[mfsoa]

PICS

[JackD201]

I bet Darth has got his camera charged and ready. Damn you UPS! Hurry up!!!!!!

[jimdgoulding]

Hi, I'm new here and am a proud owner for VR-3 since 1997 and now latest VR-33 in Jan 2010. I'm still keeping my VR-3 and have no intention to sell although the VR-33 is in superior (all areas) to the VR-3. I'm also proud to receive one of the 1st batch of VR-33 and also 1st in Malaysia to own. Thanks to Albert for all the help and great support.

My first impression of the VR-33 speaker is amazing. Right out of the carton, I can hear the soundstaging that is huge , deep & wide.  Never I have come accross speakers that has such amazing soundstaging. Bass was fast and tight. I just have about 100hrs on it and have already noticed what this speakers can do. It works well with the speakers placed against the front wall. No toe in. I'm driving them PassLab Aleph 0 monoblocks. I will share more when I get them run it.

Do check out the VR-33 if you have a chance. Highly recommended and for the price, it will beat any speakers in the range of $15k.

Cheers!

Tan, Hi.  Do you know AC member AliG?  I believe he is in Malaysia, too.  He has some nice speakers and system.  I think you would enjoy meeting him.  I visited with him at his home in Houston, Texas.  I don't think he would mind if I say that he has a thick accent and upon listening to some music I brought to his house, he cracked me up when he yelled out, "Man, that is some serious shit!". 

[DARTH AUDIO]

I take delivery next Tuesday 3/2 between 12:00pm & 5:00pm!! I will try to get pic's that day?

[Tan Daniel]

Sorry all that I took a while to upload the photos. Have been traveling and did not have the photos with me. Hope the photos turn out ok.

[Tan Daniel]

Here is another view of the VR33 speaker. There shud be a "V" logo at the bottom center of the speaker which was not included when I took delivery. Albert send me the logo separately. The photos were taken before the "V" logo arrived.




This is my other system at home with my ever faithful VR3. Driving with Pass Aleph 3 pwr amp.

[mhconley]

Thank-you, Tan.  Very interesting looking speakers.  Looks like Albert's back to socks and end-caps.  I may have to give him a call...

Martin

[Tan Daniel]

Yes Martin, do give Albert a call. He has a lot to share about this new design. Best if you could test it out back at your place. You will be in for a surprise. Stunning design and best sound at his class....my opinion. Your mileage may vary though...

Anyone in Malaysia or Singapore wanting to have a trial, do give me a call at 016-5501015.

Cheers!

[Isaac.]

Thanks for the pics. 

I am anxiously awaiting delivery of my VR4-SR MkIII's!

[Hoosierdaddy]

These speakers are being advertised for $3750/pr ($750 off) for the first 100 orders on the Positive Feedback site.

       
 

        
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rich58b]

These speakers are being advertised for $3750/pr ($750 off) for the first 100 orders on the Positive Feedback site.   

I found this link on the Positive Feedback site, and it takes you to the Von Schweikert website, but it doesn't have any info regarding anything other the normal 5 that are on display.



No mention of a special deal anywhere.

[varsharun]

You would need to go to the main review page of the site to see the special deal. Wonder what $15000 speaker Albert is referring to in the ad for comparison...could it be the VR4SR-MkIII or the Unifield 3? At that low price, looks like the VR33s could be a part of an excellent surround system.

-Arun

I found this link on the Positive Feedback site, and it takes you to the Von Schweikert website, but it doesn't have any info regarding anything other the normal 5 that are on display.



No mention of a special deal anywhere.

[ceedee]

Hi Arun,

What Ritch means is, when you click the link at the add on Positive Feedback you expect more news about the offer on the web of VSA, right?

Well there is no newsitem (yet) as it looks. VSA probably needs a bit of time more to anounce this item.

Sometimes adds go faster than reality

So we have to have patience.

Regards,

Cor

[rich58b]

I think your right Cor, they just haven't got it up on the website yet.  I looked further, and on the current contents page it shows this:





Look forward to seeing what they say on the website.  Also, I think "all new seaker" should say "all new speaker.  Could this be a sign of something funny going on?
Rich

[Tan Daniel]

Below is the press release that Albert send to me earlier. Note, the photos doesn't appear here.

VR-33 Press Release

Murrieta, California, November 2009.  Von Schweikert Audio is pleased to announce the release of the VR-33, an all-new speaker design formulated for modern times.  Today, audiophiles are searching for high performance products with a low cost due to the economic situation.  More than twenty years ago, Albert Von Schweikert started a company called Vortex Acoustics, which was the original company that is now called Von Schweikert Audio.  The Vortex Screen speaker was reviewed by Robert Harley in the July 1989 issue of Stereophile – Mr. Harley called the Vortex Screen “the Holy Grail” of loudspeakers due to the outstanding performance and the extremely low selling price.

ORIGINS OF THE VR-33 DESIGN
Original photographs of the original Vortex Screen speaker taken in 1976 show a heavy wood baffle with a fabric grill sock cover, using the highest quality speaker components in the world.  Designed at California Institute of Technology, the Vortex Screen became an industry legend, which was the basis of the current VR-4 platform.

PRICE STRUCTURE OF HIGH END PRODUCTS
Most knowledgeable audiophiles understand that buying from a dealer adds 40% to the selling price, but not many people understand that the veneer or paint finish on the speaker cabinet can double or triple the selling price.  Who wants to spend three times more money just for a wood or paint covering on their speakers?  The best way to spend manufacturing dollars are: a) a very strong cabinet, b) very high quality speaker drivers, and c) very high quality crossover parts and wiring.  If the speaker sounds fantastic and looks great, the most important factor is: “can I afford to buy it?”  The anwer is: YES!

PHOTOS

This is a preliminary photo taken in our laboratory.  The fabric sock is wrapped around the cabinet, which is shaped like a trapezoid (8” wide in front and 16” wide at the rear).  The customer has a choice of bottom and top cap finishes.  Shown is the brushed aluminum- style, but we also offer dark cherry wood veneer -style top and bottom caps.

In production, the large silver logo badge will be placed at the bottom of the speaker, not the top.

The front baffle is 8” wide, holding two 6” bass-mid drivers and a 1” Dual Ring tweeter, which is centered between the two bass mids.  The tweeter is located 37” from the bottom, directly at ear level.

The 10” subwoofer is on the back of the cabinet.
 

This is the front of the cabinet, shown without the grill sock.  Note that the driver layout is the famous Concentric Array, also known as the “D’Appolito M-T-M style.  Centered between the two 6” bass-mids is the 1” Dual ring tweeter.  The front baffle is covered by a 12mm felt blanket, designed to absorb reflections from the baffle surrounding the tweeter.  This enables the M-T-M array to behave as a point source, producing the finest three-dimensional image focus and depth available, cost-no-object.

The 6” bass-mids and 1” Dual Ring tweeter were co-designed by Albert Von Schweikert are are custom-built for the VR-33 by a famous Danish transducer designer.  Believe it or not, these same drive units are used in speakers selling from $15,000 to $64,000 a pair!

This is the rear of the cabinet, which is 16” wide.  At the bottom, you will see the binding posts to connect your amplifier. 

The woofer is a 10” unit designed in Denmark and built by Peerless.  This woofer has a 25Hz free air resonance and is tuned by three damped chambers, which creates a quasi-transmission line.  The vent, shown above the woofer, can be damped with Dacron to “tune” the bass response, which is very powerful but tight.

The 10” Peerless subwoofer faces the rear wall, enabling the room to help “boost” the bass power.  The crossover point to the front 6” bass mids is at 80Hz, so you can not hear that the woofer is mounted on the rear.  Wave lengths at 80Hz wrap around the cabinet, making the bass appear to come from the 6” bass-mids on the front.

ROOM PLACEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
Since most audiophiles do not have a dedicated listening room, it is impractical to design a speaker that must be placed several feet into the room.  Since rooms are getting smaller, not larger, we decided to design a speaker that can be placed several inches from the wall, without any sonic penalty.  In fact, 90% of the customers we have spoken with desire a speaker that will have depth and three-dimensional imaging when placed close to the walls, giving us the idea for this new design.

DEPTH RESPONSE
Many audiophiles mistakenly believe that “depth” of the sound field is generated by placing the speakers far away from the walls.  This is not the case!  Depth in the recording is captured by the recording engineer, using far-field mic placement at “live” concert recordings and artificial reverb in studio recordings. Your loudspeakers cannot “create” depth that is not on the recording!  However, it is also true that improper speaker placement can destroy the illusion of depth and also skew the timbral response.

Our new Vortex VR-33 has been designed to be placed several inches from the rear wall, with a sonic result of incredible depth perception, combined with fantastic bass power.  This was achieved by designing the response of the speaker to work with the rear wall as a boundary, instead of designing the speaker in an anechoic environment.  The driver placement, crossover design, and trapezoidal baffle shape all contribute to the effectiveness of this design, which has three patents pending.

TRAPEZOIDAL SHAPE = CONTROLLED DIRECTIVITY
Since the sound waves from the front drivers are directed side-ways  by the slanted side walls, the initial wave launch does not initially reflect off the rear wall, thus preserving the inherent depth of the recording.  Since the frequency response of the speaker system must factor in the boundary gain from the rear wall, the necessary response tailoring is done in the crossover design, which “shapes” the response into the desired phsycho-acoustic sound target.  Our desired response target was the actual depth in a concert hall.

REAR-FIRING SUBWOOFER
Since most narrow front profile speakers using a group of small 5” or 6” woofers do not have the bass “slam” desired by most audiophiles, we have elected to use a very powerful high-speed 10” subwoofer, firing against the rear wall for bass boost.  The Peerless 10” subwoofer has a free air resonance of 25Hz, which is boosted by 3dB when loaded by the rear wall.  By simply moving the speaker a few inches from the rear wall, the bass power and “weight” can be fine-tuned to the room or listening tastes.  In addition, the quasi-transmission line vent can be stuffed with Dacron to decrease the bass power if desired.

PSYCHO-ACOUSTICS OF CROSSOVER POINTS
Our sonic target was a speaker system with a very wide bandwidth of 20Hz to 30kHz, but with “invisible” crossover points.  Since the front-firing 6” bass mids can operate from 46Hz up to 12kHz (which is almost the entire audible range!) we have elected to use cross points above and below the audible range.  The subwoofer goes up to 80Hz, where the 6” bass-mids start to drop in bass power.  At the top end, we blend in the Dual Ring 1” fabric tweeter at 3kHz, well outside the ear’s most sensitive hearing range.  The sonic effect of these cross points is a sonically invisible driver blend, with coherence and speed that only $15,000 + speakers can achieve!

WHO IS THIS SPEAKER DESIGNED FOR?
If you have a powerful amplifier and an average room, and especially if you’re on a budget but would die to own a $15,000 speaker system, the VR-33 is the best speaker you can buy for the price!  Every cent of your precious money was used on an extremely heavy-duty cabinet, high quality drivers, and the best crossover design in the world.  If you truly want to experience your music but don’t have $15,000 to spend, you have found your perfect speaker system!  No cheap, off-shore parts here, only American Hi-end Audiophile quality, built by hand in California by one of the most famous companies in the high end audio speaker business!

FACTORY DIRECT PRICING
In stores, this speaker would sell for $6,995 with the fabric wrap design.  If it were veneered or painted, you would expect to pay $15,000 for this speaker.  By buying Factory Direct, your price is only $3,750/pr, which is an Introductory Price for the first 100 buyers.  This is an amazing price for a hand-built speaker, made in California, using the world’s best speaker components! 


VR-33  SPECIFICATIONS

Size – 50” tall x 8” wide (front) x 16” wide (rear) x 12” deep.
Frequency Response – 20Hz to 30kHz, +/- 3dB.
Impedance – 4 ohms nominal, high-current amplifier recommended.
Weight – 103 lbs per side, raw, 150 lbs in crate (each).
Subwoofer – Peerless 10” with Low Distortion Motor, laminated composite
cone, elevated spider, long throw design, and copper clad pole piece.
Midrange – Two 6” treated paper cast-frame bass-mids with Low Distortion
Motor, elevated spider, copper clad pole piece.
Tweeter – 1” treated fabric dome, Dual Ring design with rear chamber for
low resonance and response down to the midrange band, Low Distortion Motor, and specialized voice coil/top plate design for long throw, high power use.
Woofer Alignment – Quasi-transmission line design using three chambers,
each tuned to a different resonant frequency to extend the bandwidth and reduce “one note bass” typical of ported boxes.  Woofer “fires” at rear wall to boost the bass at 20Hz by 3dB, can be “tuned” by user.
Power Rating – 25 watts minimum, up to 500 watts on peak music.
Warranty – Three years parts and labor (excluding abuse), non transferable.

[DARTH AUDIO]

Just got my pair yesterday!! Albert broke them in for me so there pretty much ready to go. Right out of the box you could tell this is a special speaker. Build quality is excellent!! Built like a "Sherman Tank". Solid!! Well the sound was involving to say the least. I'm still messing around with the set up in my room, but already these speakers blow away my beloved VR-4jr's!! So far I can say they are smooth, very smooth ("Smooth means having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough"). Texture, prefect word for these speakers!! Soundstage is huge, well defined and deep!! The bass is Dynamic as hell!! More to come over the next few days and weeks.

Gary

[mr_bill]

Can anyone find pictures on the VSA website?

[ceedee]

No mr. Bill,

There are no official pictures (yet).
VSA is working hard to update their website.

So we have to be a bit patient.
But Tan's pictures show the Vortex VR 33 quite well.
 
Regards,

Cor

[DARTH AUDIO]

Sorry to say, but those pic's don't show how nice the speakers really are!! And, they are much bigger (at least to me) than what the pic show. Best of all, they are made in the US of A!!

If you are interested in the speakers, you should give Albert a call. He spent over an hour with me explaining the design, the speaker quality, crossover parts, binding posts, even explained his choice of spikes. IMHO, this is a special speaker.. Kudos to Albert & Company!!

[ceedee]

OK Gary,

Hope you are a great photographer.
Take a shoot and show.

Cor