VON SCHWEIKERT VR-4 SR MKII:

The making of a dream speaker per Doug Schroeder

April 2007

MANUFACTURER:

Von Schweikert Audio
930 Armorlite Dr. San Marcos, California 92069
Phone: (760) 410-1650   Fax: (760) 410-1655

URL: http://www.vonschweikert.com/
Email: info@vonschweikert.com

I don’t want a simulation, I want reality. When I sit down to listen, I want to hear the real thing, not some weak representation of the music. As with all ardent audiophiles, I want virtual reality, the phrase Von Schweikert audio uses to describe the sound of their VR speakers, and essentially what every audiophile is after. The claim is that the speakers have been designed to follow the recording microphone’s signal in reverse. But does this VR thing result in superior reproduction or is it a slick marketing campaign? That’s what I wanted to find out.

Who is the Von Schweikert behind the name?

Albert Von Schweikert grew up in Germany, receiving musical training in piano and violin at the Heidelberg Conservatory. When he was 16, the family moved to the U.S.; his music experience would serve him well later in the 1960’s as an engineering student at Cal Tech, where Oscar Heil developed his Air Motion Transformer.

Initially, Albert pursued jet propulsion, but was a member of an audio club led by the speaker designing professor Richard Heiser. Utilizing the array of instruments at the lab, students competed to build superior speakers. Albert was also involved in playing electric guitar for the Tampa Bay garage band The Ravens on weekends. Unhappy with the band’s stock speakers, he began to mod them and realized that he had a talent for improving the sound quality of speakers.

During his time at Cal Tech, Albert had the realization that if a speaker was going to sound good, it had to be able to retrace the creation of the recording; that is, it had to sound like a mirror image of the experience being picked up on the microphone. With Cal Tech at his disposal, Albert was able to isolate the parameters involved in reproducing a proper wave form as picked up by the microphone, including what enters the microphone from behind it. This further improved his speaker designs.

Albert adjusted his professional goals and became a consultant for wholesale audio parts supplier KSC. From 1987-1989, he advised speaker companies such as Polk, JBL, Inifinity, Wharfedale, and Advent on their components and designs. Dozens of speakers were influenced by Albert during this time frame. While others were getting their feet wet, Albert was swimming in speaker design.

In 1991, while working for Counterpoint Electronics, he was hired by LucasFilm Ltd. to create THX speakers. After several years with Counterpoint, he felt it was time to establish his own company. Starting with a small business loan of $50,000, in two years he was able to expand the business to $12 million! But, in 1999 tragedy struck – a toxic spill from winter snow melting at a land fill near the factory destroyed his entire inventory.

Albert relocated to California and tried again, this time the small business administration had big goals, to establish a company employing hundreds, and the creation of one of the biggest speaker manufacturers in the world! In a culmination of his learning, Albert created his own recording studio where he could record a live event and immediately compare it with his speakers in his quest to find “Virtual Reality”, that is, a positive retracing of the live experience at the microphone.

One can see that this is having a positive impact on his speaker designs, evidenced by a steady ramping up of industry awards since 2000.

At the CES 2004, “Virtual versus Reality” demonstrations of the VR-11 speakers playing back live recordings of the Misty River Band were popular, further enhancing Albert’s reputation as the maker of speakers of the highest order.

The appearance of Von Schweikert speakers has gone upscale in recent years.

The VR4 was the culmination of seven years of Cal Tech research and design improvements. As more models have been added to the Von Schweikert line, there has been a shift in customer expectations. Albert related to me that his dealers have been after him for years to upgrade the appearance of his speakers. But, wouldn’t that mean higher price tags for nifty wood finishes? Yes, and that is where the psychoacoustics of speaker manufacturing comes in.

During his time at Cal Tech, Albert also conducted tests on listener preferences. One such test involved two identical speakers, one green and the other red. Listeners who heard both speakers under controlled conditions were easily led to specific conclusions regarding the sound quality of the speakers, i.e. that the red speaker sounded more “fiery” than the green speaker. In other words, what was perceived was influenced greatly by the visual impressions of the listener. The bottom line; our eyes can easily fool us into thinking we like one sound over another.

Albert’s dealers were trying to tell him that things have changed.

Twenty years ago, people bought speakers based on sound. Not anymore. Now people largely buy on sight, and his dealers wanted the speakers to look more upscale – after all, as a reviewer I fully concur that a grill cloth enshrouded speaker is not all that appealing to look at. I can appreciate the sound, but my eyes and ears appreciate the sound of the African Hazelwood VR4 SR! I understand perfectly what I’m admitting, that there is inherently a bias of appreciation and or acceptance of a beautiful product. In the end, Albert’s dealers and design team finally convinced him, and the speakers went upscale.

Meanwhile, the cabinet manufacturing of the lower-end models has been outsourced to China, since it’s the most economical way to get it done. Von Schweikert speakers have done an unusual pirouette, being wonderful-sounding speakers in plain garb, as they have been upgraded visually to match consumer expectations. The irony is that the cosmetics had to improve to match the performance.

People hear the speakers as better since they see the superb craftsmanship. I detest that fact – the fact that whether we want to admit it or not, as audiophiles we are susceptible to bias, especially visual bias. As much as I would love to claim complete indifference to appearance, I cannot. I’d rather admit it than deny it and be a liar. I freely confess, these speakers are breathtakingly beautifully crafted, and part of why I like listening to them is because they are visually striking.

One can take clues as to the seriousness of the Von Schweikert philosophy on speaker construction from the manner in which they are made and conveyed.

At every step from design to delivery, I found things have been well thought out at V.S. Audio:  

A thin, cardboard box sheath rests over a Virtually Indestructible (V.I. in V.S. terminology) crate...

Speaker modules are shrouded in velour, wrapped in plastic, nestled in high density foam coffins –  a send-off from the factory worthy of a loved one; let’s call it Virtual Memorial (or V.M.) shipping...

World class veneer cabinets with fit and finish of a caliber that would not be embarrassed to be compared to Baker furniture – we’ll label that “V.F.” for Virtually Furniture...

If one believes that little things count, then V.S. pays attention to the little things, and they add up to leave big impressions. If you’re tiring of my abbreviations game, let’s say it’s making you Virtually Ill (V.I.) and we will move on.

The angular appearance of “4SR2”, as I’ll refer to it, reminds me of modernistic architecture of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. There is an immensely appealing aesthetic to the angles of the mid/tweeter module in glossy African Hazelwood (also available are Dark Cherry, Sycamore and Ebony) standing on the pillar-like bass module. For those who must take into consideration the WAF, these speakers will garnish quite a bit of domestic acceptance. If the size is not a concern, they can almost be considered posh-looking and would not be embarrassed among the finest of décor.  

The Von Schweikert manual also gives hints as to the seriousness of the endeavor. In stark contrast to the product, the manual is as sterile as a Petri dish. Plain sheets describe in detail the proper cable connections, placement and tuning, and adjustment of the rear ambience drivers. How important are these factors in successfully utilizing these speakers to their fullest extent? Consider that fully ten of thirteen pages in the manual are dedicated to them.  

What of these parameters? The 4SR2’s are designed to be run bi-wired, so I spent very little time listening to them in a single-wire configuration If one chooses to do so, a “Data Link” jumper joins the two modules.

Bi-wiring should be considered necessity with these speakers. It’s virtually inconceivable that anyone who would own these would skimp on cabling. Run these speakers in a bi-wired (or, of course, biamped) configuration and do not piddle around with lesser connections.  As Von Schweikert asserts, “…a twin set of separate cables is greatly preferred.” Precisely. I often see threads on the internet posted by individuals asking if bi-wiring is “worth it.” Of course it is! The question should be, rather, are the electronics leading to the speaker substantive enough to merit it? If so, then it should be done. I have never encountered a case where any speaker with bi-wire capability did not sound superior in bi-wire configuration as opposed to being single-wired using jumpers.

The driver complement from bottom to top is a twin set of 8.5” aluminum (magnesium is used on the higher models) bass drivers in a triple-chambered hybrid transmission line cabinet. Low crossover points between 100Hz and 200Hz eliminate midrange coloration in the woofers. Below them resides a 7” flared port – this combination yields flat response to 20Hz.

The midrange used since 2001 is handled by a 7” cone material called “Aerogel”, which is a combination of paper fibers, Kevlar threads, carbon fiber powder and several binding chemicals. This is the same midrange used in the VR-11SE retailing at $150,000! Von Schweikert claims that this driver has, “…greater clarity and dynamic range than our reference electrostatic speaker.” From my comparisons to the Eminent Technology LFT-8A, which is a push-pull dynamic-planar speaker, the 4SR2 was every bit as quick, lithe and emotive, and with a huge advantage over the preponderance of skinny tower speakers I’m seeing today.

There are scads of thin floor-standing speakers being produced throughout the pricing spectrum designed to be aesthetically pleasing to the audiophile, purportedly without compromising aural integrity. Midranges in these speakers are typically 3-5”, and often are bunched. It’s typical to see twin 4” or 5” mids in speakers costing upwards of $5-6,000.00 and even with bass drivers in 6”! In a mind twisting development, it’s now common to see mids and bass drivers of the same size creating the “2.5 – way” speaker. The size of drivers has been shrinking; whereas years ago 12” to 15” bass drivers were common and mids on floor-standing speakers were sizable, now it’s not uncommon to find “tower” speakers with dual 5” mid/bass drivers! Many manufacturers have succumbed to the slimmer design to appeal to HT applications, so they’ve scaled down their drivers.

The speed, the cone’s structural integrity and stronger, lighter materials for resilience when pushed to higher levels, etc. all plays into the changes; but I wonder if it’s been taken too far. 

There is an undeniable sonic richness to using a larger midrange driver. Smaller midranges can sound downright limited in comparison. Even when mids are done exceptionally well, as in the Chapman T-77’s, where twin 5” Scanspeak  mid (technically, they are mid-bass drivers serving as midrange) drivers are employed, there is more expansiveness to instruments and vocals in the 4SR2’s single 7” that smaller drivers simply cannot convey. Midrange is what melts the audiophile’s heart, and the Aerogel warms me up every time I hear it.

Turning to the top-end, twin high frequency drivers are used to great effectiveness. A Vifa 1.5” (Scanspeak designed) Dual Ring Radiator with its phase plug pointing out like a bullet faces forward, while the more conventional looking rear-firing 1” ambience driver with fabric dome and transmission line-loading shoots toward the rear walls. The rear driver has its own ambience derivation circuit with complete “Dimension Control” for the level.  

It seems Von Schweikert is trying to gain a nuanced reverberative effect similar to that as produced by some bipolar speakers, but with more finesse. In this case, the use of the rear-firing driver is rather necessary to balance the high-end with the mid/bass. When I turned off the rear driver, the high-end was subdued to the point of being overwhelmed by the rest of the frequency spectrum. In a room with highly reflective walls, it may be possible to dial down the rear driver to the point of nominal contribution; but that would be the exception rather than the norm. The presence of the reflected high frequencies adds a depth to the sound, which is at once diminished without the rear driver.

This is a major component of the “room interactive design” of the speakers. Von Scweikert chooses to design speakers which will purposely interact with room boundaries. Consequently, placement is critical for the proper results with VR speakers as the rear drivers bounce high-end frequencies off the rear (behind the speaker) walls to yield a more holographic sound than traditional forward-firing speakers. Von Schweikert describes their speakers as, quasi-omnidirectional transducers, a fancy term that means they utilize two sets of sound waves to recreate the original setting of the recording. The initial wave launches from the front of the speaker, and the secondary wave reflects off the room’s boundary surfaces.  

It works. The 4SR2’s were located approximately 30” in from each side wall and 40” from the front wall in my 23’x13’x8’ listening room. The front wall corners have sound absorption panels placed at right angles approximately 3 feet high off the floor. This was done to reduce the strong reflected waves of planars, but it has also had the effect of creating a wonderfully reflection-free background for dynamic speakers as well. Use of the panels has allowed speakers to acoustically stand out like Lotus flowers emerging from mire. Whereas many listeners deal with rooms that are too interactive, too reverberant and intrusive, I had to dial up the ambience drivers to gain a sense of the omnidirectional nature of the sound.

The 4SR2’s allow not only high frequency adjustment, but also tuning of the bass module. The forward-firing bass ports are large enough that one can play surgeon and probe the cavities of the module in a procedure to save the low-end’s life…Ok, enough E.R. (rhymes with V.R.!). One can stuff wads of Pollyfil into the woofer cavity itself, or simply stuff the port tube to one’s desire. It’s not that the cabinets are resonant; they are well constructed and do not need the stuffing. It’s only if the bass is beating the stuffing out of you that the Pollyfil procedure is necessary.

And it very well may be necessary, since twin 8.5” aluminum woofers produce an utterly smooth but powerful low-end. I found that utilization of the Dussun V8i or the Channel Islands D-200 mono block amps, both very powerful amplification systems, was revelatory of the bass capabilities of the 4SR2’s! Can they reveal bass! I fancy myself a bass lover, but there are moments when I can’t take it to such a degree.

One instance was when an audiophile acquaintance let me hear his system with Klipsch speakers sporting 15” woofers as well as twin subs with 12” drivers driven by vintage McIntosh amplification – all in a 10x12’ room! Bass was ALL I recall hearing! Thankfully, the 4SR2’s were not remotely close to that; the low-end was strong, tight, powerful, yes even subwoofer-like but extremely controlled and, if a bit strong to my tastes, certainly not grotesquely proportioned to the mids/highs.

I can imagine that rock addicts would be in glory with the ability of these speakers to pound out bottom-end in such a clean fashion. My tastes, however, run toward smooth jazz and instrumental solos. In my experience, these speakers are made for tubes, at least tubes somewhere in the amplification chain. The two most noteworthy experiences I had were with the Pathos Classic One MkII tube hybrid’s (2) in bridged mode, and the newly minted Eastern Electric BBA “Buffer” Amp with the aforementioned D-200 monos.

I have never heard the Pathos Classic One MkII integrated’s running in bridged mode sound poor. They are a scintillating blend of power, grace and intensity. Just how powerful, graceful and intense one does not grasp until used with clearly superior speakers. When I purchased my first MkII, the dealer commented that he sold many of them for systems with speakers in the $10k range.  The Pathos amps sounded their best with the Von Schweikerts – a combination made in audiophile Heaven! Every single listening session with the Pathos and Von Schweikert combination was relaxing, fulfilling and enjoyable. With the right tube equipment, the 4SR2’s are enough to satisfy even the most jaded listener.

I was surprised at how good they sounded with a “wildcard” setup – the Eastern Electric BBA “Buffer” amp and the Channel Islands D-200 mono block amps. Designed to be installed between other components, the BBA does a “knock ‘em dead” imitation of the Melody P1688 preamp, which I laud for its crystal clarity and deep soundstage. The BBA’s limitations in features, such as one input and no remote volume, are made up for in sheer clarity and vividness that many higher end preamps aspire to. Coupled with the taut power of the D-200’s, I was mightily impressed with what the VR4SRs’ were sounding like!

While the Pathos amps were so romantically involving, the Eastern Electric/Channel Islands combo was fast and clean. The VR4 SR MkII reveals nuances between components with stunning precision. With these speakers, I don’t have to guess what a source or cable sounds like, I know what it sounds like.

When paired with the right source and amplification, the Von Schweikerts' are magical, especially in their unconstrained midrange. Dido’s No Angel disc is especially well suited to weigh the quality of vocals. Her alto voice on “Honestly Ok” is far better than just ok; one can hear the velvety smoothness and fullness of her voice. The 4SR2’s do such a terrific job of recreating the recording conditions, that immediately I was struck by the echoic nature of the recording, almost as if she were standing in a bedroom, looking into a mirror singing about her wanting to “…feel safe in my own skin.” And there the listener is, standing off of her shoulder, looking at her reflection in the mirror as she sings. It’s almost eerie how close the piece sounds.

On “Isobel”, the drums are a perfect example of why a larger woofer enclosure is necessary to reproduce life-like percussion. The twin 8.5” woofers and spacious cabinet combine to make the drum beats sound large with an appropriately large metallic ring, not like a smaller speaker trying to make the sound of a large drum. As the guitar and piano blend into the music, one hears the body of each instrument. It is very easy to visualize the instrument playing, not just he string or hammer of the instrument.

Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer has, how shall I say this delicately, a fairy-like voice. It’s the kind of voice that has the potential to be wafted along as if on a breeze. I cannot emphasize enough the strength of the generously sized midrange in making her voice come across in a most ephemeral manner. The strong, persistent electric guitar accompaniment contrasts to her wispy siren-like song.

I strongly encourage utilization of select music when adjusting the rear driver. While these were being dialed in “to taste”, I found it much easier to calibrate them using quiet solo instrumental or vocals. So much electronic music is reverberant that it becomes impossible to say how much is from the primary wave launch, and how much is reflected from the rear. Cleaner, simpler, slower pieces allowed for nuanced adjustments, and once set, I felt no need to adjust it for busier music.

My son plays trombone, so I hear one in my living room quite regularly. Rob Kaufman’s Sunday Drive is an unexpected delight in that it’s of the smooth jazz genre, but with a twist – lead trombone!  I am impressed at how accurately the Von Schweikert’s capture the instrument from the length of the brass tubes to the slippery transition zones as the instrument slides into a held note. The lead trombone has appropriate size, intensity, and appropriate characteristic warmth.

I am particularly critical of harsh high-end; if treble is not delicate enough on my ears, it may as well be hammers banging on trash cans.  I wondered if the rear driver would tip the scales against the V.S. speakers by pushing the treble too much.

I found that it was fairly impossible to induce the “screech effect” with the 4SR2’s. No matter the level, no matter the artist, higher notes didn’t make me cringe. When paired with the Pathos amplifiers, I knew I was “in the zone” for unlimited listening without fatigue. Mahler, Dido, Sting – whoever, you can be assured that the VR’s will spill out every last drop of intensity from the music without acoustically electrocuting you.

Design choices always carry with them inherent limitations and consequences. The choice to slant the baffle of the mid/tweeter module backwards was obviously for time alignment of the drivers. However, it has the effect of relocating the sweet spot of the mid/treble drivers above the listener’s head. I assumed that this was intentional on the part of Von Schweikert. Make no mistake about it, however, it does alter the sonics.

I must have alternated between standing and sitting 25 times as I critically assessed the nature of the change in sonics due to the angled baffle. In a word, there was ever so slightly more focus when standing as opposed to seated. Do the test yourself. Stand, then sit, then stand… If your ear is well trained, you will hear the difference. And note that I said slightly more focus as opposed to slightly less focus. I chose those words precisely since at no time did I feel the 4SR2’s focused poorly. In fact, these speakers are superb at communicating the context of recordings!

Initially, I wondered if I would need to tilt the mid/tweeter module forward by propping it up in the rear. This was something quite impossible with the Data Link attached, and another reason for bi-wiring.  After all, there was a miniscule amount of detail I was losing by having the sweet spot above my head by about 20”! Maybe here is where the genius of these speakers asserts itself. I never did it. As I kept listening, I thought occasionally about the offset drivers but the sound was so good that thoughts of jacking up the mid/tweet cabinet were offset by concerns over less stability and vibrations in the module (vibration absorbent feet for the M/T module, woofer module spikes, and spike cups for wood floors are included with the speakers).

I did, however, pose the question to Albert, asking for the rationale for the design. The answer? The decision to prevent the mid/tweeter drivers from directly beaming at the listener was to prevent listening fatigue. If one listens on-axis to those drivers, the response will be tilted toward the treble range. The frequency response is flat off-axis, to compensate for the angled baffle. The rear-firing ambience driver adds the three dimensional quality to the treble, and as the waves are reflected off the ceiling and walls, it creates the type of frequency balance as if one were in a concert hall.

To clarify, the ambience driver is not simply a rear-firing tweeter. It is an “ambient recovery system”, designed to replicate the sounds which enter the recording microphone from the rear of the mic. Albert decoded what was entering recording mics from the back and built the rear firing driver to play it back at the rear of the speaker. It contains its own circuit which recovers and decodes those signals for playback. 

Listening to my favorite pieces was glorious with the 4SR2’s! After several equipment permutations, I have concluded there is virtually nothing that can be done with reasonable equipment to make these speakers sound poor. Conversely, their capacity to improve the listening experience along with equipment upgrades seems virtually unlimited. For the average audiophile, this can be the dream speaker that is never outgrown.

I cannot dream of living without them, so they have become my reference speakers.

Also read Doug Schroeder’s article on:

 Dussun V8i

Solid-state Integrated amplifier

Jena Labs "Dussy" jumpers

with Dussun V8i

Jena Labs "Jazz" & "Java" cables

with "Bumblebee" & "Dussy"

Melody Hi Fi P1688 & S88

tube amplification system

Rega Saturn

CD player

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