Von Schweikert Research VR-5 Review: Much Appreciated

I waited around like an expectant father the day the VR-5s arrived. I’d been teased by two contractions in the form of FedEx notices on my front door, as I’d missed their delivery attempts. Now, the hours were passing by and no sign of the speakers. Finally, at 4:35 I heard someone at my door. I had my friend Russell over that day to help with moving and unpacking. As I was yanking out one of about 50 large staples to get at the toys inside the boxes, Russel asked if it felt like Christmas. In a way it did, except that Christmas gifts were never so hard to open. (Not to say there is anything wrong with the packaging. You want your $7,000 speakers well buffeted.)

However, my excitement was tempered by a couple of realities. Albert Von Schweikert warned me that the speakers had no break-in—he rushed them out as soon as they were built–and he recommended 80 hours to do so. He also explained that the cabinets were imperfect and that he had filled in some of the seams with putty. While they weren’t up to his standards for selling he assured me that they were sonically to spec. He’s crazy. The finish is outstanding! In blonde maple these are gorgeous, smart looking speakers—with or without the grills, which I’ve left off. The best part was that right out of the box with no spikes and with both speakers sitting unevenly, half on an area rug, the sound was musical and a significant improvement over my bi-polar Mirages.

Von Schweikert offers a premium woofer, which is the same one included in their larger VR-7 model. This premium woofer was included in my review pair. Buttloads of colors are available for the cabinets, with certain finishes commanding an additional $1,500. If you’re willing to wait, and he can get it, I think Mr. Von Schweikert will give you just about any color you could want.

My listening room measures 13’ deep by 26’ long by 10’ high and is, sonically, moderately live. Hardwood floors are covered by two area rugs, one of which spans the distance between the speakers as well as the distance between the front and rear walls. Immediately behind the listening position I’ve hung three 21” x 42” rugs, one right next to the other. On the west long wall, which is my front wall, I’ve placed the VR-5’s on either side of my TV and equipment. The right wall consists mostly of two large windows, sometimes covered in metal blinds, while the left walls are uneven distances from the speakers. There are a couple of pictures in the March/April ’99 issue, which are still fairly accurate. The most notable changes is that where there used to be only one large painting and there are now three. Also, the large area rug now goes all the way to the front wall and ends under my listening sofa, which is up against the rear wall. See http://www.planethifi.com/planethifi5/covermar99.html.

I spent a fair amount of time placing these speakers. Nothing like when I owned Martin Logan CLSes, mind you, but about one hour of moving, all told. Where I’m at now has the speakers’ tweeters 9’ from my head, 8’ from each other, and 44” from the front wall. I sit with my ears about a foot from the rear wall. The left tweeter is 95” from the nearest left wall and the right tweeter is 78” from the right wall, and both tweeters are 86” from the ceiling. The speakers are toed in, pointing directly at my head, and they’re tilted back. I want the midrange and tweeters pointing directly at me. These speakers don’t make any unmusical sound, and since their resolution is such a treat I want all of it.

I burned the hell out of these speakers. Per the owner’s manual, I played loud rock-n-roll music with the bass, loudness, and treble controls cranked. There is also a rear-firing tweeter, designed to add a sense of extension in the highs, with a level control. I cranked that one, too.[1] After 80 hours of this workout I sat down to record my impressions. What struck me first was their immediacy—this was the case even before they were broken in. I’ve enjoyed greater vocal clarity than I’ve ever heard in my system. Cable television and DVD sources gave up their dialog with wonderful enunciation. I could understand at least 90% of the words from Bruce Springsteen’s “She’s The One,” from Born To Run—not a clean sounding recording by any stretch. (I finally broke down and bought this after waiting about 10 years to run across an audiophile CD version. Waiting for the audiophile release was stupid. I denied myself years of enjoyment.)

It’s quite apparent that these speakers give up more information than most. I’ve never before heard a speaker at this price point that allows me to follow the intricacies of a piece as precisely as this pair. Their sound is quite up front, while giving me at least as much depth as I’ve heard from any other system. (Claims about and concerns for depth are exaggerated and misplaced, respectively—at least to this rock-n-roller.) At the same time, the VR-5’s have a dark sound. Snare drum, for instance, might sound a bit like it’s in a can rather than the white sounding rat-a-tat-tat that the real thing has. Still, the representation is very plausible, and my experience here might easily be a function of system matching.

Sounds, which I hadn’t noticed before, presented themselves while I was listening only casually. In particular, vocalists’ breaths and newfound attributes of various bass instruments were everywhere to be discovered. Both presented themselves to me on the not so well recorded “Brick,” from Ben Folds Five’s Whatever and Ever Amen.

Bass was taut and maintained its correct balance. Playing the Beastie Boys “Lighten Up” the bass was overblown—as per the genre–though fast. On Suzanne Vega’s 99.9F°, the bass was an equal part of the mix, as it should be. I’ve never heard bass this good at anywhere near this price, and I’m not sure I have heard it this good at any price. I really enjoyed playing recordings with overblown bass, to see how the VR-5s handled it. Paul Chambers’ bass playing from Kind of Blue’s “So What” comes in way too robust on most systems—not so with the VR-5’s in this system. Not only that, but the bass playing stayed articulate—not simply audible–throughout the song. I was particularly enlightened as I noticed, for the first time, the quick bass notes at the beginning of “Freddie Freeloader.” If you don’t know what I’m talking about you haven’t heard it, and if you do know what I’m talking about then you have some idea about the VR-5’s bass. This was the area of greatest improvement over the M3Si’s.[2]

I’ve yet to hear an unmusical peep out of the VR-5’s—for which I’m most grateful. The Eggleston Works Rosa, in my system not too long ago, also offered a monster-truck load of new information, but with bright white lines painted around each newfound nugget. The Rosas gave my system an unpleasant, aggressive sound—yet I wanted to like them because they were so damn fast and detailed. You could forget about playing them the least bit loud. Ouch! On the other hand, these VR-5s are also very quick and detailed, yet there is nothing annoying about them. And do they still sound good at loud levels? My ears could have bled before these speakers lost their cool.

I’ve been listening a lot to the Vienna Acoustics Mahler ($9,800), in a larger, warmer sounding room. Associated equipment, including a Meridian 508.24 CD player, Creek passive volume control or McIntosh C42 preamplifier, Mac MC352 or Bryston 4B amplifier, and Tara cabling, is close to what I use at home. The Mahlers are, unquestionably, an amazingly musical and revealing speaker. They’re also $2,800 more than the review pair of VR5s. While the Mahlers bass may not be quite as tight and fast as the VR-5’s, it’s fantastic bass nonetheless. The Mahlers offer as much detail as the VR5s, yet with a warmer and somehow more inviting sound. Consider the acoustic guitar strumming on Sherryl Crow’s “All I Wanna Do Is Have Some Fun.” The cavity of the guitar was audible on the Mahlers and not on the VR-5’s. The audibility of this particular range of frequencies, the lower mid-range, very much defines the differences I hear. I don’t know which speaker is telling the truth. Anyway, these impressions are not the final word due to the room and system differences I noted. What I want you to take away is that the VR-5’s are playing in the same league. That’s high praise. Indeed, the VR-5’s may be the truer speaker.

I’m really wondering how the VR-5’s compare with the discontinued VR-6’s. While this latter model impressed me considerably more than the VR-5’s do, it was too long ago for me to make point for point comparisons. I remember hearing scads of information I’d never before heard from a reproduction, and I remember the presentation being extremely musical and well balanced. On the other hand, the VR-6’s were connected to $20,000 KR Enterprises amps, and I’d heard far less top-notch reproduction at that point in my life. I hope to hear the VR6s within a few months, in my own system, to help put things in perspective. Albert Von Schweikert insists that the VR-5 is a more accurate speaker than the VR-6. That’s a bold claim given that a pair of VR-6’s listed for $13,500.

I’ve spoken to all that the VR-5’s do well, but what is it that they could do better? Certainly, the sound of my system with these speakers was not perfection.[3] I didn’t hear the effortless changes in dynamics that I heard listening to the Pipe Dreams system at the 2000 CES (see the Jan/Feb 2000 issue)—it costs over $30,000. I didn’t hear the palpability and I didn’t hear the truth of timbre that I would from a live performance. I didn’t hear the high frequencies as open and extended as they should be. But, I did hear a speaker that’s making me lick my lips and glance to the drawer where I keep my checkbook.

Mr. Von Schweikert has combined an upfront presentation and scads of detail, without any sonic nasties. This is not a speaker that demands you suffer unnatural sound so that you can enjoy select areas of excellence. Everything this speaker does is appreciated. For the money, I don’t know a better speaker. Aesthetically, they’re a no-brainer. Again I’ll compare them with Vienna, which is a gorgeous line, and say that the VR-5 looks better. Highly recommended.

DENNIS’s REFERENCE SYSTEM:

XS Technologies Strata 1000 power line conditioner >> Sony DVP-S7700 DVD player >> Monster M1000D digital coaxial cable >> Meridian 568 as a digital to analog converter only >> Creek OBH-10 passive volume control >> Bel Canto EVo 200.2 amplifier >> Tara Air 2 speaker cable >> Mirage M-3si loudspeakers. All of the electronics sit on a Salamander Synergy equipment rack.

Other equipment used:

Meridian 568 surround sound preamplifier McIntosh C38 preamplifier Spendor S1 loudspeakers

Power cables used:

Custom House Power Cord on the 568, Stock cord on the Bel Canto EVo 200.2 amplifier

* See back issues for reviews on the XS Technologies Strata 1000 power line conditioner, Krell KAV-500i integrated amplifier, and the Tara Air 2 speaker cable.

[1] The manual is most instructive–not just about the speakers but about hifi in general. Mr. Von Schweikert should sell it separately.

[2] I’m as certain as anyone can be that if you’re looking to spend as much as $3,000 on speakers and you don’t look to get a pair of used M-3si’s—they’re discontinued—that you’re making an incredible mistake. Maybe that’s a little strong, as one has to consider their less than stellar appearance and the room required to let them sing. Mine are sold already, should you suspect that I’m looking to unload my pair!

[3] There is no such thing as the sound of a speaker, just as there is no such thing as the sound of any single component. There is only the sound of the system.

For the next stage of this same system, continue to the VR-5 bi-amping follow-up; Clement Perry’s earlier VR6 review supplies a useful historical comparison.