[Lewy5]

My right woofer was damaged by a very loud chirping amplifier. I called the company and talked to one of the family they have no replacements and no suggestions. I would love to find one any suggestions?

[InfamousElguapo]

The VR-2 has two woofers correct? One for mid bass and one for bass? Which one is broken?

I ran the replacement recommendation question through Chat GPT and it did one of it's side by side comparison testing of it's newest version of Chat vs the older and they came up with different answers.


Hopefully, somebody here will have a better answer based on real experience, but here's a thought: since each woofer handles a different freq. band, when you settle on a replacement driver you can play around with which position it takes. You may find whichever driver you choose, although certain to not be a perfect replacement, does better with one position over the other.

Also, the guys at Madisound may be of help.

Good luck!

[WGH]

I loved the VR2 for a while and did extensive modifications which cleaned up the mid-bass bump and cabinet resonances which made it into a much better speaker. All my modifications reached an end point where any more money or effort would not improve the sound. The drivers lacked the speed and clarity of modern speakers which I found out by going to the Rocky Mountain Audiofest. After RMAF I knew I needed new speakers.

Yes, the VR2 used two different woofers. The steel housing around each woofer magnet was probably there as a magnetic shield so the speakers could be placed next to a TV. Tap the housings and they rang like a bell, that couldn't be good for the sound so I damped them. The cabinets also had minimal bracing and vibrated like a sex toy.



All-in-all your VR2's have reached their logical end-of-life. You may eventually find a pair on eBay to be used as parts but any money spent would be better served putting towards better speakers. Fritz Carbon 7's come to mind. Use the search on AudioCircle for Fritz Carbon 7 reviews.

Von Schweikert VR2 Speaker Modifications

Part 1
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=40953.msg395744#msg395744

Part 2
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=44748.msg400398#msg400398

Part 3
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=72808.msg683847#msg683847

Part 4
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=90685.msg896700#msg896700

[InfamousElguapo]

There is a gentleman on the FB VSA group who was told by VSA that the woofers in the VR4jr are the same as the VR-2. Maybe you get lucky one day and find one for sale.

[Lewy5]

Thanks for all the help and good suggestions guys. The system I mainly listen to music on has old NHT 3.3 speakers which have been favorably compared to the early Wilson watt puppies. At the time they started making them, in the 90's, I liked them a bit more than those. It is being driven by a Van Alstine Omega 3 440 mosfet amp now and I stiil love the sound. At 80 years old my ears aren't what they used to be but thanks to $6k hearing aids they still work well enough to enjoy the beauty of good music.

My VR2's are in my secondary system and located in a small living room and they aren't as hard to drive. But a few days ago the center cap on the center woofer (the mid range I think) blew off and my problem suddenly vanished? I have since glued it back on and all is still fine. These speakers were actually made in China but sound very good and yes ,I think, better than old V.S. Vortex screens I once had did.

I did once consider the bracing mods and will again now, thanks for the pics and info. I am now driving them with a Fosi ZA3 100 w per channel amp and they sound very good to me. I don't see myself as a true audiophile but music is now the only drug that gets me high and I love it still.

New speakers and new systems etc. would be wonderful as they are ever better I'm sure, but for now I'm happy to keep what I have and improve it a bit if I can.

I mainly watch TV and concerts with them and  yes listen to music too but mainly on youtube. My NHT 3.3 system is better for music and  when I want to just listen I tend to use it. I love the harmonic distortion of both tubes and mosfets. It is probably an acquired taste but I've been listening to tubes since well before transistors were made.

There are many excellent systems and money can usually buy better but I've pretty much reached to as far as I'm going unless I win the lottery in which case money will be no object. But the first thing I'd do then is get the best hearing aids money can buy. Then I would go to someplace like high-end audio store  "Sound by Singer" in NYC and buy what sounded best to me, be it the most expensive or the least.

[WGH]

I always liked the NHT 3.3, you are lucky to have them.

Glad to hear the VR2's fixed themselves. The bracing and plasti-clay in the VR2 make a nice improvement. An easy project to putter on.