[Slappy]

Hi,
Just stumbled onto this site recently and this is my first post. I have had VR-4 gen III for the past 8 years and finally saved enough to get some slightly used VR-5 Anniversaries. Have had a few problems with what I thought was a reputable dealer, one of which the M/T modules have sequential serial numbers, for example, 20017L and 20018R. My VR-4's both the left and right had the same serial number. Aren't the serial numbers supposed to match?

Thanks

[Antoine]

I checked and mine (VR5 SE MKII upgraded to Anniversary) are sequential too, same goes for my VR-1's I use as rears. On the VR-5's both M/T unit and bassunit share the same serial, but the right speaker has a +1 to the serial number in comparison to the left speaker.


You'll love the upgrade from the GenIII by the way, I walked the same path! 

[es347]

So Slappy, tell us what you think of the annies.  Also would like to know how you are driving them.  BTW my annies share the same ser. no. 51309.

[JackD201]

M/T modules from the same batch might have been mixed up somewhere. Alas, impossible to trace where or when at this point. It must be irritating but sonically should make as much difference as the numbered pair. VSA tolerances are extremely tight from unit to unit. Even if your 5 Anniversaries are in African Hazelwood it isn't a problem. If the same had happened with the Ebony finish of the 5 SEs you would have been able to see a mismatch in the book matched veneer's stripes.

Maybe the guy with the set of opposing numbers might make himself know right here  and you can swap modules or badges

Just kidding! Welcome to the Forum!!!!!!

[es347]

Regarding serial nos., the crazies on the Audio Aficionado MAC forum won't accept monoblocks w/o consecutive ser. nos.  Mine are one digit apart but the way I figure it, weighing in at approx. 90# they are staying put 

[Antoine]

M/T modules from the same batch might have been mixed up somewhere. Alas, impossible to trace where or when at this point. It must be irritating but sonically should make as much difference as the numbered pair. VSA tolerances are extremely tight from unit to unit. Even if your 5 Anniversaries are in African Hazelwood it isn't a problem. If the same had happened with the Ebony finish of the 5 SEs you would have been able to see a mismatch in the book matched veneer's stripes.

Maybe the guy with the set of opposing numbers might make himself know right here  and you can swap modules or badges

Just kidding! Welcome to the Forum!!!!!!

Hi Jack, so you are saying the serial numbers should match? As much as I want to believe you I don't think it can be a coincidence that both my VR-1's and VR-5 SE MKII's in Ebony (upgraded to Anniversary) have sequential serial numbers. Maybe VSA stopped doing it this way at one day and started delivering pairs with the same serial number?

[JackD201]

Now I'm stumped Antoine and have to look at my speakers again. My 5 SEs were 0001L and 0001R

I'll check out my SR IIIs and 9 SEs later.

[Slappy]

Well mine are 1011L and 1012R so maybe one day my 1011 will be reunited with it's true twin. If there is a serial number on the bass module, I couldn't find it. I understand I could never tell the difference sonically and if it was the only thing that went wrong about the whole transaction I'd just be mildly annoyed but there were a few other, more important issues. It's hard for me to imagine being so careless about anything in this price range.

Mr es347....funny you should ask, I was sitting listening to my gen III's and marveling at how good they sounded and panicking that I had just made a major mistake spending all that $$ on annies because, really, how could they be that much better than what I already had? Then they came just as I was leaving to go out of town. Got back, hooked them up, no spikes, guesstimated positioning, put on my reference song, and was giggling like a school girl after 4 seconds. Like I'd been listening through cotton all these years. I instantly wanted to play every single CD I have over again. I could go on and on...

As to what's driving them, I was disappointed my beloved Cary V12R wasn't a good match. I hooked in my Spectron Musician II amp and it was much better even though I really didn't want it to be. I sold my other kidney and bought some Atma-Sphere MA-1 markIIIblahblahblahs and am looking forward to hearing those.
The annies are just so revealing, so sensitive to positioning, that I've become more serious about room treatments. Lots of 'work' to do.

Patrick

[es347]

VSA's foray into modern math perhaps? 

[Albert Von Schweikert]

Serial numbering on our various products is not uniform from model to model. There are several reasons for this, and has to do with our production schedules, build dates, and other internal matters - nothing to do with quality control or pair matching.  Some of our models use sequential numbers and other models use the same number, but with a L and R at the end of the number.  In fact, we often interchange this sequence within the same model, for reasons I won't go into since it isn't anything terribly interesting to an end user, but I can say that sometimes a R speaker is built one day and the L speaker is built on the following day.  Part of our numbering system represents a "date code" so in essence, it is simply a tool for us to keep track of what we're building and shipping.

By the way, we don't use pair matching, it's a band-aid to enable a manufacturer to use drivers that don't match and then correct for the mismatch with the crossovers. Instead, we build to a "golden unit" which every speaker must pass.  There is only one reference speaker in our lab and computer files, and all speakers built must track that reference unit or it gets rejected.  Since we test each part before assembly, nothing gets rejected after the speakers are built, the parts are rejected during the component test phase. Since we're using Grade-A drivers in the VR-5 Anniversary, we have found very few defective or out-of-spec drivers.  Although years ago we tried "pair matching," it was far too difficult and expensive to build each crossover for each drive unit, so I asked the driver manufacturers to send me only Grade-A drivers that all meet my personal requirements. These companies are very happy to accommodate this request.  This greatly simplifies the repair or replacement of a speaker out in the field that requires servicing.

[es347]

Regardless of how my VR5 Anniversaries are numbered, I can safely say that they couldn't sound better.  And I don't have to worry about explaining all this to the next owner because there won't be one.

[JackD201]

Not to be morbid but you think you can put me in your will brother? 

[es347]

Where there's a will, there's a way...eh Jack?  You'll have to arm wrestle my children 

[es347]

..and like you need another pair of speakers...rear surrounds perhaps 

[JackD201]

I'm betting way I'm lower in the totem pole than the fam, but anything that starts with V will do 

[es347]

...so you're a Viagra man too eh? 

[JackD201]

Not yet but I'll get there, believe you me!!!!!!!   

[es347]

Being a retired Eli Lilly man, I will someday...not just yet thank you...defer to Cialis as my drug of choice  ...although it's a hard decision