Legendary bookshelf speakers, fluid hights ,tight and sturdy low-end, and lots of spacial information, by far the most spacius 3d soundstage I have ever heard, they also sound very big for their size. Indeed on some amps they can sound a little to bright as with my gainclone chipamp, a small and cheap modification on the crossovers did wonders on that, also made the sound even more organic and fluid like.

Mod: add a 0,22uf russian paper in oil capacitor ontop of the
tweeter capacitor on the crossover, I used the k42 type.

I upgraded to the VR-1s after owning the B&W DM303, Tyler Acoustics Mini Monitors and Ascend Acoustics Sierra's. They were the best of the bunch. Excellent high end detail, good tight bass and acceptable midrange. The soundfield was wide with excellent imaging. Vocals float up to the ceiling on certain tracks, and the resolution is better than any of the speakers I have used. The B&W's had detail but were too bright. The Tylers also had a smooth top end but were not as balanced and the bass was way too weak for me. In contrast the Ascends had great high end details and bass but the midrange was almost non-existant. Certain instruments just disappeared from the soundfield when I switched from the VR-1's to the Sierra's. I had to switch back to make sure my ears weren't deceiving me, but the details returned with the VR-1's. My only complaint was that the high end can be a bit bright at times. Cables (which I didn't think mattered ) do tame the higher frequencies so the listening fatigue is reduced, but long listening sessions still became a bit irritating even though I was using a tube amp. with warm tubes EL84s.
Overall a very good speaker for the price. I eventually moved on to a pair of Vandersteen 1C's which had some improvements over the VR-1 (review also posted)

Strengths:
High end detail, accurate bass and good midrange. Excellent imaging and wide soundstage.

Weaknesses:
Can be a tad bright depending on amplifier and upstream components. Cables helped in this regard.

Separation, soundstage, easy to drive

NONE for me

Very Sweet sounding in my own opinion. Bass is quite relevant for its size. Spatial dimension is wide for its size. Neutral and no noise fatigue experienced during extended listening hours.

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Proac Studio 110

Good bass extension for size, musical, nice "bloom," room-filling sound. Top end is extended but not harsh. Mids are neutral in the good sense.

Not as fast as advertised in the treble (certainly not "ribbon" like); microdynamics are good but not great (in my view).

A good performer at the price paid, but I can't be as enthused as others who precede me here. I did think it was well balanced and reasonably neutral, and had good bass for its size. I tried them with an NAD M3, so I think I heard them near their best. They were musical and room-filling, but I just couldn't get that excited. My little Linn Tukans (same price on the used market) are simply better in every way, except bass extension, which I don't care about as I run dual subs. The Tukans image better, have better spacial information, have a tighter, taughter presentation, are faster, have better PrAT, and have one of the best tweeters ever made by anyone ever. I will say the VR1s have a nice "bloom" to them, and this can be rather endearing, and perhaps even critical to some people.

I used to have a pair of Totem 1's, and I didn't find them too special either.

Its all about what floats your boat, I suppose. On the other hand, if some spealers weren't objectively "better" than others, no one would need to spend $100,000 on speakersI I've tried to list the objective things that most people hear differences in when auditioning gear.

I think these are a pretty good value for the money. But they didn't make me want to dance or sing (which if you do like me, would be a good reason to buy the VR1s).

If you plan to use subs, I think your money would be better spent on monitors that don't try to go that low (you pay for bass driver engineering). But used alone, I think these are a very good (but not great) compromise between deep bass and good imaging - very nice for smaller rooms like mine.

Neutral, uncolored. Good stereo image and depth but... (see weakness)
Small, well build.
Very level output. (within 5 db from 80 - 15.000 Hz, falling - 10 db to 20.000).
Far more better spreading than the Quads.
As being a musician I know how a trombone or a saxophone or a double bass sound. Well, VR1 gives the real reproduction, if the recording is ok.

Maybe the box form spoiles slightly spreading the stereo image, only a little bit.
These chassis speakers build in a tube will give an better stereo image: no reflections of the frontside. Then they will be really unsurpassed.

After using Quad 55's that grew too old and the cost of repairing was very high, I looked for speakers as neutral as the Quads.
Other esl's are too high in price and I heard at l'Atout, a small Dutch dealer, the VR1's in combination with good recordings and excellent valve amps (Graaf, Italian made) At last I had found what I was looking for.
I was astonished , because the quality was close to the Quads, and the price not too sky high. (in the US better - about 900$ - than here).
Result with my valve amps: excellent natural sound.
With an added subwoofer there's nothing to wish.
Until now I did not hear a better set.
I'm curious to hear the priciest Von Schweikerts.

Similar Products Used:

KEF, B&W, Quad 55, several other brands

compete very well at 4 times the price point

none

Wow. Used MANY monitors and this one is stunning. Forget B&W and KEF and Tannoy. Totem or PSB and possibly Proac are in the runnign but this is my favorite monityor ever. Just buy them. you will not be disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, KEF, Tannoy, Klipsch.

Solid build: full MDF with a thick front baffle. Absolutely no rattles even at full power, very impressive Sound reproduction: clean, reference like. Very little distortion, clean tight bass. Absolutely proper midrange reproduction, why I like them. Superb imaging!

Need to be on good solid stands to reproduce reference sound.

Talk about a solid build monitor speaker, the VR-1. This is a true bargain and it doesn't come often. I've auditioned this monitor against Tannoy, Mission, B&W, and a few more including Totem Rainmaker. The VR-1 and Totems performed, within a price range up to $3000 CAD, what we all call 'reference'. I personally like sound reproduction from monitors positioned on solid metal speaker stands, it is very accurate reference like. True the sound is not huge, but it is pin point accuracy and very clean. If you are planning to use this speaker in a larger room than consider a music subwoofer to complement the low frequency rolloff below 45 Hz.

Similar Products Used:

Tannoy (avoid) B&W (avoid) Mission Polk Totem (a close call, awesome speakers!)

Solid wide and deep soundstage Accurate reproduction top to bottom. Sound great at all volumes with no roll off. Tight bass, smooth and natural mids and highs.

Just a tad forward (no big deal here really)

I won't echo too much of what has already been stated here. The VR-1's are incredible reference grade monitors in a small package. The soundstage is much wider than the edge of the boxes, extends fairly deep and well into the ceiling. As said in other reviews the bass cuts off quite a bit beyond 40-45Hz but what you do hear is tight, accurate and fast. What amazed me most about the VR-1's and keeps me awe inspired recording after recording is how you hear the instruments and the "whole" instrument note after note with each being precisely placed in the soundstage. I love re-listening to all my cd’s now because I am hearing so much more of them than I have ever heard before and that's what the VR-1's are really all about. They are able to bring you back time and time again listening to your favorite recordings hour after hour with stunning preciseness, incredible soundstage and all without the least bit of fatigue. I will disagree with one of the reviewers who indicated that these speakers could even approach being cited for brightness. The top end is smooth and natural once fully broken in. I have not heard the least bit of graininess or harshness in them at all. I listened to a ton or speakers before deciding on the VR-1's and honestly you can do better (if only a little) but you better be ready to spend a WHOLE lot more. At retail for both the stand sand speakers I would have ratedthe value at a 4 but the purchase price I listed included the matching stands and the pair was immaculate so they merited the 5 for me.

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned Proac 1SC, Proac Tablettes, B&W 805's, Spendor 3/5's and too many other to list.

Very articulate. Throw a 3 dimensional soundstage.

Can be a little bright with the wrong gear. Not the last word in bass response but one of the best bass producers in it's class.

Great standmount speaker. Does some pretty amazing things with how it soundstages and images. I have never heard a speaker do this without DSP before. A little pricey and nearly a grand but I got these as factory seconds. The finish is not perfect. So what, neither is my hearing. Can sound a little bright at times but that could be my front end and amp (NAD C320BEE and Denon DV2200). For anyone with doubts about this speaker or any speaker's ability to play bass, get SUPER BASS 2 on Telarc. This disc sounds fantastic on the VR-1's. Now I am thinking about getting the matching VSA sub to go with these puppy's.

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You name it, I've auditioned it in my home or owned it from $100 to $2000 price range in book shelf speakers. The ones I've kept are Aerial 5b's, VSA VR-1's, Infinity Primus 150, and Boston CR65.

Integration of tweeter and midrange. Looks (with and without the grills). Strong mid-bass. Non-fatiguing highs. Realism, transparency. Female voices. Lots of air.

None for a stand mount, except the usual lack of low bass. They do tend to fall off around relative high, around 65hz, and some others go lower, but as I mentioned, they are amazingly flat, if much lower in db, in the bass area.

My setup: Sony NC555ES DVD/CD changer Rotel RC-1090 pre amp Rotel RB-1080 power amp PS Audio xStream Statement interconnects PS Audio xStream Prelude power cables PS Audio Ultimate Outlet high current Analysis Plus Oval 9 speaker cables Von Schweikert VR-1 speakers --------------------- The VR-1s are fantastic stand mount speakers. Seamless from top to bottom, they're only missing the lowest bass (below about 45hz). With proper front end gear, including power, these have very satisfying bass and mid-bass - the kind that fills the room and appears to come from a foot or two from the floor. The bass from acoustic guitar is well delineated, but perhaps a bit lower in volume. With proper cabling they easily convey the weight of an orchestra, or anything with lots of mid bass. The transparency is excellent and revealing of front end changes. They can easily keep up with front end upgrades. The highs are not bright, but nicely extended and non-fatiguing. Power quality greatly effects how these perform at all frequencies. I did some measurements and found (in my room at least) they were flat (20 db down) from 45 to 22hz! So, if you turn it up, you will hear a lot of low bass information, just not at the correct volume.

Similar Products Used:

Owned: Mission 731i, Mirage FRx7 Auditioned: B&W 601,602,CM2, Vienna Acoustics Haydn