Von Schweikert Audio on the Oregon Coast

majorloser · « **on:** 22 Sep 2009, 05:43 pm »

Just a reminder:

Von Schweikert Audio will be sending their new VR-3 Loudspeakers to the Oregon Coast Audio Meet on Saturday October 10th & 11th.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=65688.0

SundayNiagara · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 Sep 2009, 06:36 pm »

Pictures please.

ceedee · « **Reply #2 on:** 23 Sep 2009, 07:47 pm »

Hey Major,

What do you know what we don't?

VR 3 ??

es347 · « **Reply #3 on:** 23 Sep 2009, 08:11 pm »

I'm betting it's the Unifield 3s

ceedee · « **Reply #4 on:** 23 Sep 2009, 08:23 pm »

Hi Gavin,

What is there to win?
Might be interesting to bet too.

majorloser · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 Sep 2009, 10:25 pm »

Sorry guys. All I have is the press release on these speakers. I wish I had pictures, but when I see them I'll have pictures to post.

Vortex Screen VR-3 Soon Available!

June 24, 2009 Murrrieta, Ca. Albert Von Schweikert, the designer of the legendary Vortex Screen of 1970?s fame, has redesigned the classic 3-way system for the new millennium. In addition to the state-of-the-art technology used to update this model, a new marketing program will be used to enable almost anyone to purchase this new model at an affordable price, Factory Direct and Online.

? State- of- the- art cabinet build quality ? heavily damped Triple-wall construction, honeycomb internal wall bracing, and 100% cavity damping to eliminate all audible forms of cabinet coloration. Compare to build quality at 10x our price.

? High quality transducers ? since the speaker can sound only as good as its component parts, the three transducers are built to extremely high quality standards. An aluminum-coned 10? woofer is used, with a 6? paper mid and 1.5? Dual Ring tweeter. These exact drivers can be found in systems costing up to 10x our Factory Direct price. In fact, the 6? midrange is used by a famous maker in his $150,000 flagship speaker system!

? Expert crossover design ? rather than using an inexpensive computer sound card with inexpensive soft ware to design the crossover system, Albert Von Schweikert has utilized his 32 years of experience in the electronics industry, combined with a $10,000,000 lab to design and perfect the elaborate crossover used in the new Vortex VR-3 speaker design. This new speaker design was engineered to sound like a ?one way? system with amazing integration.

? Cost-effective engineering ? As most audiophiles want the most ?bang for the buck? in these challenging times, we have not wasted precious fabrication dollars on useless cosmetic features or expensive paint jobs that cost more than the sum total of the transducers. In some ?exotic? and highly advertised brand name systems, the cosmetics and paint finish are 90% of the total cost of the system!

? Although this speaker could easily sell in stores for $15,000 in a painted or veneered cabinet, our Factory Direct selling price is projected to be $3,500/pr.

? No risk trial - For your utmost in satisfaction, we offer a 90-day refund policy, with only a 10% restocking fee. Call for the estimated ship date.

es347 · « **Reply #6 on:** 23 Sep 2009, 11:39 pm »

Albert surprises once again. At $3500 I wonder where the cabinets are manufactured?

Mike11 · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 Sep 2009, 12:28 am »

The VR77 speakers will soon be available also.

musicelb · « **Reply #8 on:** 24 Sep 2009, 10:13 pm »

Could you describe basically what the VR77's will be, general price point and etc.? I'm just interested. Thanks...Edward

es347 · « **Reply #9 on:** 25 Sep 2009, 12:03 am »

Here's an early mock-up of those bad boys...aesthetics could have changed so caveat emptor

...not bad for $2500 eh?

:

jab · « **Reply #10 on:** 25 Sep 2009, 01:10 am »

Game over Wilson, Magico, etc., etc (actually, the writting was on the wall for the other competitive brands with the introduction of the Uni 3's and VR5's and moving up the line). I really like the cosmetics of this new speaker model. Now, something new to obsess over!!

Mike11 · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 Sep 2009, 11:06 am »

A letter from Von Schweikert Audio

Thanks for your interest in our VR-7SE speaker system. Since the cabinet shape and cosmetic appearance are in the midst of being redesigned, this model does not yet appear on our website. However, I can give you some advance information on the new replacement model, called VR-77, which will soon be available. Please see attached photos of the new model, with a slimmer cabinet shape and more pleasing appearance.

As the original version was designed in 2004, the model was ready for an overhaul. Although the sound quality was dramatically better than most other speakers at twice its price, the size and shape was somewhat alarming to a few wives of prospective customers, who later chose our VR-5 due to the smaller size and more acceptable appearance. The VR-7SE looks like a monster-sized Darth Vadar helmet, which at the time looked cool to us, but hampered sales dramatically. Our VR-5 and 9 models were deemed to be far more beautiful in appearance, and their sales figures proved it.

For that reason, we have designed a much nicer looking cabinet and have upgraded all drivers and crossovers to compete with the Wilson Alexandria and Magico M6, both of which are 3x more expensive than the upcoming VR-77. The Magico and Wilsons cost $150,000 while our VR-77 is priced at $50,000/pr. Although the Wilson and Magico speakers do sound great, they are not perfect ? the Wilsons have somewhat of a thick and congested bass transient response, while the metal tweeter can sound bright on violin recordings. The Magico has tighter bass due to the sealed box alignment, but the bass can sound thin and somewhat ?light? without enough bass punch, if the wrong amplifier is used. See John Atkinson?s review of the smaller Magico speaker to see how he agrees with me on the thin bass of the Magico systems. Also, the Magicos look all that hot, a bit like oak barrels for making whiskey, according to other customers who have commented on them.

The VR-77 has extremely fast and tight bass due to the transmission line design and world-class 11? Excel magnesium ?Super Duty? woofers, which go down to 16Hz flat. However, the speed of our bass system is amazing, it?s as fast as the tweeters due to our new pat.pend. ?speed control? circuit, see attached White Paper describing this new technology (I stole it from Aerospace, which is my ?real? field of expertise). In addition, the midrange, tweeter, and ribbon super tweeter of the new VR-77 are the best available, cost-no-object.

Although there are quite a few ?good? sounding speakers on the market, there are very few ?great? speakers, as you may have noticed. Most speakers, especially large ones, have one or two small design flaws that prevent the speaker from truly ?disappearing? into the sound stage, so we have spent two years optimizing the new VR-77 to be at the ?state-of-the-art? level. To ensure compatibility with all amplifiers and all listening rooms, the VR-77 is outfitted with Room Correction Controls, see the photo of the rear panel. The woofers, tweeters, and rear-firing Ambience Retrieval System are all adjustable for room matching. If you wish, the controls can be shut off completely, although they DO NOT adversely affect the sound in any negative way, since these controls have been designed ?beyond audiophile? standards, and are, in fact, military designs using Autoformers hand made in Japan for this speaker system. The Autoformers have ?bypass? switches to eliminate them from the circuit, although you will use them, believe me. Most rooms have some anomalies in the bass or high frequencies, unless the room was designed to be a professional recording hall or listening studio.

Although the Magico and Wilson cabinets are built well, they are not completely ?dead? and color the sound quite a bit. Please read my attached White Paper on ?Cabinet Wall Design? using Aerospace methods, which improve the clarity of the VR-77 speaker system dramatically. Once you have studied the design of this new model, it will be difficult to find another speaker in this same league, especially when price is a consideration.

Bill Baker · « **Reply #12 on:** 25 Sep 2009, 12:13 pm »

I have very little experience with VS speakers but have to say the speakers above are visually stunning. And at $2500 each.... I'll take em

Okay, add another zero
I can only imagine they sound as good as they look. Hhmmm,,,,

es347 · « **Reply #13 on:** 25 Sep 2009, 04:33 pm »

More accurately...$25000 x 2....but cheap at twice the price, right?

I own the VR5 Anniversaries and love them but if I could afford the 77s I would sell my VR5s in a NY minute

There really is no end to this is there?

JackD201 · « **Reply #14 on:** 27 Sep 2009, 12:17 am »

Quote from: es347 on 25 Sep 2009, 04:33 pm

More accurately...$25000 x 2....but cheap at twice the price, right? I own the VR5 Anniversaries and love them but if I could afford the 77s I would sell my VR5s in a NY minute There really is no end to this is there?

VR-77 + MC1.2k = No need for Dacron Doobies

majorloser · « **Reply #15 on:** 28 Sep 2009, 09:42 pm »

So I take it there's nobody from the Northwest interested.

ceedee · « **Reply #16 on:** 28 Sep 2009, 09:58 pm »

Yes, we are interested, but some of us live in an other part of the world and are not easily able to travel to the Northwest.

Hope you can put a review with some nice pictures on AC?

Good luck with VSA on the Oregon Coast.

Cor

DARTH AUDIO · « **Reply #17 on:** 14 Oct 2009, 04:11 pm »

Quote from: majorloser on 23 Sep 2009, 10:25 pm

Sorry guys. All I have is the press release on these speakers. I wish I had pictures, but when I see them I'll have pictures to post.

Vortex Screen VR-3 Soon Available!

June 24, 2009 Murrrieta, Ca. Albert Von Schweikert, the designer of the legendary Vortex Screen of 1970?s fame, has redesigned the classic 3-way system for the new millennium. In addition to the state-of-the-art technology used to update this model, a new marketing program will be used to enable almost anyone to purchase this new model at an affordable price, Factory Direct and Online.

? State- of- the- art cabinet build quality ? heavily damped Triple-wall construction, honeycomb internal wall bracing, and 100% cavity damping to eliminate all audible forms of cabinet coloration. Compare to build quality at 10x our price.

? High quality transducers ? since the speaker can sound only as good as its component parts, the three transducers are built to extremely high quality standards. An aluminum-coned 10? woofer is used, with a 6? paper mid and 1.5? Dual Ring tweeter. These exact drivers can be found in systems costing up to 10x our Factory Direct price. In fact, the 6? midrange is used by a famous maker in his $150,000 flagship speaker system!

? Expert crossover design ? rather than using an inexpensive computer sound card with inexpensive soft ware to design the crossover system, Albert Von Schweikert has utilized his 32 years of experience in the electronics industry, combined with a $10,000,000 lab to design and perfect the elaborate crossover used in the new Vortex VR-3 speaker design. This new speaker design was engineered to sound like a ?one way? system with amazing integration.

? Cost-effective engineering ? As most audiophiles want the most ?bang for the buck? in these challenging times, we have not wasted precious fabrication dollars on useless cosmetic features or expensive paint jobs that cost more than the sum total of the transducers. In some ?exotic? and highly advertised brand name systems, the cosmetics and paint finish are 90% of the total cost of the system!

? Although this speaker could easily sell in stores for $15,000 in a painted or veneered cabinet, our Factory Direct selling price is projected to be $3,500/pr.

? No risk trial - For your utmost in satisfaction, we offer a 90-day refund policy, with only a 10% restocking fee. Call for the estimated ship date.

Any update on when this speaker will be available to purchase? Thanks

es347 · « **Reply #18 on:** 14 Oct 2009, 06:01 pm »

When I reread this I thought someone was yanking our collective leg but after talking with Joe, they are the real deal, designed to compete with and surpass the VR4 Jr MkIIs. Joe tells me that the unfinished, cloth-wrapped cabinets (we don't need no stinking veneer!) are manufactured right here in the good old USA and lovingly assembled by Albert and his gang in Murietta. If they can pull this off at that price point, it could amount to the audio shot heard round the world; and a shot across the bows of all the high end speaker builders. Pictures please

Mudslide · « **Reply #19 on:** 14 Oct 2009, 06:14 pm »

Quote from: es347 on 14 Oct 2009, 06:01 pm

When I reread this I thought someone was yanking our collective leg but after talking with Joe, they are the real deal, designed to compete with and surpass the VR4 Jr MkIIs. Joe tells me that the unfinished, cloth-wrapped cabinets (we don't need no stinking veneer!) are manufactured right here in the good old USA and lovingly assembled by Albert and his gang in Murietta. If they can pull this off at that price point, it could amount to the audio shot heard round the world; and a shot across the bows of all the high end speaker builders. Pictures please

If you're talking about the units that were to be unveiled at the Oregon GTG, these were not sent. From my conversation with Albert, I believe these units are still in concept phase and are a long way from being released or even photographed.