I listened to the VR940 at a Boston dealer recently and thought that they sounded great compared to the old cheap Sony speakers that I have at home. But not being an audiophile I would be interested to hear the opinions of others on this speaker. The price is in the mid-range here in Thailand and the next one up is the VR950 of which there are many reviews on this site, all atesting to its greatness. The VR940 is a bit cheaper but I have not had the chance to compare them to the VR950. If anyone has, it would be great to hear a review of the two.

I am not an audiophile, but I've heard a few really good (big buck) systems and of course a lot of bad ones. I trust my ears to some degree and it is fun to do direct comparisons of speakers.
I was recently looking for a $500 pair of speakers and came to like these the best of the ones I heard. The competition was in order of decreasing attractiveness was:

Boston Acoustics - invitingly warm and well balanced
Klipsch - rocks hard, but no mid
Polk - okay, but no excitement - lacked dynamicism
B&W - beautifully smooth mid and highs, but unacceptable lack of bass
:
Energy - I'd say harsh, but it wasn't that exciting - rough and distorted

A while back, I listened to some Paradigm and JBL systems in this range, too. You may want to listen to the Paradigms as they were pretty good, but the JBLs were clearly not as good as the Bostons.

I ended up getting some bigger, display sample B&W 603s for another $200, but I would have gotten the Bostons had they not been there. At $500, they are the best I've heard.

I was looking for an economical choice in speakers when I was showed the 940's. Frankly I didn't like their sound, but I didn't like the sound of any speaker in the $500 range at that store. I was looking for a richer, deeper bass and less low-midrange. Stepping up to the 950's did the trick...great sound indeed! Bottom line...I would pick the 940's only if my pocketbook absolutely screamed at me, but I decided to work a little bit longer to get the better sound in the 950's.

I chose a pair of VR940s after deciding to purchase towers instead of a sub/satsystem. I love B. Acoustics products, however, none of their other bookshelf or
Micro systems could come close to providing the excellent soundstage displayed by the 940s.

These small, hybrid towers (employing an ovaloid mid-bass driver rather than a concentric one) produce solid base response down to 51 Hz, and I have measured respectable output in room with test CDs of about 44 HZ (although at diminished levels). The soundstage is broad and open; the Lynnfield tweeter really shines. There is some coloration, though, in the upper end. It's not necessarily a bright speaker, and there is no shrillness--ever, even at maximum levels--but they are "lively."

Since the mid-bass is smaller than an 8" woofer, but slightly larger than a 6.5" in effective cone area, the mids are still handled very respectfully.

For the person who wanted a comparison between the 950s and the 940s, there is a difference. The 950s are $200 more, US (usually), and they provide a slightly richer mid range. Also, since they are rated to 46 Hz (meaning one could likely squeeze a respectable 42-43 Hz out of them, they provided a little more punch to lower-rich music. Interestingly, though, I like mine better with pipe organ notes...

In all, for an entry-level tower from a proven manufacturer, the VR tweeter and the hybrid woofer reveal that Boston cares about all of its buyers.

An avid Boston Acustics fan (I have been quite pleased with my CR9s), the 940s come as a resounding dissappointment. I purchased (and returned the next day) a pair only to find the sound muted and the bass section particularly muffled destroying acustic guitar solos. While they are reasonably well balanced, warm and possess nice vocal mid-range, thier complete lack of life and brightness leaves a great deal to be desired for the high and low end. They also appear a great deal underpowered as my Boston Acustics CR9s through them out of balance. The new design and technology is novel, but far from perfected.

smooth

lack of bass

I thought it was a decent speaker. Everything depends on your taste of music, however. Rock listeners tend to like Klipsch, and so forth. The BA's lacked a good deal of bass, but what was there sounded a little muted and strained. The midrange was superb. There was fantastic imaging and a nice deep soundstage for the size of the speaker. The highs were crisp and clear and not tiring to the ear, like a Klipsch horn loaded speaker. It was not as smooth as a fabric tweeter found in Missions, but it was accurate and plesant.
Add a a subwoofer, and you have a good set of speakers. Vocals were excellent, and response was quick across the entire range. Good speaker for the price range. Personally, I have never cared what speakers are made of, or how big their drivers are. What is important to me is how it sounds to MY ear. For the extra $200 to upgrade to the BA VR950's, it's just not worth it. Granted, the 950's have a little more in the midrange and bass and a little more in the highs, but it's not worth the money.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch, Polk, Mission, Mirage