Balance, Balance, Balance.

They are not very good looking although in person they look much better than the pics. Could stil be a little bit more resolving. Bass could be a bit faster.

Bought these after hearing the Gen 2s at a friends house. no dealer meant having to contact Albert himself. On to the sound. The VR-4s don't do tricks. They just flat out work well from top to bottom and mind you that is a 40khz top and a 16 Hz bottom! They do not put any emphasis on any particular frequecy band (read no audible humps and dips) to "fool" you into hearing more bass or more detail. They simply extend distortion free into those areas giving you true body and true spread. High's are detailed yet smooth, the midrange is extremely transparent and the bass is full, tight and extended however at times I think they lag a bit behind the very very quick upper registers. This I believe is forgivable given the very low price. These speakers though large and imposing disappear totally. The soundstage can be as deep or as up-front as you'd like because you have the AIR tweeter to play with. Soundstage width is exceptional extending way beyond the outer edges. When some phase related tricks are used by the recording engineer phantom rears magically appear and can surprise you with some surround like effects. Another thing that I love about them is they sound good anywhere you are in the room. Anywhere you may be the soundstage remains locked and stable. The better to share the music with by giving a planar like wavelaunch without the head in a vise stiff neck. To sum up. These speakers have no right sounding as good as they do at this price. Take a look at the parts list and you'll find only the best. Go ahead and rap the enclosure and risk bruised knuckles. As one very jaded 74 year old audiophile guest said "Those speakers are cheap.........BUT that sound is NOT!"

Similar Products Used:

Dynaudio, Magnepan, Revel, B&W