[InfamousElguapo]

My dad bought a pair of Vortex Screens from Albert when he was working from a garage in the 80's. They are tall wide speakers with a "sock" over them and because they are covered the drivers and cabinet design are a mystery to us.  They were only $2000 back then and i've yet to hear even a $70,000 dollar system that projects music the way they do.  Apparently back in the day, Albert described the speakers in the system being "suspended in open air" rather then in a traditional cabinet.   The speakers really seem to disappear like sound is emitting from them in all directions. Does anybody know if that means they are open baffle?  If it's not an open baffle design why do they sound the way they do?  Anybody know? 

[Chano]

Hi Infamouselguapo, could you post an image of your speakers ? If you remove the tissue, even better. Thanks.

[Albert Von Schweikert]

The Vortex Screens were the first pair of the VR-4 design to be built. If you remove the cloth, you will see that the woofers are in a large enclosed box with various shelves to create a quasi-transmission line to "load" the woofers. On top of the woofer cabinet was a small sealed box with a midrange driver and on top of the midrange box was a small baffle that held the tweeter.  The entire system was Time Aligned and Phase Coherent, perhaps one of the very first speakers to be offered with this unique combination of features. The reason why the speakers "disappear" and have such a wide radiation pattern is due to the driver combination and the small baffles.  The specialized crossover design was a major part of the equation, most likely the first crossover to feature steep slopes, linear phase, and coherent driver output.  Please note that this crossover is not 'time coherent' to an impulse, as this does not improve the sound or image recreation.  As I had invented this crossover filter set, I named it the Global Axis Integration Network. No, you won't find it in any textbooks, I have not revealed how this circuit works in any patent application since it could easily be copied and then slightly altered to avoid legal issues.  A few years later, KEF come up with a varient of my circuit, by pure accident, and then John Bau of Spica who had studied at Cal Tech with my mentor, Dr. Richard C. Heyser, also designed a similar circuit.  However, I've had many audiophiles tell me that my circuit sounds better than the KEF or Spica circuits.  John Bau, a close friend, threw in the towel about 15 years ago; he got tired of mass production and opened a small camera shop in New Mexico.  As we all know, KEF was bought by a Chinese holding company and is still doing quite well, especially in China.  As far as the Vortex Screen went, Robert Harley, the editor of The Absolute Sound, bought a pair for his recording studio in 1984 and then reviewed them for Stereophile in July 1989.  It was his first review, and my first review as well.  Since then, we have sold almost 100,000 pairs of speakers, so we're not doing too bad either.
As always, Happy Listening!

[Willy O]

I remember the Vortex screens from the 80's. Back then I worked at Jonas Miller Sound in Santa Monica, and one of our regular customers would come in Raving about his vortex screens. Eventually I went to his house to hear them and was quite impressed. Back then we were carrying sound lab electrostatics, Quad ESL's, and some stax monster electrostatic as our high end speakers with Spectral electronincs. Now 25 years later I own apair of Von Schweikerts. The Counterpoint Metropolitans. I need to reach Albert, or someone at his company to talk about a tweeter replacement/ upgrade for these. And now I am back in my native Minnesota where we can crank the speakers up all day/ night. Willy O

[PainterDude]

I bought my Vortex Screen MkII's about 8 years ago from the original buyer. They came with all of the factory paperwork including Robert Harley's review. They were shipped as new in 1992. While my listening experience is a bit limited (Vienna Acoustics, Martin Logan) I still have yet to hear anything that sounds as good to me. Especially within my budget. Since they are now 20 years old, I am wondering what the life span of these secret wonders is and if they would benefit from a overhaul? If so would it be economically viable to do so?

[es347]

If they are in good condition and the love affair continues I would at least call Albert and get a price to upgrade the drivers/crossovers, etc.  There are lots of components I let go over the years and I rue the day I let that happen.  The new VSA speakers no doubt may sound better but your speakers still kick a**.  Good luck.

[PainterDude]

Would I use the number on the Von Schweikert Audio website or does he actually field calls from vintage enthusiasts through another number?

[BigSwede]

I would just call the general number. When I called regarding the VR-33 I talked to Damon, but then Albert called me back a little later the same day.

[PainterDude]

Thanks for getting back to me. Someday. maybe, I'll be able to afford to step up to a new pair of VSA's that I have no doubt will be as much of a reality check for me as these were when they replaced my beloved Celestion SL6s's. As for the Screens? As loudspeakers go, The Vortex Screens are the equivalent of a 1971 Hemi Cuda. New, they weren't the most expensive or fancy. But they were truly Hi Performance and worth (at least to me) much more today than they were when they were new. As I mentioned earlier, I have A/B these with ML Clarity electrostatics and a couple of other newer and much pricier speakers and I chose to stay with these golden oldies.

[wetsprock]

If anyone out there has a set of the original screens that had the silver tiptoes I would like to find out the size of the threads used to sercure them to the bottom of the speakers, I lost my pair any assistance would be helpful.