So, Joe, I would imagine that your plan to move cross country never transpired.

sherod March 09, 2011 23:10

Rx8man, Thank you. I designed the room myself and it came out just the way I wanted - satisfying and great place the watch thunderstorms and snow fall as well as hear music.

gammajo March 09, 2011 17:40

the first word that came to my mind? ...tranquility

isochronism March 09, 2011 17:08

Joe I never told you, but I could live comfortably in that room with the beautiful backdrop!

rx8man March 09, 2011 05:48

System edited: System Update: I have had my AH preamp upgraded to newest 2.2 version with Clarity caps, Vishay resistors, High Fi fuse and holder, transformer upgrade etc. Have upgraded my Nuforce to the V3SE reference. Have mass loaded the Preamp and amps. Buddha adds 50 lbs to the top of the cabinet for resonance control. With the V3 I think class D has finally become viable. End result is that the system is much more natural sounding with better imaging, trailing edge of notes and better response across treble, bass and mid range.

gammajo September 09, 2010 16:15

try mapleshade vib control,they are made of brass and work better for your system.

rockjm344 March 07, 2009 12:24

I have WAF to deal with but when home alone I bring the speakers out another few feet - not quite as far as Cardas recommends. I think that I get away with a lot, with less penalty than expected, due to the large room size and the design of the VS speakers. Thanks for commenting.

gammajo March 03, 2009 15:52

That's a gorgeous home.
Have you tried bringing the speakers a few more feet into the room?

The Cardas setup formula for rectangular rooms.
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/manufacture/0602/cardas.html

jeffjarvis March 03, 2009 04:36

System edited: Updated the system pictures to show changes including adding the Nuforce Reference V2SE monoblock amps, Kool Cable gold Silkworm IC and the Hyperion magnetic isolation floaters. Celebrating and great improvement in sound with these changes. Even symphonies are sounding good but particularly enjoying voice and solo piano.

gammajo March 02, 2009 17:55

Thank you Joe. I am always glad to share in my experiences. I have a few other tweaks and upgrades which I've mentioned from time to time that you might consider as well,i.e. Alan Maher Power Enhancer, Fusion Audio power cords, Quicksilver Xtreme Gold contact enhancer for all your connections, etc. There are more , but I will stop there so as not to overwhelm you. Have a great week.

sherod October 02, 2007 04:52

Thanks Sherod. Your help and encouragement has been part of achieving a sweet sound.

gammajo October 02, 2007 04:26

Joe,
You really have a nice system. I especially love your room. You did a great job in its design. Enjoy the music, my friend.

sherod September 29, 2007 04:55

System edited: Just added my first tubed piece which is the Audio Horizons preamp. Boy, it just brought everything to a new level of enjoyment. As imprtant a change as new speakers. Learning fast about tube rolling.

gammajo February 23, 2007 00:45

Linnie -Yep a Resolute Aclaim. It has been handy this month with NC colder than usual. Does make the music cozier. Enjoy yours too. Thanks for responding.

gammajo February 13, 2007 23:11

Is that a Vermont Castings Resolute in the back corner? Nice!!

Music and wood stoves - a great combo. I have both myself.

Enjoy!

linnie01 February 13, 2007 18:22

Glenfi - Thanks for your comments. It is surely satisfying to begin to get closer to the sound of live music.

gammajo February 11, 2007 03:00

Nice room and great system. Any time one can have a piano in the room and yet really enjoy their system indeed is a great vote for the speakers.

glenfihi February 03, 2007 02:49

Labombarda - You have a great eye. That is a Vermont Casting Resolute Aclaim stove which heats the large room evenly and much more effectively that the heat pumps we use down south. I have a Thorens TD180 thatI am going to try with my vinyl. Thanks for checking in.
Joe

gammajo August 21, 2006 04:37

What a great music / entertainment room! I especially like your wood stove (looks like a Vermont Castings--I have an Encore) installation--the stone formation is pretty unique.

Good idea resurecting your turntable if you have good vinyl. What kind do you have? I'm a Linn LP12 fan from 30 years back.

In the end, it's all about the music!

[email protected] August 17, 2006 14:08

I tried to post the above as a review and it was rejected twice as incomplete, so I gave up and posted here. I was uncertain what more they wanted. Thanks for the feedback. It is great to be able to share our love of music.

gammajo August 17, 2006 13:34

Gammajo,
That's great news! Isn't it wonderful to be so delighted with your new speakers that you feel inspired to write about them? You did a very nice job describing your bliss, so much so that your last post would certainly qualify as a review, and would merit its own separate post as such.

mdhoover August 17, 2006 02:36

My musical taste favors classical, pop and rock. I play classical piano and sing. The most important aspect of sound in descending order for me would be natural and non-fatiguing, excellent portrayal of timber, detail, ability to convey instrument and hall decay, accuracy, fast dynamics, bass fullness and slam, and stage width. Less important for me is stage depth and height. The worst thing a system could do is to be strident, harsh, cold, or muddy.

I have now had my pair of VR4Sr's for three months. They are gorgeous in African Hazelwood. My wife and I are super pleased with the fit and finish. The separate base and mid/high modules create a sense of lightness, avoiding the large box feel. The available cherry finish looked smeared, but the poplar looked great as well. After break-in a few things are obvious: 1. They can easily fill my 38X22 room with no efforting or shout. 2. They are seamless to my ear across the spectrum, measuring flat at near field listening position except a small hump at 60-80 HZ. I have a concert grand piano in the same room and the sound quality, micro-dynamics, and note decay from the speakers and the piano are nearly indistinguishable. Piano pieces are captivating in detail, depth, clarity, and accuracy. 3. My concern that I did not have a high enough quality front end to do them justice was unfounded. In fact I talked to Von senior himself and he said that they were designed to perform well with an affordable front end. 4. I seem to be sacrificing only sound stage depth with near front wall placement (about 18 inches from the back of the speaker) and they were not too particular about sidewall placement and distance apart. 5. The company has been exceptional to deal with and the packing was intelligent and secure.

Details: Base, spiked on wood flooring, is tight, articulate, fast and full. Mids are excellent, natural and detailed. Highs are sensitive to quality of the recording, cables, and front end - when all is right it is detailed, neutral, and sweet in the good sense. For example with silver speaker cables the highs were painfully strident at loud volume, with copper the highs are wonderful. Soundstaging in terms of precise instrument localization has been a challenge with my setup with a TV recessed between the speakers (a blanket over the TV helps). Stage width is fine, extending beyond the speakers and the sweet spot is wide and deep. I like the speakers on all material but they seem most exceptional on solo instrument, voice, small ensemble, jazz, and pop. Orchestral is very good. Heavy, dense rock is only good (too revealing of defects) unless the recording quality is exceptional, such as Dire Straits, then the speakers shine.

In comparison to the VR4’s, the Wilson Sophia’s auditioned with all Marantz equipment sounded a bit sterile, very accurate, and less musical to me. The Krell’s Resolution 2’s sounded less satisfying overall, partly because of base response.
The VR4SR’s replaced Polk SDA-SRS 2.3’s I had used for ten years. Sounds changed to much closer to live music with more detail and ambience conveyed. The VR’s have renewed my interest in music and I listen almost every night, discovering new beauty in all my favorites. I can able listen at lower volumes and still experience the “That’s fabulous” grin. I know myself well enough to know that if I won the lottery, I’d go out and audition ultra high-end equipment starting with VS products, but short of this I feel that the speakers will satisfy me for decades. Overtime I may improve my front end and I think the VR’s will handle it. I am very pleased and would recommend that they be on the short list of anyone looking in the under 20K range.

Music used to audition the VR4SR’s plus the Wilson’s and Krell’s
For female vocal Jennifer Warnes, The Well, Famous Blue Raincoat,
For male vocal Bruce Springfield, The Rising, Crosby, Stills…Déjà Vu
For rock Led Zeplin, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits
For classical Bach Fugue in C minor, Rimsky Korsakov Scherazade
For choral Rachmaninoff Vespers
For Jazz and brushes against cymbals, Missouri Sky
For piano Kissin Liszt Transcendental Etudes, Horszowski and Ohlson Works
For violin Scottish Fantasies, Vivaldi Four Seasons
For flute Galoway Christmas

Associated equipment: Aragon 8008BB 200Watt per channel dual mono SS amp, Aragon 28K SS preamp, NorthStar 192 DAC and CD Transport, Guerrilla Silver IC and woofer cable, copper to the mid/tweeter biwired.

gammajo August 17, 2006 02:07

System edited: Posting pictures of my new Von Schweikert VR 4SR speakers and changed my IC's, speaker cables, and power cords to Guerrilla. Boy and I enjoying the new sound experience!

gammajo August 17, 2006 01:10

Bill
Glad to talk with a fellow music lover. Thanks for your feedback
Joe

gammajo March 02, 2006 18:25

Gammajo:
I saw your well thought-out response to the "audiophile" versus "music lover" thread and was impressed, so I had to see your system. Very nice to see that a musician can also be an audiophile. Enjoying music at home without the cacophony of coughs is nice for me too, even though I wouldn't be considered a musician the way you are. Thanks for posting a very nice glimpse into your life as it relates to home audio.
-Bill

mdhoover March 02, 2006 02:44