unifield's driver. I'd Love to hear them, done by VSA.

[ricardojoa]

part express sells dayton audio cabinets. So in essence those are just dayton audio cabinets .75 cf which is exactly of that size.

[robin67]

Given that the shape is a good shape, it's expected to see it all over, PE or not.

Some manufacturers use the cabinets. But generally speaking by the time they're done the only thing that has happened is they saved $300-1000 by starting with a basic shell made with the efficiency of scale. Then you save $. Otherwise they no longer have the same baffle and the entire inside has been done up, maybe to the point of the VSA's. The money gets spent on the drivers and crossovers so you can have something you otherwise may not be able to afford.

It's not wrong, it's just that sadly not everyone can afford to pay the serious money for the care of small manufacturing skilled professionals; whom also need money live. It's a strange favor to the buyer. People want everything, and try to shape whatever it is to their budget, so at some point costs must be cut if the budget is to low. Alternatively perhaps they could just put themselves into massive amounts of debt they can't sustain....

I've read a wide mix on the Unifield's driver. I'd Love to hear them, done by VSA.

I am not talking down on the PE cabinets , I myself have owned a few pair . I was just simply asking a question when I first posted that's it . Just like being a JR member has nothing to do with what a person knows . All that matters is the sound and if the customer is happy , in this case he is  Enjoy

[robin67]

part express sells dayton audio cabinets. So in essence those are just dayton audio cabinets .75 cf which is exactly of that size.

  Thank You       Being a Full Member WGH is still no excuse for not doing the slightest bit of research before posting

[Folsom]

I'm just commenting that while I utterly understand the shock of the situation where one realizes mystic may not be what one had thought, it's not necessarily bad. It does make one wish for transparency however.

There are alternative situations. Unfortunately business practice comes at a cost with a few of the small manufacturers that charge less for a bit more - or so it appears. VSA has been around awhile and they can afford to be prompt, retain employees, that sort of thing. To put it lightly, tomorrow they'll probably have custom service. Now on the other hand some smaller companies are less predictable in this manner because they work probably a little too hard. One for example in the same day literally told me they were selling a driver for DIY, and then when my friend (whom doesn't know shit, so I made sure first calling ahead) called to order a few pairs was told they were not selling them. The chaotic stress of selling more for less bleeds through in businesses. In fact this is one reason why people buy McIntosh, because lord knows they ain't the leader in sound for amplifiers, but they'll be there the tomorrow after your grandchild is born (well, more than others are expected to be).

That being said, the sound is the most important thing. Otherwise you're paying for legacy qualities; which isn't a bad idea when it comes to resale (gear swapping) and not being SOL if something is wrong.

[Delacroix]

Hey, this is a fascinating discussion, I welcome new members engaging on it. Somewhat related, at least as far as appearances being deceiving -- when I sent my VR5s in for upgrading to Anni IIs, they came back looking the same, but man, the difference in weight from the internal damping almost killed me unpacking them. I suspect this is a clever trick, once you have them home you cannot ever imagine moving them again!!

[JackD201]

Hey, this is a fascinating discussion, I welcome new members engaging on it. Somewhat related, at least as far as appearances being deceiving -- when I sent my VR5s in for upgrading to Anni IIs, they came back looking the same, but man, the difference in weight from the internal damping almost killed me unpacking them. I suspect this is a clever trick, once you have them home you cannot ever imagine moving them again!!

Ditto for my 9s and future 11s. It sure was easier packing, moving and installing the first time around. Now I need an army.