Von Schweikert Research VR6 Review: The Last Speaker for Me

NEVER before in my short audio career have I felt this happy and satisfied with my system as right now. I know that most audiophiles have a very tough time setting up and finding the best possible equipment to suit their budget and hopefully take them over the edge. And what a struggle it is to accomplish this feat. In the past three years, I have had over ten pairs of amplifier and speaker combos alone, in one form or another. Don’t even mention DAC and transport combos, been there and done that too. But, if you’re lucky, the possible result of this journey (if you can call it that) is the opportunity to treasure something rare– a discovery of what is best for you!

The best FOR YOU is not necessarily what some reviewer or salesman says is best; my friends, that’s called growing up (or wising up!). I’ve had my growing pains in this journey for nirvana, took my bumps and bruises by selling a stereo component at a loss to buy something that "someone else" thought was "right" for me. Only, of course, to find that what I had sold the day before was in fact more pleasing!

My maturation period began when I heard both the Balanced Audio Technology amplifiers and Ed Meitner’s Bidat D to A converter. Once heard, these products became my reference. Then along came the VR-4’s, from Von Schweikert Research, which was love at first listen. I immediately fell prey to this speaker’s unlimited dynamics, accurate frequency response, and bass prowess. But nothing prepared me for the latest design from Albert Von Schweikert.

Covering HiFi 97 in San Francisco for the Audiophile Voice led fellow writer Chinh Chu and myself to the Von Schweikert/BAT room numerous times during the show. I remember raving over this speaker, actually preferring it to the larger VR-8. "I know this has the be the best sound of the show" is all I kept repeating to Albert. His only answer was "then it must be so, Clement." (Their room did win Best Sound Of The Show, Second Place.) Upon my return home I continued to enjoy the VR-4.5’s which I had just bought. However, excuse the pun, I felt I had "left my heart in San Francisco" with the VR-6’s. Within a few months I was torturing myself: how would they sound in my room? I gave Albert the phone call I swore to my family and friends I wouldn’t make: because I’m very happy with my VR-4.5’s, thank you very much! "Well", said Albert, "what took you so long to call?" Albert knows me pretty well these days, I ordered the VR-6’s.

When they arrived at my home I was quite surprised at the size of the shipment. Forget UPS, their massive 400 lb combined shipping weight requires motor freight a necessity. My mother, who happened to be visiting, became ecstatic under the impression that I’d bought her the new washer and dryer she’d been hoping for! "I’ve never heard of the Von Schweikert washer and dryer", she exclaimed!

Albert takes no chances with these sweethearts when in comes to shipping as a large portion of VSR’s production goes to Europe. Before listening, there was quite a bit of unpacking to do and although the setup is quite elaborate, it’s not really that difficult. I marveled at the dark red cherry finish, easily the most beautiful I’ve every had the pleasure of casting my eye upon. I also was quite relieved that the VR-6 is both sleeker and less bulky looking than the VR-4.5. The 52" inch two- piece tower consists of a six driver array weighing in at 175 lbs. Two 1" Focal inverted titanium dome tweeters are used, one rear mounted for ambience retrieval. The Dimensional Retrieval control is located on the input terminal cup above the metal binding posts. This control allows the listener to adjust the ambience and depth of the sound field to his room and listening taste. Since the two enclosures each have their own binding posts, jumpers at least 42" long are a necessity unless you plan to biwire, which Albert recommends. Dual 5 ½" woven carbon fiber midrange drivers are employed from 125Hz up to 3kHz.These are the same drivers used in the 4.5, but are paired up and wired in parallel to achieve the 96dB sensitivity Albert felt was essential. Dense cabinet walls up to 3" thick are extensively cross braced to eliminate unwanted resonances. In addition, Albert has isolated the drivers from the cabinet by designing gaskets made from plasticene. The midrange and treble module floats in a "cradle" by means of two side bolts, allowing for azimuth alignment. Reminiscent of a pendulum in a fashion, the M/T module can now be tilted up or down to compensate for listening distance and position. This fanatical attention to detail does not stop there, however. The cradle comes equipped with a trio of Black Diamond Racing Cones (from DJ Casser) which rest upon BDR carbon fiber pucks inserted into the wood tops of the woofer enclosure. This "war" on resonance provides a state of the art isolation system in my opinion.

The woofer section, though measuring 16" wide by 26" high by 22" deep is really only 12" wide without the "cheeks," giving the appearance of being slender. Twin 9" Nomex and Kevlar honeycomb woofers from Germany are used, each isolated in it’s own aperiodically tuned enclosure. The rear of the enclosure sports two 5" trumpet flared vents. Dacron stuffing is used to eliminate cavity resonance and tighten the bass remarkably. Staggered wall thickness ranges from 1" to 3" depending on the location. The "cheeks" are dampened as well with a filling of plaster to eliminate their possible resonance. Giant brass spikes are supplied along with brass rests (to prevent wood floors).

Von Schweikert Research’s proprietary 24dB per octave crossover slopes formed by cascades of low order filters, (the so-called "Global Axis Integration Network" tm) supposedly ensures greater accuracy than other types of crossover designs. It is claimed that this circuit, along with the Acoustic Inverse Replication tm theory (the speaker behaving like a microphone in reverse), is responsible for life-like imaging. We shall see.

Evaluation was done with the Meitner front end combo, consisting of the Bidat DAC and CD-D transport. The Z Systems RDP-1 digital preamp was controlling the signal via NBS digital coax from the transport and the Illuminati Balanced out to the DAC. Reference amplifiers are the new KR Enterprise 800 Transducer mono blocks with zero negative feedback, a pure Class A single ended design. The Balanced Audio Technology VK-1000 and Clayton M70 mono’s were also used driving the VR-4.5’s for comparison’s sake. The digital components rested on Osiris Aerial Pneumatic stands. The VR-6’s were placed on Osiris Ginza bases along with the amplifiers. All other cabling, including the power cords, are Custom House Barracuda. Renaissance Audio’s new Water Cables from Norway (review coming) also spent some time in the system. The new Electra Glide Reference and Standard power cords were used on the digital equipment. (See reviews at www. Planet Hi Fi.com). Mike Kochman’s Echo Busters and Double Busters traps are used throughout my listening room.

Setup was essentially the same as will all speakers at the Perry house: about five feet from the front wall, three feet from the sides, and with slight toe in. Listening closely at seven and a half feet make me a near field kind of guy, but that sounds best in my small room. After a 150 hour break-in using the Purist Audio burn in CD, I determined that the speakers were ready for evaluation. Albert feels that the speakers sound their best at 300 hours, but I was chompin’ at the bit to hear what these babies could do! I was ready to rummmmmmmmmmmble!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First disc up was music of J.S. Bach by the sensational Arturo Delmoni and Nathaniel Rosen "Music For A Glass Bead Game" (John Mark JMR15). First of all, the sound was highly natural and effortless. There was less "artificiality" than I have noticed on other speakers in my experience. Arturo Delmoni’s performance now unlocked a vast amount of emotion that formerly escaped me. I am convinced that there is such a thing as emotional information that less than perfect setups will often miss. Which is why some systems, despite how great sounding, somehow manage to leave me dry. The sense of "realism" attributed to the "Virtual Reality" moniker truly differentiates Albert’s designs from the pack! "This is no small difference" I jotted down in my notebook. The pitch of Arturo’s violin somehow came across intact in ways hard to describe, not just clearer or more open, but "real." Inner detail was much better than I’ve heard before, adding more space between the performers. The upper treble was airy and had plenty of light and sparkle. The tweeters seemed to go up forever, the sky wasn’t a limit! Never once did I notice any harshness or "attention seeking behavior."

Switching over to the Clayton amplifiers was a treat. The midrange became even more sweet and delicate, even at high volume levels. This performance was more natural than I’ve heard with the VR-4.5’s. Albert says, and I do agree, that his products are all cut from the same cloth. I say he uses a better fabric in the VR-6! The Clayton M70’s at 70 watts per channel convey the same amount of power and finesse on the VR-6’s as the BAT’s 500 watts per channel do with the VR-4.5’s. It becomes quickly apparent that you do not need much power to get to "eviction notice" levels. The VR-6’s have an uncanny ability of imparting as little of itself on the music as I have ever heard from a dynamic speaker system. Making them more transparent than the Maggie 3.3’s I once owned.

Were the Black Diamond Cones partly responsible for this magic, I pondered, unscrewing them from the cradle. After placing the M/T module "naked" on the woofer enclosures, I bellowed a very loud "Wow!" The first thing I noticed was a de-focusing of the image, like looking through binoculars that are not adjusted. Second was a dose of "emphasis" that sounded like a thickening and slowing of the midrange frequencies. The VR-6 was obviously designed with the BDR products and might not improve other speakers this dramatically, however. I hurriedly screwed the cones back on and started experimenting with toe-in and azimuth. Albert suggests that aiming the tweeter at the chest will allow the speaker to disappear; this must be true because the VR-6 just gets up and walks out the room, leaving only the music hanging in space before you.

Tom Jung’s exceptional recording of "Just Jobim" by Manfredo Fest (DMP CD-524) is the third in a series of recordings incorporating Direct Stream Digital (better known as DSD). I was also fortunate enough to be present at this recording down at Sony Studios in New York City. As a guest of Ed Meitner, who is working closely with this format with Sony, I had the pleasure of watching the performance being recorded live to DSD. When I received an advance copy for PHF’s staff and played it back through the VR-6’s, I was astonished at how the sound closely resembled what I had heard in the studio! (Of course it didn’t sound "exactly" like the original event). Through the VR-6’s I remembered exactly where Manfredo performed on stage during the recording. I also remembered Ed Meitner whispering very funny jokes during this quiet and reverent recording, which of course made matters worse for me because I couldn’t stop laughing as Tom Jung gave me that grade school teacher’s stare. (My sixth grade teacher would stare at me like that after catching me firing a spit ball into some girl’s ear.)

Next, switching to my new reference tube amps, the new KR Reference VT 800 SE mono blocks, reminded me of a scene from the movie Hell Raiser 2 where the scene when the doctor, unwillingly, turns into one of the monsters and realizing his newfound powers exclaims "and to think I hesitated."

Going deep in my jazz library, I pulled out the powerful recording of John Coltrane’s Quartet entitled "Crescent" (Impulse IPMD200). The KR 800/ VR-6 combination proved instantly what a jem of a recording this is, both artistically and spiritually. This recording from 1961 was an instant classic and now has become a jazz standard. This speaker/amp combo proves Coltrane’s spirit is very much alive in his recordings. His insatiable appetite for complex chords always searching, always yearning for more, was never more apparent. Inner subtleties of complex notes are further revealed. ‘Tranes incessant lyrical style expressed through his sheets of sound never sounded more like the real thing. His tenor sax became alive though the KR/VR combo, with such transparency that the performance penetrated my very soul. Causing me to rejoice that such treasures as this have been stored away for posterity on CD (believe me, 16 bit 44.1 sampling isn’t as bad as some think). Yet I became saddened by the realization that yet another of the greatest jazz musicians of all time is no longer with us. Miles, Monk, Dizzy, and Mingus are a few others that come to mind. Thank God, the VR-6 can provide a platform for me to suspend disbelief and "believe" that ‘Trane was blowing away in my room like never before. Treat yourself to track three called "Lonnies Lament" and in seconds you will notice the clarity of Jimmy Garrison’s playing on the upright bass, complete with his exact stage position. McCoy Tyner playing piano alongside Elvin Jones on the drums is cohesion personified. ‘Tranes sound transcended the electronics it was playing through, a first for me. Something beautiful to behold, yet only becoming possible using such transducers as the VR-6’s and the KR 800 monoblocks.

My room, although small at 13 x 16, amazingly does allow 20Hz bass response to develop. I even know what 20Hz "feels" like, thank you. Listen to Chabrier’s "Espana Rhapsody" on the HDCD Reference Recordings "Ports Of Call" by Euji Oue/ Minnesota Orchestra (RR-80 CD) so see if this disc provides enough bass punch on your present speakers. The VR-6’s bass is so effortless that dynamics come with fantastic control, allowing accurate timbre and bass timing. Dynamic contrast, as when things are quiet and then they get REALLY loud, was the best I’ve heard anywhere. This type of reproduction can get you into a nervous state, with remote in hand. Yet at the same time I never noticed any strain or harshness.

Spatial presentation through this system simply has to be heard to be believed. It’s ability to recreate a realistic image size, whether large or small, exists beyond the boundaries of the speakers themselves. I found many occasions where I just had to open my eyes to see if the speakers were really there. The music seems to simply emerge from this black landscape, spotlit only around the instruments, creating a vividly palpable three dimensional space. Images lock in rock solid, so much in fact, that you can literally walk up and touch the performers!

Quiet passages became so utterly quiet that I actually noticed myself breathing at times, necessitating a reality check. Harry Pearson, writing in the April issue of Fi, had hinted at the performance capabilities of the Von Schweikert Research VR-8, and noted many of these amazing accomplishments. HP had also mentioned that the VR-8’s had the ability to allow equipment changes to be dramatically revealed. I also found this to be true of the VR-6. When partnered with the KR 800 SE monoblocks, the VR-6’s are capable of reproducing music unlike anything I have heard anywhere. There are very few things in life that offer the perfect one-two combo like these two products, it’s a partnership of divine magnitude. Together, they flood your listening room with realism to a degree that I’ve never experienced before, period.

My equipment, in fact, is no longer the source of my passion, it’s now the music, and shouldn’t it have always been this way? Become part of the action, reach out and touch the performers if you want.

The line dividing illusion and Reality has gotten a lot thinner in my confines. Unmistakably, Albert has designed a statement product surely able to do battle with much more expensive competitors. It is clearly in cahoots with the KR 800 SE’s, where it really starts to show it’s stuff.

The "Brass Ear" along with "Left Channel Louie" Lanase, along with many others in our audio group here in the Big Apple, have concluded that the VR-6 is at the very top of the state of the art. Several have placed orders and now have their once cherished speaker systems up for grabs. Mind you, this speaker demands the very best in ancillary equipment. Supply the special ingredients with the VR-6 and you too should agree. Clearly, this world beating speaker system must be considered a "steal" in this era of increasingly expensive statement speakers. Even at $12,500, this is a bargain, and must be auditioned by anyone wishing to spend up to $100,000 on new speakers. Albert has made possible a "last" speaker for me and many other critical listeners. Naturally, I put my money where my heart was, and bought the review pair.

CP’s listening room –

The VR6 listening story leads naturally to Dennis Hartwick’s later Von Schweikert VR-5 review; our amplifier and speaker matching guide explains the electrical principles behind these system choices.