Topic: VR1s for dirt cheap on agon

[Nick's Picks]

someone...jump on this shit!
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1168064764

[Shawn]

Must check bank account.

[L Ron Hoover]

    $380 including shipping! Must resist urge.

[Shawn]

email sent to the seller since it's about time i upgraded my playback.  hopefully they arent sold. 

thanks for the heads up nick.

you beat me to it. "check bank account" is the married man's code name for "ask wife for approval." That usually requires some buttering up, which takes time.

Hope you get them.

[Nick's Picks]

I tell ya, I almost bought them myself.
I hope they land on a ts.com members doorstep.

[pjdavep]

I wonder how those mods sound and if he did them himself.  If a ts.com member gets them, please let us know how they sound!

Later,
   pjdavep

[cshepherd]

You can buy them brand new for $700 (edit: with full warranty) and not have to use the grills to make them look decent (also notice the cinder block speaker stands).  Another point is that moving is not really a great reason to be selling the speakers.  I moved across the country and one of the few possessions that made the trip were my electrostats and 110w tube mono blocks.  I think it's *at least* a possibility that he didn't care for the sound of the mods and is just moving on.  Mods are not always an improvement.  The longer VSA offers their speakers at 30% off, the more likely they'll start showing up on Audiogone for around $420 obo. 

Chris

edit...I think these speakers are overpriced and quite possibly a disappointment in the making.

[cshepherd]

They don't call it Audiofound do they?

Chris

[tiberiusbkirk]

can you explain why the speakers are overpriced? do you mean the orig stock version or this mod'ed version.
I have noticed these VR1's are mentioned on the boards I visit and wonder why the hype.
I went on their site and they mention the lower end under 3k models are made in China. that said, I love my soliloquy 5.0's my bro gave me. I don't own anything in audio anymore, they're all hand me downs. Free is good.

[cshepherd]

You can buy them brand new for $700 (edit: with full warranty) and not have to use the grills to make them look decent (also notice the cinder block speaker stands).  Another point is that moving is not really a great reason to be selling the speakers.  I moved across the country and one of the few possessions that made the trip were my electrostats and 110w tube mono blocks.  I think it's *at least* a possibility that he didn't care for the sound of the mods and is just moving on.  Mods are not always an improvement.  The longer VSA offers their speakers at 30% off, the more likely they'll start showing up on Audiogone for around $420 obo. 

Chris

edit...I think these speakers are overpriced and quite possibly a disappointment in the making.

do you mean these speakers that are for sale on audiogon, or vr-1s in general are a dissapointment?
if you mean this particular pair, why?  b/c of the mods?
-------------------------------------------
There have been some modification on this unit. Changes including: internal wires with silver-coated teflon wire for the tweeters and twisted pairs of 20ga continuous copper cast (CCC) wire for the mid/woofers. The high-pass capacitor has been changed to a Solen capacitor from stock. The dampening materials have been upgraded to accoustic foams and bitumen sheets.

I'm only referring to this specific pair as I've never listened to VSA speakers.  My comments were made because of the modifications and the condition of the cabinets.  For whatever reasons, he made a project out of these speakers and is choosing not to hold onto them.   They're heavily modified and you have no way of knowing what they sound like.  I consider the mods on this particular pair to be a negative factor because of it's unknown quantity.  If you were into tinkering with speakers it might be a different story.  For someone who knows nothing about playback, I think these are a really poor first step.  I would value these speakers closer to $300 obo and be stoked to get anything at all. 

VSA speakers come and go on Audiogone pretty frequently.  Fifty to Sixty percent of retail would be considered a fair price for these speakers in VG to excellent condition.  The VR-1 used to sell new for $1000.  VSA has been selling their speakers online at 30% off all summer long with no apparent end in sight.  As more people buy them new for $700, the used price will fall down to around $400.  There's a pair in African Hazelnut listed at $425 that just sold as a matter of fact.

Chris

[tiberiusbkirk]

Understood, thanks cshepherd.

[Daryan]

You can buy them brand new for $700 (edit: with full warranty) and not have to use the grills to make them look decent (also notice the cinder block speaker stands).  Another point is that moving is not really a great reason to be selling the speakers.  I moved across the country and one of the few possessions that made the trip were my electrostats and 110w tube mono blocks.  I think it's *at least* a possibility that he didn't care for the sound of the mods and is just moving on.  Mods are not always an improvement.  The longer VSA offers their speakers at 30% off, the more likely they'll start showing up on Audiogone for around $420 obo. 

Chris

edit...I think these speakers are overpriced and quite possibly a disappointment in the making.

 

do you mean these speakers that are for sale on audiogon, or vr-1s in general are a dissapointment?
if you mean this particular pair, why?  b/c of the mods?
-------------------------------------------
There have been some modification on this unit. Changes including: internal wires with silver-coated teflon wire for the tweeters and twisted pairs of 20ga continuous copper cast (CCC) wire for the mid/woofers. The high-pass capacitor has been changed to a Solen capacitor from stock. The dampening materials have been upgraded to accoustic foams and bitumen sheets.

I kind of doubt that the reason he is selling is because he didn't like the changes the mods made.  Replacing cheap wire for better wire could only improve the sound.  same goes for changing some plastic bulk capacitor to a solen, though that wouldn't be my cap of choice.  Adding dampening material should reduce standing waves and therfore reduce or eliminate impendance anomolies as well as possible coloration of the sound.  If he didn't like the sound because of the mods, then his ears need cleaning.  As for the scratches, that's a whole other consideration.

[Nick's Picks]

i believe the VR1s are manufactured in china (the rest in CA), so they may not use excellent wire, but just warehouse stock.  who knows...but i speculate.


I think anything under $400 for VR1s, no matter what condition, is money well spent.  I spent $350 on mine, and I thought that was dirt, dirt cheap.  I would have plunked down more, or snagged these if they were posted at the time I was hunting.

[cshepherd]

I understand where you're coming from, Nick.  The VR-1 is a popular speaker and no doubt worth more than $400.  $350 is dirt, dirt cheap.  I think this extended discount/sale they're having is starting to have an effect on the used prices.  For those thinking about buying them used, prices are low right now.

Chris

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

if you don't care what they look like and if you don't plan to resell them for what you paid, that is a decent price but maybe not a bargain if you are on an upgrade path.  The problem is, most discerning buyers on agon won't touch something with a significant cosmetic blemish because they are potentially unable to turn them quickly to fund an upgrade.   The other issue is the modifications of ambiguous origin.  Mods done by a reknown designer can increase the value of a piece, but when you try to sell something that was modded by the previous owner and the details are vague, it detracts from the resale value.   Just my opinion.  I'd rather spend spend another $100 and be sure that I could resell them for the price I paid.  But for someone who will keep them for a long time, that is a nice deal.