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Vandersteen Treo

#1

So I was faced with one of those challenging situations where I had to spend some $$ quickly, and it had to be in cash. (It’s a long story, and totally legit, but never mind that now. :)) The nearest high-end salon that had stuff that I would buy turned out to be Audio Connection in Verona, NJ, who i had done a little business with years ago when I worked nearby. (Bought a used pair of Merlin TSM-MM’s and a PS Audio integrated from him. The former are still in my main system in our overseas house, and the latter is in my office system in the US.) Was initially thinking about magnepans, but these were ruled out for WAF and cat-damage reasons. Went, listened to a bunch of things, went home with a cherry pair of Vandersteen Treos which I am using with a Rythmik Audio sub. The Treos, depending on which source one reads, go down to either 36 hz -3db or a little lower, but I had the sub anyway, and I like bass.)

So this will be my new “A” system, along with the Directstream DAC, P5, and upcoming PSA preamp. Am absolutely in love with it. (Insert standard reviewer line about rediscovering all kinds of recordings not listened to in years, etc. etc.) By all means hear these if you are in the market in this price range. They are also a fairly easy load for an amp, though not particularly efficient. WAF is also about as high as it gets. Everybody wins!

#2

Fun!

I bought an amp from them years ago for which they were one of the few dealers at the time. Nice bunch.

#3

Hey, I’ve been to that store too!

#4

They are great. I sent the owner a note inviting him to listen to my setup with my server, the DS DAC with Bridge II and P5. Maybe he’ll become a PS Audio dealer! On a different note, it is rather frightening to see how many fewer high-end dealers there are in this area than was the case 20+ years ago. But otoh, the ones that have survived are the good ones. Still, when i was a little younger, growing up in Bergen County, I had at least 4-5 high end dealers within a 15-mile radius. Now there are zero. (Audio Connection is only about 20 miles from where i live now, but it is a royal PITA to get to. Worth the trip though.)

#5

If you’re ever in that situation with the cash again I’d be happy to help out!devil_gif

I’ve been intrigued by the Rythmik subs but have not had a chance to hear them. Did you get to compare them to others?

#6

Wglenn, I did not. I originally bought the Rythmik to use with my Merlin TSM’s, now in a different location. It’s obviously much less necessary with the Treos, and I am still getting it dialed-in in terms of placement and settings. I did not get to directly compare it with anything else pre-purchase, and can’t really evaluate the servo feature, but to my ears it is not out of its league being used with the Treos. I have only owned three other subs, none of which are really comparable: Ancient Sequerra Met 8W’s, passive VMPS’s, and a 10-inch powered Von Schweikert, which is still doing its job with the Merlins, which to my ears just don’t really cut it on their own. So I am not really able to say how well it does compared to, say, Velodynes etc. But I am happy with it, and their support is great if you have any questions.

#7

Audio Connection is a good store, what about CSA Audio in Montclair, are they still in business off Bellevue Ave? I moved years ago, I thought they were still in business…

#8

As far as i know, yes

#9

I have the Treo CT’s running with the PS audio stack and it is a wonderful combo. The Vandersteen/PS pairing really works beautifully.

#10

They are an amazing speaker. The only limitation, in my system and in my room (which is a very large open space, almost the whole ground floor of the house) is that I do think they need a little subwoofage to fill in the lowest octave. Also, they are a little inefficient; I am OK with 150 w/channel but i do have a sense that more would be better. Eying the BHK 250 for the near future.