Topic: Used Von Schweikert VR4jr?

[rigpimp]

Can someone tell me a fair price for a pair?

Someone is offering me a maple pair in excellent condition and I am not sure how much to negotiate.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

The last time I looked and there were several the prices ranged from 2200 to 1800 depending on condition.   There is only one pair on agon right now for 1750 but they are black ash.  The better finished ones go for more.   Prices fell when the updated version was announced.  If I could get 2200 for mine I would be ecstatic.

[cheshirecat]

There is a pair in black on agon for 1750 which seems like a good price, I remember these were going for 2250-2500 a couple years back.

[rigpimp]

Are the maple ones considered one of the better finishes?  I was offered a pair for $1650 and was thinking about walking up with $1500 in cash to see if he'd leap.  I feel that would be a steal.  I'd like to confirm first-hand that none of the speakers have been swapped out though.  Are there identifying markers on them that I should look for?

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

Yes, the maple is one of the better finishes.

IMO $1650 is a great price for those speakers.  $1500 is bordering on grand theft.  Huge bang for the buck at that price and even better bi-amped.  If you can get them for that price you'll have a pair that you won't out grow for a long time.  You should also budget about $70 to buy coated lead shot to fill the ballast chamber.  If the speakers are already loaded with shot, consider that a bonus.

What are you putting in front of them?

[rigpimp]

A pair of maples for $1500.     

[Jimna]

Pics?

[rigpimp]

Pics?

I just picked them up today.  I was a bit disappointed by some of the cosmetic blemishes but scooped them up regardless.  Within 30 minutes hooking them up and starting DSOTM the woman upstairs that sleeps at the other end of the house came out and asked me to turn them down.  I am only pushing them with a 3000ES.   

I have a repairable Counterpoint on the way from a buddy.  Not sure about the model #.  He'll get his ADS speaker pair back unless I incorporate them into a surround system.

I will edit with some phone pics once I get them off the iphone.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

Nice!

Couple of thoughts:

Don't worry about the blemishes too much.  I know that when a lot of people bought these they didn't use the proper spikes for the upper cabinets and then scratched the tops of the bass cabinets.  The cones with rubber tips go in the top cabinets and the spindly spikes go on the bottom.

About the spikes: the original VR4 shipped with some little spindly spikes for the bass cabinets and they would tend to get bent, especially when the bass cabinets are loaded with shot.  VR got a lot of complaints and changed to a solid brass cone that was much better.  If you have the spindly spikes, call VR and ask them to send you the upgraded cones. 

If your bass cabinets aren't loaded, add about 30lb of shot and they will really tighten up.

IIRC (it may be one of the other sony receivers), the 3000es can be configured to put stereo out across more than one channel so if you have a 5.1 surround system you should be able to map the two remaining channel to main LF and RF.  I think someone on here might have done this with some B&W803s.  That would allow you to biamp the VR4s.  The more power reserve you can get to the bass cabinets the more they open up.  Bi amping made a startling improvement in my system.

Funny you should mention DSOTM.  Thats always in the first few discs I use when I try new gear.  If you haven't already, download the DSOTM remaster 5.1 DVDA image.  It's about the sickest thing you can put through those speakers.  I don't have a 5.1 set-up but just the 2ch mix down was ridiculous.

[rigpimp]

The blemishes go beyond what spikes would have caused.  These merely indicate that they were moved around a lot which bothers me some.   A few deep scratches and a corner from one of the top pieces that it dinged up pretty bad.  A drop?  :shudder:

These do have the rubber cones on the top pieces and no spikes at all on the bottoms as they are already loaded with shot.  I would say the bottom cabinet is pushing 50ish pounds total, maybe more.

The DSOTM disc that I used was the remaster, but not the DVD.  It is a sick disc.

Thanks for the tip on the 3000ES.  I will search around and see if it can be bi-amped.  If anyone reads this and has pointers please type up.

Cheers,

Keith

Nice!

Couple of thoughts:

Don't worry about the blemishes too much.  I know that when a lot of people bought these they didn't use the proper spikes for the upper cabinets and then scratched the tops of the bass cabinets.  The cones with rubber tips go in the top cabinets and the spindly spikes go on the bottom.

About the spikes: the original VR4 shipped with some little spindly spikes for the bass cabinets and they would tend to get bent, especially when the bass cabinets are loaded with shot.  VR got a lot of complaints and changed to a solid brass cone that was much better.  If you have the spindly spikes, call VR and ask them to send you the upgraded cones. 

If your bass cabinets aren't loaded, add about 30lb of shot and they will really tighten up.

IIRC (it may be one of the other sony receivers), the 3000es can be configured to put stereo out across more than one channel so if you have a 5.1 surround system you should be able to map the two remaining channel to main LF and RF.  I think someone on here might have done this with some B&W803s.  That would allow you to biamp the VR4s.  The more power reserve you can get to the bass cabinets the more they open up.  Bi amping made a startling improvement in my system.

Funny you should mention DSOTM.  Thats always in the first few discs I use when I try new gear.  If you haven't already, download the DSOTM remaster 5.1 DVDA image.  It's about the sickest thing you can put through those speakers.  I don't have a 5.1 set-up but just the 2ch mix down was ridiculous.

[rigpimp]

Can someone show me a picture of how theirs are bi-wired?  I also called VSA and had them email me a copy of the user manual and upgrade options.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

For single wire, you connect the umbilical cord between the top and bottom cabinets.  Attach your cable to the posts on the upper box.  Ensure that the jumper plates are on place on the lower cabinet binding posts.

For bi-wire, remove the umbilical cord from between the top and bottom cabinets.  Remove the jumper plates from the binding posts on the bottom cabinet.  Connect one pair of cables to the upper cabinet and the other set of cables to the lower cabinet.  At the other end of the cables, connect both hot leads to your amp's hot binding post and both cables neutral leads to the amp's neutral binding post.

For bi-amp, it's all the same as bi-wire at the speaker end but on the other end each cable set goes to a different amp output.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

here is link to the manual in pdf http://audio.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/von_schweikert_audio/vr4jr.html

Attached is a drawing of what I tried to describe about the connections. 


Your pictures look great and raised a couple more thoughts.

In the pictures it looks like the footers aren't attached.  There should be some dense boards with beveled edge that mount to the bass cabinets and provide a mount point for the lower spikes.  You want the lower spikes.  You can get small discs for under the spikes to protect the wood floors. 

You will be very well rewarded if you can get the speakers out from the wall, without furniture between them and about 7 ft apart.  They really need the space to get to their full potential.  I had mine like that and they sounded awesome but when I pulled them out and away from furniture they opened up and the image bloomed like nothing I'd heard before.  No matter what you do, give yourself plenty of time to dial them in.  I found it better to turn off the ambiance drivers until I had them positioned and then bring up the ambiance slowly.   A picture of my system is here http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=75230.0 at the bottom of the post.  I move the speakers out about 18" when the roommate and dogs are away. 

[Jimna]

You will be very well rewarded if you can get the speakers out from the wall, without furniture between them and about 7 ft apart.  They really need the space to get to their full potential.  I had mine like that and they sounded awesome but when I pulled them out and away from furniture they opened up and the image bloomed like nothing I'd heard before.  No matter what you do, give yourself plenty of time to dial them in.  I found it better to turn off the ambiance drivers until I had them positioned and then bring up the ambiance slowly.   A picture of my system is here http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=75230.0 at the bottom of the post.  I move the speakers out about 18" when the roommate and dogs are away.

how far from the wall?  is it really that important to get them away from the front wall or more just to get the furniture out or the middle?  I thought distance from the front wall was more just a bi-pole transducer issue.

[rigpimp]

They are now bi-wired.

These are at one end of a long room ~40'L x 20'w.  There is a large bureau in between that my receiver and TV are standing on.  I was thinking about getting rid of both anyway.  In the meantime I would need longer speaker cables to get them out and in front of the furniture that is in between.  That will be first on my list since it is still baseball season. 

That you all for your tips and insight.

Time to crack open some peppermint schnapps and crank some gangster rap to piss off my housemates.  "you reek and the walls are vibrating" 

[rigpimp]

By the way, I called VSA yesterday to have them email me a PDF of the manual.  (PM if you want one) and there are two new upgrades that you can have done to your original VR-4jr: MKII and MKIII for $995 and $2,500, respectively.

From VSA:

We have two upgrades available:

VR-4 JR to VR-4 JR Mk2 – at $995/pr we have new woofers and midrange speakers.

VR-4 JR to VR-4 JR Mk3 “EuroMod”  - at $2,500 we rebuild the entire speaker system and install all new parts – everything except for the outside of the cabinet.  All speakers, crossovers, and internal damping is changed to our latest spec.  See attached Mk3 EuroMod info sheet for the wealth of information on this exciting new upgrade!

VR-4 JR Mk3
“Euro- Model”

Due to the demand for extreme quality combined with small size to fit the newer life style, the VR-4 JR Mk3 Anniversary has been designed on the small platform previously called the “JR” model.  However, the Anniversary Model is highly upgraded and is hand-built at our California factory. Using premium Scanspeak drivers made in Denmark, the sound quality will exceed your expectations for speakers selling in the $25,000 price category.  Our Triple-Wall cabinet design eliminates the colorations found in MDF cabinets, with an internal layer of damping stones absorbing the vibration.

With dimensions similar to a mini-monitor mounted on a stand, the new VR-4 Anniversary Model can be used in rooms as small as 8x10 feet and will reproduce bass power below 30Hz.  Transparency exceeds any planar available due to the European-designed Drive Units and our famous VSA crossovers!

Specifications

•   Size: 8.5” W x 38” H x 20” D; Weight: 100lbs/ea., 300 lbs/pr in wood crates.
•   Impedance: 4 ohms; Sensitivity: 90dB; Power Handling: 200 watts music.
•   Frequency Range: 25 Hz to 25 kHz, +/- 3dB.
•   Drive Units: 2-7” Super-Duty composite paper/carbon fiber woofers, 1-7” composite-cone mid, 1” silk dome tweeter with rear chamber.  All drivers built by Scanspeak and have Low Distortion Motor systems (Pat. Pend.)
•   Ambience Retrieval System: 1” rear-firing silk dome tweeter w/Wave Guide.
•   Finishes: Steinway Piano Black Hi-Gloss (Signature) or African Hazelwood.
•   Signature version features hand-wired premium crossover with VSA wire.
•   $7,500/pr for Signature version with upgraded Premium Crossover (either African Hazelwood or Steinway Piano Black Hi-Gloss).
•   Older VR-4 JR models can be upgraded to the Mk3 Anniversary level for $2,500 and includes all ScanSpeak drivers, VSA premium crossovers and wiring, and the Shatki stone vibration dampers installed internally.  Completion requires two weeks and will have a full 10-Year Extended Warranty, with a Satisfaction Guaranty.

Von Schweikert Audio

41110 Sandalwood Circle, Unit 122, Murrieta, CA 92592
Phone (951) 696-3662 Fax (951) 696-3663 Email: service@vonschweikert.com