[Holli82]

Al Green's Greatest Hits......VR-35's  

Life is good.  Enjoy!

[bside123]

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the forum!  What a beautiful room!!  Looking forward to seeing you post your listening impressions and learning about the components you've mated with your new VR35's.  Best,  Jack

Thanks Jack. I look forward to learning more about what these speakers can do. So far, I'm enjoying the ride. Here's my set-up: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=systems;system=1410

Nice Din 

Scott, Well we are the Mutual Admirers' Club aren't we!? 

Beautiful setup and unique to what the VR-35s are designed for.   That's not something you could accomplish with very many other speakers.

Hi mdconnelly,

Well, it certainly seems so. I've freed up an enormous amount of real estate in the living space of the room... and it sounds great. It's almost as if the measurements of my wall, along with the timber frame,
was designed for fitting the speakers. Thanks for your comment.

Al Green's Greatest Hits......VR-35's  

Life is good.  Enjoy!

The "Reverend" Al Green... respect!

[es347]

Thanks Jack. I look forward to learning more about what these speakers can do. So far, I'm enjoying the ride. Here's my set-up: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=systems;system=1410

Scott, Well we are the Mutual Admirers' Club aren't we!? 

Hi mdconnelly,

Well, it certainly seems so. I've freed up an enormous amount of real estate in the living space of the room... and it sounds great. It's almost as if the measurements of my wall, along with the timber frame,
was designed for fitting the speakers. Thanks for your comment.

The "Reverend" Al Green... respect!

..I owned a DNA 0.5 Deluxe for several years and loved it.  I would imagine in monoblock form they really sing...well done!

[bside123]

Update:

I've had a chance to spend more time with the VR-35s. They've taken me a bit of time to get used to, their sound and signature, and I am having a very positive experience. I've been working with both speaker placement as well as the listening position and distance, and I'm getting some very good results. The VR-35s are very sensitive to placement, and small moves make a difference across the board: bass depth and slam, clarity of the mids, upper end smoothness and detail and imaging. The sweet spot in not small, rather there is a sweet performance stage that can be heard from a variety of positions... all enjoyable.

I was cautiously optimistic about buying a pair of speakers I had never auditioned. Several of you, including VSA, encouraged me not to worry. Well, you were right! My hat's off to you.

The speakers are sitting on a 5" inch concrete floor. I have not yet used the spikes, but the VR-35s are decoupled from the floor with George Merrill's high-density, pucks which make the VR-35s easier to move around. They are now placed 11' feet apart from the center of the baffles, 6" inches from the wall, faced straight ahead (not towed in) and the listening position is approximately 12' feet away. I have them bi-wired from mono-bloc amplifiers. The VR-35s do like high current, and with it are very fast, responsive and musical.

Large sound stage in both width and depth. Good isolation of instruments and voices. Fast accurate, low bass... actually startling for their size. I turned off my sub-woofer! The wall of sound is very fluid, not hyper-detailed yet plenty detailed enough, and the overall presentation is integrated and musical. They also can be played plenty LOUD with no stress, strain or distortions. They step up to the music, even at performance levels. My room is fairly large, and the VR-35s can handle it. So... I'm having plenty of fun and am suitably impressed.

I'm certainly not convinced that I'm finished with the fine tuning process as of yet, but for now it's tremendously enjoyable to listen to what these speakers can do in my space. I now understand some of the fanfare around the design and subsequent reviews. To have such a high quality presentation with a set speakers literally placed out of the living area, almost against the wall (counter-intuitive) without sacrificing hi-fi pleasures provides the best of several worlds... family, hi-fi and then some. BTW, I recouped a couple-a-hundred square feet of usable space in the living room that used to be occupied by six-foot towers!

More later... 

[bside123]

Another update:

Having a few more weeks with the VR-35s, I am really enjoying them! I am continually impressed by their performance and am truthfully amazed each time I sit down to listen. Perhaps my amazement comes with the undoing of almost the entirety of my previous listening experiences as well as notions to other speakers and there placement. The VR-35s are a different breed of cat.

I've spent much of my audio history trying to adjust speakers in a free-field environment. History has challenged me with boundary walls, corners, bass drop outs and reflections, etc., in other words having enough room and room treatment. That being said, I have had very good luck with tuning my previous systems for high fidelity, i.e., sound stage, imaging, articulation and impact. But... the VR-35 speakers run counter intuitive to both my previous experience as well as previous struggles. Game changer for me.

One of the highlights for me in my current space is that it seems has if the VR-35s were custom built to perfectly fit the dimensions I need. What good luck! I live in a timber-frame home, and they fit exactly where I need them: 11' feet apart nestled between vertical beams and doors. Now after weeks of adjustments, I have settled on 7" inches from the rear boundary wall. Completely out of the "living space." I have adjusted my listening position to 10.5' - 11' away. Perfect.

The speakers have come alive. Big soundstage; great imaging; realistic articulation; generous sweet spot; dynamic & fast. This is a very balanced, very big sound. It is not strangely hyper-detailed or obsessively holographic requiring your "head in the vise" to get the psychedelic benefits. They are natural, distinct and balanced. One can listen easily and accurately to any end of the sound spectrum without feeling that any of the highs, mids or bass are lost or sacrificed at the expense of the other. By the way, the bass is big, fast and tight, and it slams when called on while still delivering melodically note for note in lower toned passages. I am no longer using a subwoofer, as it 100hz crossover adds color to the VR-35s without adding enough benefit. The VR-35s go low enough... 25hz.

The VR-35s have emerged as a real and genuine, unexpected treat. Having never heard them before I purchased them, I didn't think that they would be "bad," but I wasn't prepared for them to be GREAT... and they are. Because of the limitations of my space, I had braced myself that I would never achieve the high fidelity I was accustomed to with free-field speakers. It's just that in my current space, that configuration ate up way too much space. The rest of my family is happy too. They used to tip toe around speakers that were 4 feet into the living space.

Another thing to note... once I was convinced that I got the speakers set in an optimum position, I installed the floor spikes. They made a noticeable improvement to the already great sound. Tighter, better clarity in the midrange, a little less "nasal," more imaging, more bass impact.

While I admit to being paranoid about buying a pair of speakers I had never auditioned, the good people at VSA as well as other VR-35 owners attempted to assuage my concerns. This is one of those times, and one of those purchases, that I am glad I bit the bullet and took the risk. Albert, you were right.

Thank you. Again my hat is off to you.

PS. For those of you who are interested, you can see a photo of my basic set-up earlier in this thread or at the my system under the "Systems" tab on AC. Knowing that it's difficult to make a judgment call on choosing speakers, for anyone interested in the VSA VR-35s, please feel free to contact me to chat about my experience.

Now, I'm back to enjoying going back through both my analogue and digital collection.



 

[BigSwede]

The speakers have come alive. Big soundstage; great imaging; realistic articulation; generous sweet spot; dynamic & fast. This is a very balanced, very big sound. It is not strangely hyper-detailed or obsessively holographic requiring your "head in the vise" to get the psychedelic benefits. They are natural, distinct and balanced. One can listen easily and accurately to any end of the sound spectrum without feeling that any of the highs, mids or bass are lost or sacrificed at the expense of the other.

Although I have the similar but less expensive VR-33s, this nicely describes my feelings about them. Thanks for taking the time to describe your experience.

[Raphael_Ramos]

Hi, Guys!

Do someone have a onwers manual of the amazing VR35 in .pdf to share with me?

[es347]

..contact VSA

[mdconnelly]

Hi, Guys!

Do someone have a onwers manual of the amazing VR35 in .pdf to share with me?

I've got a pdf for them dating back to when I bought them in 2012.    PM me your email address and I'll send it to you (doesn't look like I can add attachments to PMs here).   Your best bet may still be to contact VSA since things may have changed a bit.   There is a Mk II now available I believe.

[mdconnelly]

Since this thread has now beeen revived once again, I thought I'd share a nice improvement I found for my VR-35s...    I replaced the VS spikes that came with the speakers with a set of IsoAcoustics GAIA II isolation stands and have been extremely happy with them.   Voices and instruments seem to become much more defined within a 3D soundstage.   Most importantly is how nicely bass tightened up and I swear seemed to go deeper.   Prior to this, I was stuffing the VR-35 ports with dacron to tame a slight bass dominance.   After switching to these stands,  I removed the dacron completely.

I've had the VR-35s now for 8 years and still loving them!

[Raphael_Ramos]

I've got a pdf for them dating back to when I bought them in 2012.    PM me your email address and I'll send it to you (doesn't look like I can add attachments to PMs here).   Your best bet may still be to contact VSA since things may have changed a bit.   There is a Mk II now available I believe.

Just did, my friend!

[mdconnelly]

Just did, my friend!

Sent.   Hope it's what you're looking for.

[gme109]

Since this thread has now beeen revived once again, I thought I'd share a nice improvement I found for my VR-35s...    I replaced the VS spikes that came with the speakers with a set of IsoAcoustics GAIA II isolation stands and have been extremely happy with them.   Voices and instruments seem to become much more defined within a 3D soundstage.   Most importantly is how nicely bass tightened up and I swear seemed to go deeper.   Prior to this, I was stuffing the VR-35 ports with dacron to tame a slight bass dominance.   After switching to these stands,  I removed the dacron completely.

I've had the VR-35s now for 8 years and still loving them!

Glad to see some activity on this user forum again.

I've had my VR-35's for almost as long, and still Loving them as well. Although lately I've been thinking about upgrading my speakers, for no other reason than wanting to try something new. Maybe I'll give the IsoAcoustics GAIA II isolation stands a try instead, in hopes of satisfying the upgrade bug. Just curious, are your VR-35's on a concrete slab, or wood floor?

Are these the feet/stands that you are using?

https://hifiheaven.net/shop/IsoAcoustics-GAIA-II-Speaker-Isolation-Feet-Stands-4-Pack

[mdconnelly]

Glad to see some activity on this user forum again.

I've had my VR-35's for almost as long, and still Loving them as well. Although lately I've been thinking about upgrading my speakers, for no other reason than wanting to try something new. Maybe I'll give the IsoAcoustics GAIA II isolation stands a try instead, in hopes of satisfying the upgrade bug. Just curious, are your VR-35's on a concrete slab, or wood floor?

Are these the feet/stands that you are using?

https://hifiheaven.net/shop/IsoAcoustics-GAIA-II-Speaker-Isolation-Feet-Stands-4-Pack

Yep, those are the GAIA IIs that I'm using under my VR-35s.  You should be able to find a place that will give you 30 days to try them.  I used The Cable Co.   I'd be surprised if you didn't hear a significant difference (and for me, it was quite an improvement), but... not the same as changing speakers.     What speakers are you looking at?

My VR-35s are on wood floors 3" from an interior wall.   I did put some effort in attempting to brace the floor from the crawlspace below.   I've occasionally listened to other speakers in a showroom (not with my gear).  There is always a fascination with a new sound that comes with new speakers but I've yet to convince myself that I would find a big improvement without spending substantially more.  But then, sooner or later itches need to be scratched.

Good luck!

[gme109]

Yep, those are the GAIA IIs that I'm using under my VR-35s.  You should be able to find a place that will give you 30 days to try them.  I used The Cable Co.   I'd be surprised if you didn't hear a significant difference (and for me, it was quite an improvement), but... not the same as changing speakers.     What speakers are you looking at?

My VR-35s are on wood floors 3" from an interior wall.   I did put some effort in attempting to brace the floor from the crawlspace below.   I've occasionally listened to other speakers in a showroom (not with my gear).  There is always a fascination with a new sound that comes with new speakers but I've yet to convince myself that I would find a big improvement without spending substantially more.  But then, sooner or later itches need to be scratched.

Good luck!

My VR-35's are are set up in a dedicated listening room in the basement on a concrete slab floor covered with a pad carpet.
Wonder if those isolation footers would still help?

The speakers I've had my eye on, and have been thinking about trying are the Tekton Moab's. My biggest reservation is their size and whether they'll work in my room.  They have a 60 day trial period, but if I didn't like them return shipping would be expensive, being that they weight 135 lbs a piece and stand about 6' tall.

[mdconnelly]

I think if I had a bigger room to work with, I'd be more tempted by other speakers.   But my room is just 12' wide without a lot of room to have speakers sitting out from the front wall, hence the beauty of the VR-35s.   Against the wall and out of the way.   High WAF and great sound.   I find that they can be a bit bass heavy (or perhaps that's just my aging ears rolling off at the top), but I will say that the GAIA feet really helped tighten up the bass.   My understanding is that the GAIA's help the speakers from vibrating off-axis, so I think even on a cement slab, they would likely perform better.

In past lives, I have had bigger speakers in a substantially bigger room.  But back then my electronics were not nearly as good.   A never ending tradeoff I suspect.

If you give the GAIAs a try, please let me know what you think.

[gme109]

My room is approximately 14' x 18'. Speakers are set up 4" in front of the short wall and sound very balanced tonally. If had to nick pick them, it would be that the bass could be a little tighter, otherwise I couldn't be happier with the VR-35s.. Sounds like the footers could help in that department.

[mdconnelly]

When I first setup the VR-35s in this room, I was struggling to get the bass right.   I previously had these speakers in a much bigger room and on a long wall.  I had them 9" out from the wall and about 10' apart on a 20' wall.  The bass seemed perfect.   But in my current room, I had to put them on a 12' wall and the bass was a bit too dominant.   I contacted Albert VS and he was quite responsive in giving me some great advice.  Perhaps the most surprising thing he told me was that bass would tighten up and become better defined if I could keep the speakers very close to the front wall.  That, course, goes against everything we've ever know about speaker placement but damned if it didn't work.

His next suggestion was to stuff the ports with dacron, which also helped.  But when I installed the GAIA IIs, I removed the dacron and bass is best I've heard in this room.   I've got them 8' apart center-to-center on the 12' wall and they're giving me a nice, big 3D soundstage.   

Interesting... I just checked and I've now had the VR-35s for 9 years - that might just be a record for me.

[mcallij1]

I have been using TRACK AUDIO - ISOLATION FEET from music direct for about 8 years . They really made an huge difference .

[rich58b]

I recently checked on the Von Schweikert website and noticed that they no longer have any reference to the VR 33 or 35. Are these still available?