Hi Everyone,
I'm Mike Corgan, a newbie to this forum but long-time audiophile. After writing Albert about his speekers he suggested pass on my reactions to the VR-33s here.
Some pre Von S system details first: McIntosh MCD500 CD player, McIntosh C220 preamp and McIntosh MC275 amp; Nordost Tyr cables, Zu Gede interconnects, and a pair of JM Reynaud Offrande Supremes (which, with their predecessors I had had for 12 years).
Room is 16x20 with a ceiling sloping 8-12 feet. The Offrandes had been set up about 36 inches out from the 16' wall and there are a set of 4 Andersen windows, damped, between them. Most enjoyable.
I decided to try the VR-33s because I wanted to recover some space in the room. Also I had auditioned a pair of Allison 3s that I ahd liked. In fact they did somewhat better at getting the cello's sound in chamber work right than did the Offrandes. The VR-33s seemed to incorporate many of the design factors of the Allisons. So I ordered them.
A friend helped me set them up. They went back against the 16 ' wall and 8" to the sides of the window frames.
Right out of the box they sounded great, more authority in lower registers than the Offrandes without being tubby or bloated. They had been broken in at the factory but sounded a tad more edgy than Offrandes - at first. As things went on, they broke in even more and sounded more musical. [I listen to a lot of live chamber music and am a regular subscriber to the BSO, 1st balcony in Symphony Hall, center, 2nd row.]
Detail was particularly good; inner voices of an orchestra, cymbals in a jazz quintet, subtle harmonic modulations in a quartet, etc. And still the authority of a live performance. Then I decided to see if there was more I could get from them. So I replaced power cords with Shunyata Vampires. Better still. It occurred to me that these speakers could do even more, so I took a plunge.
I upgraded the CD to a McIntosh MCD1100. Nirvana. The VR-33s showed even more of what they could do. Orchestral works (I'm a Bruckner freak) gave a most satisfying approximation of the 'you are there' or what you would hear in a concert hall experience. However it was chamber works and small jazz groups (yes, Jazz at the Pawnshop and Kind of Blue among others) that gave me the 'they are here' experience. I've been in homes hereabouts for about a dozen Colorado Quartet recitals and that's what they sound like - what the system with the VR-33s did in my room.
I know these are very impressionistic observations but then so is live music impressionistic. It is supposed to be. Going back over many years I have owned upper end speakers from Wharfedale, Klipsch, Legacy, Snell, and lastly, JM Reynaud. The VR-33s are without equal.
My $.02
Mike
