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Old School/New School, BA A150 or VR2

M

matt39

Active Member
Each of these speakers is available locally and I was interested in getting some feedback from members who have heard both. I have the A70's but I have read in several threads here that the A150's are a considerably better speaker. That is good news to me since I am one of those rare people who is not a big fan of the A70's. I have never been able to keep them in my system long term because the treble always starts to give me "listening fatigue" after a short while. This has always been a disappointment to me since in many ways they seem quite good but that's just how it is for me. I don't wish this to become a discussion of the A70's however. I would like to hear about the relative sound quality of the A150's and VR2's---warm, neutral, dynamic, treble smoothness/harshness, bass depth, etc. I was able to have a couple short auditions with the VR2's a few years ago when they were a current offering but it was hard to get a real feel for them at the shop. So I'm hoping you folks can give me the benefit of any insights you may have. In particular, I am hoping GordonW can find time to contribute because I believe he has extensive experience with both models. Thanks for any help you can offer.
Gary
 
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I have the A150's and they are nice but compared to my A200's tend to be a bit boxy and bassy, they don't have the airy, natural sound of the A200's. The A150's are much more laid back without the huge soundstage of the A200's.

Never heard the VR2's but I can tell you that the A200's are much better overall than the A150's if that's any help.
 
I have A-40s, A-150s, and A-200s. The A-150 is a very impressive speaker, a bit more forward than the 200s.

I have not heard the VR series.
 
The VR has a fantastic tweeter.

The A150s may still be "not your cup of tea" if they use the in-house tweeter.

It's a great tweeter, surprisingly revealing, but does not work best in lively rooms or with the more clinical sounding amplification.

A-series tweeter in a lively room with clinical amplification- not the best synergy.

Substitute one of the above for either warmer amplification or a neutral/neutral-dead room and you would do better.

Substitute fully with both and it's very smooth.

I found the a70-a150-a200 to have an "east coast" flavor with less wooly, less rolled off, more accurate highs and therefore best of both worlds.

An option is to try them with the earlier SEAS tweeter to see if that works better on your ears....
 
That'd be a hard decision. I think the VR2 would come out on top, by a small margin, because it's probably a little more dynamic, due to the better tweeter.

The newer Bostons are less "East-coast" sound, and more purely neutral. A little brighter than traditional East Coast sound, but still very smooth and listenable.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
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