Reader Request

By Scott Wilkinson • Posted: Aug 3, 2009

Reader F. Teixeira suggested that I profile a high-end Vandersteen home-theater speaker system in this blog, and I'm more than happy to oblige. Vandersteen has been among audiophiles' favorite brands for over 30 years with good reason—they sound spectacular!

The ultimate Vandersteen home-theater system starts with the brand new Model 7, which was first introduced at CES 2009 and should be shipping in September for $45,000/pair. This time- and phase-aligned design includes an integrated, powered subwoofer with a 12-inch aluminum-cone diaphragm and 400-watt amp. Next up the frequency ladder is a 7-inch woofer made of Vandersteen's exclusive carbon-fiber/balsa-wood sandwich composite, followed by a 4.5-inch midrange and 1-inch tweeter made of the same material. Finally, a 0.75-inch alloy-dome supertweeter takes care of the extreme top end, extending the speaker's overall frequency range from 22Hz to 40kHz (±2dB). The Model 7's modular design allows upgrades to the drivers, crossover, and amp, and the speaker provides an 11-band room-compensation control.

Vandersteen offers two center-channel speakers, including the flagship VCC-5, which lists for $1995. Like the VCC-1, it employs a coaxial driver with a 1-inch alloy-dome tweeter at the apex of a 6.5-inch polycone woofer and adds two internally mounted 6.5-inch woofers that fire out of ports on either side of the center driver. This design is said to avoid the comb filtering associated with traditional center-channel driver configurations and yields a frequency response from 50Hz to 30kHz (±2dB).

For the surround channels, Vandersteen recommends the VSM Signature ($1895/pair), a wall-mounted model using the same coaxial driver as the center-channel speaker. Why not just use more Model 7s as surrounds? Because the VSMs can be mounted higher, which is especially important for monopole surrounds. As with the Model 7, the VSM and VCC speakers are modular, allowing upgrades to be installed as they become available. With its single coax driver, the VSM Signature's response extends from 60Hz to 21kHz (±1.5dB).

At the low end of the sonic spectrum, the Model 7 has its own integrated subwoofer, and Vandersteen recommends adding a 2Wq sub ($1450 each) to the VCC-5 and VSM Signatures so that all channels are truly full range. For this configuration, you'll also need highpass-filter modules for the center and surround channels at $500 each. If your pre/pro doesn't provide an easy-to-access LFE-mix control, you could also add a couple of V2W subs ($1450 each) for that visceral impact from movies. Both models include three 8-inch, downfiring drivers and a 300-watt amp, and they are upgradeable thanks to their modular design. The V2W adds a 12-inch passive radiator, while the 2Wq provides a single-band, fully parametric EQ, and both are equally adept at plumbing the depths down to 20Hz (-3dB).

So what's the final price tag for this ultimate Vandersteen system? A 5.1 package with two Model 7s, one VCC-5, two VSM Signatures, three 2Wqs, one V2W, and three highpass-filter modules will set you back about $56,000, while a similar 7.2 system is around $63,000. The vast majority of the cost is in the Model 7s, so you could opt for two Model 5As instead and slash about $28,000 from the bottom line. Either way, this is sure to be a sweet system that will keep you up all night watching movies and listening to music while the Vandersteen family sleeps the peaceful sleep of a job well done.

Comments

Submitted by Colin Robertson on August 3, 2009 - 12:31pm.

Sweet! Last I heard, he does not recommend using a sub with the center channel, but that was a while ago. Perhaps surround mixing has improved to the point where having a full range center doesnt make it sound muddy. Has anyone heard the 7 outside of the trade shows? I'd like to know how much better it is than the 5...

Submitted by Scott Wilkinson on August 3, 2009 - 12:49pm.

Yeah, I was a bit surprised to hear Richard Vandersteen recommend a sub for the center, but he did.

Submitted by hugues on August 3, 2009 - 3:59pm.

that ultimate system looks very interesting, but i have also a request what about an ultimate Dynaudio system, i heard that a guy in France has a surround Dynaudio system with 5 Evidence Master speakers, what do you think about that?

Submitted by Adrian on August 3, 2009 - 7:35pm.

Sound so good it put all the reviewers to sleep. There's a marketing angle I would not have thought of. Or tried.

Submitted by Scott Wilkinson on August 3, 2009 - 8:13pm.

Hugues, Dynaudio is a great idea; look for that soon. Adrian, LOL! Actually, that's the Vandersteen family—Richard along his wife, daughter, and son-in-law. I was probably a bit too obtuse in my reference to them in the last sentence of this blog entry.

Submitted by Dr. Herzenstube on August 3, 2009 - 8:24pm.

I have a 5-channel system with the Vandy Quatros, the VCC-5, and the VSM signatures. I am skeptical about the idea of the sub with the center and surrounds. Generally, Richard V.'s design approach is all about doing the right thing for the customer, and if he thought the customer needed more bass extension in the center and side channels he would have designed the side and center speakers with more bass extension! I do have one quibble with the VSM signatures, which is that they are (like most Vandersteen speakers) highly directional, so off-axis performance isn't optimal and they don't disperse side-channel sound like a dipole surround would. Richard, please design a dipole surround for your dedicated fans! The Quatros, however, are beyond reproach.

Submitted by Dave Pace on August 4, 2009 - 6:23am.

Its ironic that Vandersteen built his reputation based upon value. Several years ago I was searching for a subwoffer and auditioned Vandersteen. It could not handle the deep bass. It easily buzzed. If you want High-end buy Dynaudio.

Submitted by Al on August 4, 2009 - 9:44am.

What makes this system so much better than Revel Salon 2's to justify the additional cost? I would be interested in seeing their frequency response.

Submitted by Colin Robertson on August 4, 2009 - 1:28pm.

@Dave: You must have listened to a either broken sub, or improperly connected or set up sub. The Vandy subs are some of the natural sounding and tight subs around. They play plenty deep, but if you're looking for gobs of "slam" and pronounced bass notes, yeah, you should probably look elsewhere. @Al: Do some research. Its an apples oranges scenario. Vandersteens are highly accurate, in frequency response, time, and phase.

Submitted by F. Teixeira on August 5, 2009 - 10:01pm.

Scott, Thanks for highlighting Vandersteen's speakers. I have been traveling on business this week, and only had a bit of down-time now to check one of my favorite HT sites! I also once asked Richard Vandersteen about using a sub to augment the lower range of a center channel. Richard flatly stated that I either go with a VCC-5 (+/- 3dB to 50Hz) alone or, if using a VCC-2 or VCC-1, don't worry about it because adding a sub will tend to "muddle" the sound and reduce clarity. This would be not be ideal for dialog in movies. So, like others, I am surprised he is now recommending a center channel sub. By the way, many know that Richard is one of the hardest working people in high-end audio. Can anyone point to another speaker manufacture that a joe like me can call and talk to the speaker designer and owner of the company and get questions answered? Top-notch quality and service, and products built right here in the USA. No wonder he's taking a nap!

Submitted by Gregor Samsa on August 5, 2009 - 10:52pm.

Does anyone else remember when this site had actual reviews of equipment? You know, where they would listen to, watch, measure, etc.

Submitted by Richard Hassler on August 9, 2009 - 8:17am.

I have Quatros and a VCC-5. I used to have 2Wq's as well. I placed one on the VCC-5 with the appropriate highpass filter; and I did not like the sound with it, as much as using the Vcc-5 alone. At that time Richard was recommending using the subs with the surrounds which I cannot do in my listening room. Won't fit. I am using VLR's as the surrounds because I can't fit the VSM's on the walls either. Sounds pretty great anyway.

Submitted by Don Bingaman on October 6, 2009 - 8:04pm.

I've used a Vandersteen 5.1 system in my HT for the past 7 years, (3A Signatures, VCC-1, VSM-1, V2W sub). It always sounded pretty good, but when I got an Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 with the Audessey EQ set-up, it went up to World Class - Phenomenal !! The V2W is kind of a black sheep with Richard - he much prefers the 2WQ's with his x-over, but the V2W can play twice as loud and its output can be optimized by the Audessey processor, independent from the main speakers. Much recommended. BTW, the best survey on subs I've ever seen was done by Dick Hardesty for Widescreen Review about 5 years ago, and included distortion testing. The two BEST subs in the survey were, you guessed it, the Vandy 2WQ (#1) and the V2W (#2). Nothing from Velodyne, Bags End, Sunfire or anyone else was even close.....the three-driver, slot loaded cabinet is unique and has yet to be matched by Richard's competition. Even better, the price is right.