I bought this set in mint condition at a yard sale on 10-9-2022 complete with center speaker and powered sub for sixty dollars. All pieces are heavy (towers alone are 45 lbs. each) and construction is very solid. Vinyl covered MDF with mitered joints is pretty much flawless. Poly cones on the woofers allow that deep tight bass we all love, the mid range cone is also poly. I use my system for music only and with a frequency response of 41 to 20,000 all of the detail I listen for on my favorite vinyl, tapes, CD's and MP3 files is easy to hear. I use the 1/3-1/3-1/3 distance setup in my listening room that produces the best sound stage on all of my speaker pairs (Yamaha, Acoustic Research, Sanyo, Fisher, Sansui, Altec Lansing, Polk, Klipsch) and the VR2 can compete with any of them. These speakers are highly sensitive and powered by a vintage Yamaha 2.0 amp (no sub or center channel connected) they fill the room with the volume dial at about 10%. Bi-wire or bi-amp 5 way speaker jacks are featured on these 3 way dual woofer speakers.

Reviewers who use the phrase "for the money", no matter what you pay, the item is 5,4,3,2 or 1 star. I rated the VR2 5 stars, doesn't that say it all?

I purchased these 14 years ago on clearance from the old Circuit City. They were the best deal offered in the store by a wide margin. The best balance of highs, mids and lows. They offer high power handling and good efficient for a mid size tower. Contrary to another review, I found the speakers sound great as close as 8 inches from the rear wall. The rear ported speaker needs that kind of reinforcement to produce authentic sounding bass (as do most all speakers independent of a subwoofer) and with todays DSP room processing, muddies isn’t an issue with the availability of calibration programs and algorithms. As impressive as the sound quality is for a speaker set that at the time could be had for just under $900 usd, is the power handling and high SPL capabilities. As a stand-alone speaker it is impressive enough that it could produce concert level sound levels. Paired with a fantastic subwoofer, it can take your stereo or theater system to frightening sound levels. And with amazing clarity. As of this review in 2021, it would cost at least twice as much to obtain this level of speaker performance. Having used and abused these speakers for a decade and a half, I would have to say they have paid for themselves many years ago and were a fantastic investment. I’ve yet to find a better balanced set for $2000 or under that I can justify as a starting point for replacing my current system, that consists of the Boston Acoustic VR2, VRX, VRC and SVS SB-4000 subwoofer. It’s a shame that Boston Acoustics basically was purchased and put out of business by a conglomerate that owns Harmon brands. Why is beyond me. When they were privately owned and catered to audio enthusiasts instead of lifestyle branding, they were truly great.

I haven’t found any in nearly 15 years.

This isn't on this particular speaker but too a well circit citys top of the line center that they sold for 300+.And is about what these go for there when they were open. The first thing you have to put in your head is these are not made in U.S.A.even though the box and ever thing else would like you to believe.It may say Mass on the box but if you do a little snooping you will find out different.Pull out a driver,this voids your warranty so you have to say you took a mechanics mirror,by at auto zone or where you can.Look on the back of the driver through the port.Don't tell them you pulled the driver or you will be stuck with them and this is what I'm trying to get you out of! The driver will say in little letters made in Taiwan or Indonesia or at the worst China.I have done this with the lower price Boston's and Infinity,Klipsch and so forth.Even though the box says made and manufactured in the U.S.If you like the sound or how pretty they are buy them.Even the speakers that are made in the U.S. are farmed out until you get up to the big bucks800.00 a piece.Allot of the speakers made for some well known Co are made in Eminence Ky.I drove and p/u parts mostly magnet structures and delivered them to the speaker co.I was very surprised!!So do your homework and check them out you might be surprised as i was.Thanks

Very true mids and highs.

The bass could be just a bit stronger, but you must consider proper speaker placement too.

what more can be said than, wow. The vr2 has to be the truest speaker that I have heard in its price range. I am extremely picky about frequency response and distortion, and have yet to be dissapointed by this speaker. The mids and highs are extremely crisp and tight without any annoying resonance. The bass is true and precise and does not overpower the mids and highs. This is an excellent speaker for the 150 - 200 watt range.

Similar Products Used:

vrc and bose bookshelf speakers (for rear channel)

Superb bass, even more so with a decent powerful amp. Clear, accurate, and in my opinion, great looking.

Can be a little on the bright side with certain amps.

Having always loved good sound, I was excited to finally purchase my own set of decent quality speakers. After listening to many different types I finally narrowed the desicion down to Kef and Boston. In my opinion, the bostons were far better in every way. I have had mine now for close on two years, and I love every minute listening to them. I find the bass is absolutely superb, in fact, so good that I am not even considering the addition of a sub, although, I must attribute some of this excellent bass to my Rotel RB1080 amp, which controls the bass beautifully.

I find these speakers, clear, accurate, and lively. They really shine for home theatre, but do just as well for many different types of music.

I can see myself keeping these speakers for a very long time, and probably struggling to find replacements when the time comes.

Similar Products Used:

Kef IQ's
Tannoy (back when they were still Scottish and excellent speakers)

Great Boston Sound. I own T-830's, CR-6's, CR-8's and 9's. All Boston speakers have a similar full sound with a neutral bias. They don;t over emphasize any part of the spectrum. The VR-2's are neutral as well and perfect for the mid sized room (14x18) I'm using them in. I actually auditioned the VR-3's as well and for a $125.00 more could have had them, but the VR-2's seemed to be a better sound for my ears.

Very nice no nonsense appearence with good lines and balance. Drivers and build seem of good quality, and all in all present a great value in hi-fi. 20 years ago these would have been $1500.00 speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Dahlquist DQ-20i's (With twin Boston PV-1000 subs)
Boston T-830's, a three way design from 1994

High sensitivity and power handling. Crisp sound without harshness. The price has dropped to an almost ridiculously low point.

Need a powered subwoofer for the deepest bass if you run home theater.

Boston Acoustics is a fairly renowned speaker manufacturer located in..... you guessed it - Massachusetts. They have been producing middle/high end speakers for the better part of 30 years. The history of the company is pretty good reading for anyone interested. However, this review is about a set of speakers, not the company.
The VR2 is the middle sized speaker in the VR reference line. It boasts a 200 Watt power handling capacity and the specification claim a frequency response of 41 Hz to 20 Khz. About average response for this speaker type. The speakers are made from MDF (medium density fiberboard) as are most speakers, due to the inherent sonic qualities of the material. In the VR series, the speakers are furniture grade vinyl clad, as opposed to wood veneer covered. No sonic deficiencies or benefits can be attributed either way. But you definitely get a price break. Many manufactures of relatively high end speakers don't use wood veneer in their product lines, so this isn't unusual. The speakers grills on the VR2 are sturdy and fit very well. The criss-cross pattern provides stability and the cloth covering is good material and fitted on the grill nicely. The speakers come with binding posts instead of spring clips which is nice, and they can be bi-amped or bi-wired. A nice option in this price range. I've heard it rumoured on the internet that Boston uses Vifa woofer and tweeters in their speakers. Vifa is a speaker driver manufacturer with an excellent reputation among audiophiles for building some of the most sonically accurate speakers on the market.
All of these details, the cabinet material, the grills, the binding posts, the drivers, all add up to an amazing value. The sound? Well, I've auditioned many, many speakers over the last few years. I've had Bic Venturi 7's from the early 70's, Polk Audio, Advent, Infinity, Bose, JBL, Pioneer and my favorites - 1977 Yamaha NS-500 2 way speakers, probably my favorite sounding speaker of all time. Back when Yamaha truly did make fantastic, top of the line pro audio.
So how do these compare? Well, honestly, they don't sound as nice as those Yamaha's. But then again, we're talking about a set of Yamaha speakers that cost several hundred dollars 30 years ago compared to Boston Acoustics at $450.00/pr. today. But the Boston's sound really, really good. They are well made, solid, accurate. The bass is very good, not excellent. The power handling capabilities are outstanding. The sensitivity is rated at 93dB/Watt which is pretty sensitive and will allow them to be driven with modest amplifier power. My first impression was that they are very crisp and "live" sounding. The mid-range is accurately produced without wash-out and I honestly think most people could get by without a seperate sub-woofer. They are fairly hefty at 45 lbs./ea. and in my opinion will be a speaker that can be enjoyed for a long time to come under almost any circumstance. They do well at both music and home theater and I would not hesitate to recommend them for either use.

Customer Service

Haven't had to contact them yet. Hard to say.

Similar Products Used:

Bose
Infinity
Cambridge Soundworks
Polk Audio
Yamaha
JBL
BIC

Great sound and low price

None

These are fantastic speakers at a great price. Happened to be at The Great Indoors a few months ago and found these on clearance for less than half price new in the box. They have great response and haunting presense. The sound is very neutral unlike many other speakers in this price range. I would dare to compare these to the much more expensive Revel speakers. In fact even better at less than half the price. The componets quality and materials rival many higher end manufactures

3-Way. Highs, Mids, Bass. Imaging. Soundstage. Aesthetics. Bi-wiring/amping capable. Value.

Need a sub for frequencies below 60. What else is new for towers unless they are ridiculously sized and weighted. Not to mention grossly overpriced.

It is easy to take for granted the effort that goes into making good speakers. These speakers are superb with all types of music but also incredible with movies. I was watching the grammys recently in DTS and felt as if I was right there in the audience just below the stage. Sometimes when I use these speakers in 2-channel stereo(with tv speakers muted) I constantly have to check to see if the center speaker is on. It is incredible how it puts the singers in front of you. This is a steal. You need a sub for HT but not necessary for music.

Yamaha RX-V650
Boston VR2s front
Boston VR920 center
Acoustech HT-75 surrounds
JBL sub160
Sony KDF42WE655

Similar Products Used:

Infinity Beta50. Too Large and ugly.

Imaging, bright highs, warm mids

Not many people carry this speaker. Also hard to find a disocunt. Not a speaker weakness.. Just a reality to purchase.

I bought these speakers after 2 years of auditioning.I know.. No life. But it became a fun pastime. I finally settled on these with the vrc. Now Audio was in the middle of being bought by Tweeter & didn't stock the rears. I also picked up a Klipsch RSW-10 to complement. The highs are on the bright side... which my ear likes. The midrange is warm. The lows are solid but do need the help of a decent sub. You do need to move these around 30 inches from the wall. I tried closer, but muddied up the base. I think this is a great choice in the price point. The other speaker I seriously considered was the Pardigm v3 40's or 60's, but couldn't get the dealer to move off msrp. Boston doesn't have the audiophile name recognition as some others, but the sound speaks for itself. I'm old, fat, & married. Could care less about that.

Similar Products Used:

Again 2 years and many specialty stores later.