partnering vsa VR4 sr loudspeakers?

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gavman

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hello all !

would dearly love some advice, as am about to have a major system overhaul. here goes:

current speakers:

alon iv mk 2's

poss replacement;
(£5k-ish)
von schewert VR4 sr (new)
nola viper reference (new)

current power amp:

krell ksa100mk2

potential replacements:
(£5k ish)
yba passion stereo 600 (new)
edge electronics "
boulder 500ae monos (secondhand)
opinions?

current pre:

audio research sp14

replacements:
a bit clueless here- probaly not top priority now
opinions????? replacement must have phono + abillity to run 2 different power amps

turntable:
cranfield rock, excalibur arm, reson rica cartridge
no plans to change turntable, just overhaul and bearing upgrade
open to cartridge suggestions

cd cource:

none!!
options:
(up to £5k-ish)
yba
gryphon mikado
shanling
ideas??


some time dj, music varied, reggae, breakbeat, drum&bass, pink floyd, gabriel, kruder and dorfmeister... emphasis on bass, dynamics and slam, must also feel "musical"
but i have also grown used to the alon's fantastic soundstage and breathiness....
inclined to run solid state power and valve pre amp, with possibillity of bi-amping with valves for the mid/tops and transistor for bass

i very much look forward to hearing your ideas, also regarding interconnects and (wall mounted) turntable supports.

many thanks, gav
 
Bluenote Stibbert CD with Valve output £2995.
ASR Emitter 1 or 1 Exclusive £3800-£5200
EVA Proteus integrated £4600
A pair of Gershman Avant garde's £5000
ASR mini basis phonostage. £500
ZYX cartridge
 
Hi Gav,

I was VSA's old UK distributor here in the UK and have myself been a DJ in my past life. I crave the same all-round performance from a system as you it seems as I want the bass from the serious amounts of electronic music I listen to but yet delicacy, timbre and timing for classical, Jazz and acoustic works.

My music collection is extremely ecclectic but then as a DJ you will probably understand how we have a completist and collectable nature with many forms of music.

I lived in the USA for a little over four-years myself and hunted around for suitable speakers for my system. I had also considered many brands for sale over here but nothing 'floated my boat'.

When I came across VSA I was amazed at how much they did right, especially as I was always quite adament that you will never find a speaker that does everything equally well.

The speakers I chose while living in the States were a pair of the VR-4.5 Silver Anniversaries (silver wired Hovland editions). I had these mated to a Krell KSA-100 MKII power amp with a Krell KSPA-7 pre-amp seriously modified by Krell themselves to almost reference standard.

My front end was a Michell Gyro Export with QC power supply, modified Rega RB900 tonearm and Orotfon MC3000 MKII cartridge. Digital front end was a Meridian transport and separate DAC.

Once I got into VSA from a business stand-point I looked at various different amplifiers to put into my portfolio and at the time signed up KR Audio and Sophia Electric, both valve state manufacturers. KR had partnered with VSA for a period and Simon Phipps who is the current UK distributor for VSA will tell you wonderful things when hearing VSA partnered with the KR Kronzilla's (I think the Dutch distributor for VSA still partners them with KR).

Personally, I think VSA could be an extremely powerful presence in the UK market if people got to hear them, they make the Living Voice speakers sound dry and very dark, and the big ProAc's like cheap boxy units IMHO. Trouble is I had to stop because of my poor health and I'm not sure where Simon is in getting the speakers out at the shows and with dealers.

Best thing would be to call Simon Phipps to see what he has for you to demo. But like anything, best to just try and listen with your ears rather than read too much into biased opinions like my own,...lol

PM me if you want any other info.

With regard to interconnects send Zanash a PM, he makes his owns cables and is a great resource on here. Not heard his cables myself but others have good things to say.

For wall mounted turntable supports you could look at Something Solid, he makes a unit at the moment I believe and would also consider making a custom unit if you ask nicely hehe
 
lol bottleneck...many thanks all

sounds like good advice- i'll be getting in touch with simon in the near future.

what do we think about bi-amping, with a single pre amp feeding valves for mids and tops and solid state bass?
i want to keep the current delivery of the krell (don't we all) but in a more musical package- tried the plinius but it traded current for musicality. i've been told that the yba passion or edge electronics nl series may be the answer..?
my alon's are very revealing, and i'm certain their replacements will be also, so care needs to be taken- my current combo can be a little too "forward" sounding (maybe american?) but has fantastic dynamics, soundstaging and bass extension, none of which i want to lose!
ok, i kno i sound like a spoilt child but hopefully i'm among
fellow sufferers here

aka neighbours
 
I know Micheal would say Edge gear would work. ;)

But I prefer the ASR Emitter. I know I keep banging on about it but it does everything. Untill you switch it off. Never ever switch the thing off.

Or try one of my amps.
 
right, complete and utter newb etc hardly use a computer I KNOW, but where can i find a review of this emitter, and also the Boulder 500ae (monos) ?
er, and the yba passion 600 stereo while we're at it?

in fact, where do you goes go when you needs reviews?
is it just a case of stumping up for back issues of stereophile?
i been out the loop tuning cars for over a decade.

bloody cd's are still here though- clearly not been gone long enough

much thankingness

gav
 
the proteus looks nice, but ultimately not enough welly for my battered ears..

possible bi-amp contender ?
(mids and tops)

perhaps the emitter has it all covered....

very curious now. it's a bit, er, challenging, in the looks department, isn't it?
is it an integrated? i'm easily confused by things like volume knobs.
a review and uk price would be most helpful, anyone?

many thanks again
 
The ASR Emitter is an intergrated with outboard powere supplies.
The Emitter 1 is quite a lot smaller then the 11.

there are no UK reviews but check out the Absolute sound Mag review by Harry pearson. He uses 2 ASR's on his Nola Grand Reference. and check the link to the sterephile review. Check both pages.


http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/1006asr/

I hope this is of use to you

1006asr.1.jpg
 
THe Mikardo is a nice player, however the X-03se does take it to another level. (Quite happy to demo that!)
The emitter is good, edge OK, own a sig 12.1 all right, not much emotion or passion though, ok power bling looks.
V/S I find wrong had this conversion many times, you do need a long listen to them before commiting imo
A real pre helps a lot too
So many 'unbiased opinions here' lol!!!!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
One more unbiased opinion: Lyngdorf TDA 2200 with RoomPerfect. Perfect partner for the VR4.
 
Each one to its own. I like the way the TDA 2200 makes music in some systems. However, I do like my own system better... ;)
 

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