[Kurt]

Hi All,

Hello everyone and thank you mods. I started getting into hifi about 1998 I guess when I lived in Mt Hood Oregon. Moved to Seattle in 2002 then it was Magnepan 1.6. About 2003 I want to try monitors with the music I was into so I got some Merlin TSM on Osiris stands. Then about 2004 I bought the VR4jr used off of Audiogon from a nice fellow for $2k, the Merlins went into a bedroom system and for the last 13 years they have been my joy.

I recently updated my sources and amps and I am just captivated how my old speakers again. Far and away the best entertainment hardware dollars I have ever spent aside from the motorcycles of course. Anyway that's me and  hello to all.

[Mountainjoe]

H Kurt - welcome to the forum! Always great to have another VSA owner onboard 

[Delacroix]

Welcome Kurt --  isn't it great when a system change is clearly heard through the old speakers  

P

[Kurt]

Thanks. Yeah the first change I made was from NuForce Ref  9 SE monos to Hypex NC400 kits and they inspired me so much I completed what I have been kicking about for a while. That was to go to a Mac Mini serving as my music server.

So now a Mac Mini using BitPerfect software --> Oppo Sonica DAC (ESS Sabre ES9038PRO)--> Mondial Aragon Soundstage --> VR4 jr & Infinity IL120 sub. I am bi-wire Nordost to the VR4jr with the NC400. Balaced to the DAC with Nordost. I might try bi-amping but I am very happy now.

The noise floor, dynamic range and transients are amazing. I can save and manage DSD files along with CD rips all in iTunes with the BitPerfect software.

The Aragon Soundstage can bypass digital completely to five quality balanced preamps and extremely happy with that find as well. VSA LC-15 and NC400 for a center.

I have tenitous too and the Hypex fatigue is much less than anything else I have tried. Music played at lower volume is so clear and dynamic now is another thing that is really amazing me.

[magister]

I just saw this thread and want to comment, even though it's a little late.

I bought a pair of VR4-jr's about 12 years ago and they have remained the one constant in the system ever since.  During the last 2-3 years, I have carried out a complete upgrade of my system, aside from the turntable.  The components I now have (mostly from PS Audio) are the best I've ever owned, added one at a time to reduce the impact on the bank account.  The jr's made it abundantly clear what was changed (improved, in almost all ways) at each step of the process.  The system now sounds the best it ever has.  This experience has shown me again what a remarkable speaker the jr's are (not that I ever had any real doubts).

[Phil A]

Welcome!

[ArthurDent]

Greetings & Welcome to AC Kurt   

[Kurt]

I just saw this thread and want to comment, even though it's a little late.

I bought a pair of VR4-jr's about 12 years ago and they have remained the one constant in the system ever since.  During the last 2-3 years, I have carried out a complete upgrade of my system, aside from the turntable.  The components I now have (mostly from PS Audio) are the best I've ever owned, added one at a time to reduce the impact on the bank account.  The jr's made it abundantly clear what was changed (improved, in almost all ways) at each step of the process.  The system now sounds the best it ever has.  This experience has shown me again what a remarkable speaker the jr's are (not that I ever had any real doubts).

I have friends that have spent way more for much less and more to the point admit it when they listen to my system. The new DAC tech (Sabre ESS etc) is not to be discounted in my new system IMHO though. My music including Tidal HiFi is so handy now I listen to music more than ever. If someone buys out JayZ I hope they go forward or a competitor does!

[magister]

I notice that Kurt uses a subwoofer with his jr's, something that I have thought about doing.

Here's my situation.  The actual "listening room" is a small area (11' x 12') but it is acoustically open to the rest of the ground floor -- Victorian house with pocket doors on two walls that are normally left open.  Using my old Stereophile test CD, I find that the bass output is reduced below about 125 Hz and really down below 63 Hz.  Because of the open environment, I don't have problems with standing waves (good) but neither do I get much reinforcement from wall boundaries -- a little off the back, I think -- which may explain the results from the test CD.  My amp is 250 w/ch and I never run the system higher than 50% volume on the preamp, so I don't think the problem is lack of amplifier power.

What I hear is confusing.  Some recordings sound just fine -- I can hear the bass lines clearly.  With most classical and some pop music, sometimes I don't get enough bass so parts of the bass line aren't audible, which makes sense given the test results.  But with some pop music, very rarely classical, I get too much boomy bass; perhaps because of compressed recordings?  Last night I had a pipe organ recording on, with plenty of room-vibrating bass, but with well-defined pitch.  Where did that come from, since I know that the jr's output is way down at the bottom end?

So what would adding a subwoofer do?  If properly adjusted, would it fill in the missing bass lines without exacerbating the problems on some pop recordings?  I'd be interested in any comments, particularly from VR-IVjr owners.  My listening is mainly classical and folk/acoustic/americana stuff, less often pop/rock and jazz.

[Escott1377]

My jr's are located in my loft which is the majority of the 2nd floor of my house.

It is not ideal, since 1 side is open and 1 is the wall.

i use 2 x 350 W active subs with my set up.  They are located directly beside each speaker, set to around 50 Hz as the crossover, turned up maybe 25% of max.

I also use a DSpeaker in my system b/c I was having so much trouble with controlling the bass.

The DSpeaker was added prior to the subs to get the bass under control 1st.

Then, I added the subs to fill out the botom end.

I allow the dsp to run up to 500 Hz to auto correct the room from my seated position.

I am very happy with the results - you can bypass the dsp from the remote and it is incredible to hear what I was listening to before and then turn the dsp to what I am used to now.

[magister]

Thank you!  I've thought about digital room correction too.  I've invested in a really good DAC (PS Audio DirectStream) and like the sound very much.  The idea of doing another A-D-A conversion seems like defeating the whole point of what I've done.  But the DSPeaker sounds like a well-designed piece of gear -- I hadn't heard of it and I just read the Stereophile review.

I see that you are running two subs.  I've heard people say that's the way to go.  I would prefer to use one, partly because of cost and partly because of lack of floor space.  Have to investigate this more.

[dpatters]

Welcome to AC!! here are my beloved VR4jrs.  They are installed in a spare bedroom.  I just could never bring myself to sell them.




Best,

Don P.

[agdrago]

I notice that Kurt uses a subwoofer with his jr's, something that I have thought about doing.

Here's my situation.  The actual "listening room" is a small area (11' x 12') but it is acoustically open to the rest of the ground floor -- Victorian house with pocket doors on two walls that are normally left open.  Using my old Stereophile test CD, I find that the bass output is reduced below about 125 Hz and really down below 63 Hz.  Because of the open environment, I don't have problems with standing waves (good) but neither do I get much reinforcement from wall boundaries -- a little off the back, I think -- which may explain the results from the test CD.  My amp is 250 w/ch and I never run the system higher than 50% volume on the preamp, so I don't think the problem is lack of amplifier power.

What I hear is confusing.  Some recordings sound just fine -- I can hear the bass lines clearly.  With most classical and some pop music, sometimes I don't get enough bass so parts of the bass line aren't audible, which makes sense given the test results.  But with some pop music, very rarely classical, I get too much boomy bass; perhaps because of compressed recordings?  Last night I had a pipe organ recording on, with plenty of room-vibrating bass, but with well-defined pitch.  Where did that come from, since I know that the jr's output is way down at the bottom end?

So what would adding a subwoofer do?  If properly adjusted, would it fill in the missing bass lines without exacerbating the problems on some pop recordings?  I'd be interested in any comments, particularly from VR-IVjr owners.  My listening is mainly classical and folk/acoustic/americana stuff, less often pop/rock and jazz.

I just posted a question for the problem similar to what Kurt describes in the quote above. Does anyone have ideas if the condition described is normal, or has a common root causes and resolutions.