Vandersteen fans

[ctsooner]

First off there is a Vandy dealer in Houston. it's a father and son outfit. They may be doing it out of their house. Not sure if they are still selling. I always send folks to Mark at Audio Concepts in Dallas. I actually bought my Linn Kiko bedroom system from him last year when i was in town for an OU football game. Great folks there and I highly recommend them if you live near Dallas.

[ctsooner]

Just found this thread. Some of you know me already, but I live in CT and have been into audio since 1969 (age 9).

My current system again is in flux. Yesterday I shipped out my Empirical Audio OSDE/SE with every upgrade to it's new owner. I ordered the Melco NAS/server to use as my NAS and put in an order for the new Ayre QX-5/Twenty to go along with my

Ayre AX-5/Twenty
Vandersteen Treo's (for sale to upgrade to Quatro's)
Basis 1400 with Benz Glider (SL)
Rhea phono with new guts and many upgrades but not quite the signature
Steven Nuggent built Mac Mini with Paul Hynes power supply (also about to go on sale with all the high res and well recorded music that he used for his shows)
Empirical Audio Synchro Mesh for all the TV, blue ray and other digital to connect to the DAC (will use an older Krell Stealth for the TV and Mac Mini via optical out
Audioquest Edison outlets
Synergistic Research Powercell 10 Tesla (also on sale, lol)
Audioquest 8' Castle Rock speaker cable
AQ Niagara balanced from source to AX-5/Twenty
AQ Earth from Rhea to AX-5/Twenty
Wire world glass optical from satellite to Synchro Mesh
MIT coax from Marantz BluRay to Synchro Mesh
hand made silver sp/diff from Synchro Mesh to DAC

that's the main system. Still selling off some of my older systems and of course the Kiko in the bedroom.

[ctsooner]

As for favorite systems right now, I have to say the 7 mkII fed from Richard's amp. Just heard it a few weeks ago at Audio Connection and it rocked. We all listened after everyone left for the day and it was really sounding unreal. The Niagara power deal sounded so great with it. The ref 6 was the pre and I loved it. I don't always love the AR gear, but this is a really special unit. Can't wait for all their new units to hit as they are really upgrading nicely and need to in order to keep up with the new Aesthetix Eclipse stuff. I also love the Ayre ref/Twenty stuff. Just gives them a different sound. That said, none of the amps that I've heard are as good as Richards amp with the Vandersteen powered speakers. It was built for it and I think that's why it just sounds better. Incremental of course, but it's there in spades when you really sit and listen. Based on everyone's system, it's hard to go wrong as you are all playing at levels well above me. I get to enjoy what you all have, but on a limited scale from going to friends houses or to Vandersteen dealers, lol.

Great thread and thanks for letting me play.

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by ctsooner

Just found this thread. Some of you know me already, but I live in CT and have been into audio since 1969 (age 9).

My current system again is in flux. Yesterday I shipped out my Empirical Audio OSDE/SE with every upgrade to it's new owner. I ordered the Melco NAS/server to use as my NAS and put in an order for the new Ayre QX-5/Twenty to go along with my

Ayre AX-5/Twenty
Vandersteen Treo's (for sale to upgrade to Quatro's)
Basis 1400 with Benz Glider (SL)
Rhea phono with new guts and many upgrades but not quite the signature
Steven Nuggent built Mac Mini with Paul Hynes power supply (also about to go on sale with all the high res and well recorded music that he used for his shows)
Empirical Audio Synchro Mesh for all the TV, blue ray and other digital to connect to the DAC (will use an older Krell Stealth for the TV and Mac Mini via optical out
Audioquest Edison outlets
Synergistic Research Powercell 10 Tesla (also on sale, lol)
Audioquest 8' Castle Rock speaker cable
AQ Niagara balanced from source to AX-5/Twenty
AQ Earth from Rhea to AX-5/Twenty
Wire world glass optical from satellite to Synchro Mesh
MIT coax from Marantz BluRay to Synchro Mesh
hand made silver sp/diff from Synchro Mesh to DAC

that's the main system. Still selling off some of my older systems and of course the Kiko in the bedroom.

Hi Ctsooner,

You have put together a great system. A lot of thought and time has obviously been devoted to tweaking it to get the most out of it. The Treo are fine speakers but I think you will love the upgrade to the Quattro. They are tremendously great speakers. I've heard them a lot at Johnny's and they never fail to impress. It's pretty neat that a number of Vandersteen owners are posting again on this thread. Us Vandy owners need to stick together.

All the best,
Ken

[ctsooner]

So right Ken. Quatro is the sweet spot for sure. Looks and sound. Need to find a home for the Treo's lol

[ylee]

Originally Posted by ctsooner

So right Ken. Quatro is the sweet spot for sure. Looks and sound. Need to find a home for the Treo's lol

I love my Quatro Wood CTs. They're so accurate, tuneful, and have sufficient slam when called for that I never think about upgrading my speakers for more expensive ones. They're great with all kinds of music and are equally at home with acoustic and electronic music. I just hope Richard Vandersteen designs the next generation such that there is a components upgrade available for the current generation.

[gaboudreaux]

Originally Posted by PlanarSpeakerFan

My Current System:

Hi Ken! Hope you're enjoying your new gear. I should be getting my new Ayre stuff in a week or so and going to try and audition the 7 MK II's in the next couple of weeks. Was curious what color is your 7's? I really like that color.

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by gaboudreaux

Hi Ken! Hope you're enjoying your new gear. I should be getting my new Ayre stuff in a week or so and going to try and audition the 7 MK II's in the next couple of weeks. Was curious what color is your 7's? I really like that color.

Congratulations on your incoming Ayre gear! My Vandy 7 MkII's are Tungsten Silver. My Vandy M7-HPA mono amps should be finished in three weeks. They will also be Tungsten Silver.

Ken

[gaboudreaux]

Originally Posted by PlanarSpeakerFan

Congratulations on your incoming Ayre gear! My Vandy 7 MkII's are Tungsten Silver. My Vandy M7-HPA mono amps should be finished in three weeks. They will also be Tungsten Silver.

Ken

Hi Ken! Hope the holidays are treating you well. I may have missed it in another thread, but did you get your Vandy Mono amps in your system? If so, how's it going? Got any pictures?

[gaboudreaux]

Hey Ken, I would also be interested in knowing what cables you have in your system.

Thanks!