The *OFFICIAL* Vienna Acoustics Owners Thread - Page 89

Hi Patrick,

A quick question for you. I own a paire of Mozart Grand drive by an Audiomat Arpege Integrate (30W, first 15w in class A). Do you think it would work with the BBG ?

Thank's

François

Hi Francois,

That is a very nice integrated! I've been curious for years how well it would drive Mozart Grand. Tell me more about your experience with the combination, and I can tell you more about how it might pair with BBG.

Best,

Patrick

Hi Patrick,

First it's not because I do not like Mozart that I would like to change it. It's just that I might have the opportunity to buy used pair of BBG at good prices.

The Arpege is an tube integrated still quite fast and dynamic. It has beautiful natural timbre and the bass are low without being too "boomy". So I find that it's a very good match with Vienna because I want a sound that gives me no "earring fatigue". I'm not looking necessarily for more bass, they are okay like this. The only aspect that could be improved is a medium with slightly more "body". My room is 12' x 16'. Now the mozart are 25" from behind wall and separated by 6'. (WAF and presence of 2 sofa)

I hope you understand because english is not my first langage!!!!!

François
You see my setup here:
http://www.audioatrium.com/forum/vie...t=178&start=15

I bought a pair of Baby Grands a while ago and haven't unwrapped them yet. I've moved into an old apartment that gets very hot and I'm wondering about the dangers of no ac during the summer and the glue coming undone in the speakers among other things.

Also, although the room is about 14'x20' I will probably not get much farther back than 9 feet from the speakers--if they are two feet from the wall. They will also probably be only 8-9 feet apart max if they are placed symmetrically. Is nine feet still a listening distance that will be gratifying to my ears with the BBGs, or is this hot apartment setup not worth the effort. I'd like to know before unsealing these bad boys. Perhaps a reluctant downgrade is in my future.

Hi Francois,

Based on what you have told me, I think that Beethoven Baby Grand will work great in your system.

Best wishes,

Patrick

HI uclabruins,

The melting point for the glue used in your cabinets or in the drivers themselves would be lethal to you if your apartment got that hot. No worries. The physical setup of your Baby Grands in the apartment should work fine. Naturally, you'll need to fine tune the setup with toe-in and toe-out, etc.

Best,

Patrick

I'm not an audiophil. Need guidance.

About 2 years back I planned to setup my HT. After listening to many brands I zeroed on VA speakers. I bought them from BB Magnolia. But since then I've been moved my home due to job requiremnts. Finally I'm settling down. I want to know two things:

1. I've a pair of each Hayden Grand, Waltz Grand and for center I've Maestro Grand. And for Sub I've Martin Logan Dynamo 500. What is recommanded AVR for them? Room will be open as plaaning to setup in my loft (20x24'). As of now I'm using with Yamaha Vxr-76x

2. What is good position of each of these pairs? I think Waltz will be better at rear due to crossover at 70Hz capability?

Budget is very limited.

Sharad

The speaker binding posts on my waltz grands are a small bizarre size. I want to hook my speaker wire directly into the connector holes and skip the goofy connector pieces supplied with my speakers (I actually lost two of them). Does anyone make banana plugs that fit the small holes in the Waltz Grands?

Cheers,

Dale
mains (VA Mahlers - rosewood)
center (VA Oratorio - rosewood)
rear (VA Waltz Grands - rosewood)

Finally found an Oratorio in rosewood to match the rest of my system. Have a mint Oratorio in beech for sale. I have the original box & manual; however, don't want to take responsibility for packing and shipping this monster. Local pick up only, or I will drop off at a UPS or Mail Box etc type store within 20 miles of 94028


Cheers,

Dale
mains (VA Mahlers - rosewood)
center (VA Oratorio - rosewood)
rear (VA Waltz Grands - rosewood)

Unfortunetly my answer it's kind of too late.
But I am the owner of Vienna Acoustics Mozart and Vienna Acoustics Bach. Purchased them at Magnolia.I decided to go with Vienna over the B&W 800 series.
I am overal really happy with those speakers.
I enjoy those speakers at medium-moderate high volume.
My amplifier is a Rotel RMB-1565 100w/8ohms per channel or 200w/4ohms per channel.
I have those speakers in a large leaving room.
As you already know, size of the room is critical when you purchase speakers. You cannot blame a good set of speakers if you have a large room.
Again from my experience Vienna Acoustics Mozart and Vienna Acoustics Bach are perfect for a mid size room like a bedroom or master bedroom.
In my case/ the circumstances force me to have my Mozart in my living room. If I had the money I would definetly go for the biger model ... and a more powerful amplifier.
I knew from the begining the amplifier it's 'at the limit' but that was my budget ..
As you know Bach and Mozart are rated 250w/4ohms. My ROTEL amplifier is able to drive just 200w on paper/per manual and I am not sure if it's really able to drive 200w in real life, it could be 180 or who knows ...
I previously had Bach and Mozart in a medium size room/ a bedroom and they sounded phenomenal, incredible ... riach/balanced/also clean sound.
For the living room if I feel listening a song with more power at high volumes I need to go for -10 on my receiver.
Unfortunetly at -11 it's starts popping. I don't know the cause, it could be the amplifier so I decided not to go higher than -12 on volume. I am afraid not to do any damage to my speakers.

Hello everybody,
I have a question.
Would worth to replace my my Rotel RMB1565 with a Primare A30.5?
I have Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand and Bach Grand for the rear.
Not sure if it's the receiver HK that I use as a preamp but at high volume I can hear the speakers popping.
Anyhow, wondering if Primare A30.5 it's a good amplifier ... sometimes you can find deals on ebay for a preamp Primare sp31 and amp a30.5 mk2 for less than 1,300$ for the set ...
Thank you

Hi Patrick,

I have a pair of Schoenberg speakers and I need to replace the drivers for them both I also need to replace the tweeter on one. How should I go about doing this? I'm in San Francisco.

Best,

Sha

Though I'm replying to a 2 month old post, I second in removing the sub from Mozart, IF you listen to only music in stereo. I got pairs of Rel T3, T2 and T1 and played around which are best for Mozarts. These subs are fantastic with HT particularly with HD concerts/movies. But for stereo, they really don't help a bit. Mozart can handle the bottom line so well without these subs that it took me weeks before I finally pull them out when listening to stereo. As I said, these subs are fantastic with HD concerts/movies but useless on stereo with Mozarts. Still, I love RELs. Watching Chris Botti, Inception or Tron with these RELs are real treat! =) My stereo experience with RELs may not be the same in your case. So it's still up to you.
Edited by ebug - 7/1/12 at 1:28am

I agree as well.
When i auditioned the Mozart Grand Se I had a hard time getting a Rel R 328 to blend in while listening to 2 channel system.In the end I turned it off and just listened to the Mozarts by themselves.I got the impression that a sub was not necessary for 2 channel listening.

Has anyone compared the newer Haydn Grand SE to the older Haydn Grand?

The reviews on the symphony editions have certainly been very positive.

I've been thinking about buying a new pair of VA speakers to replace some older Bach classics.

I'm in Florida and the closest dealers are both a seven hour drive away, so stopping by is out of the question.. Are the older Haydn Grand or Bach Grand models still available new? My room and budget are quite small: 12 x 10, $1000-1800. I could sell some things and really stretch for the VA Haydn Grand SE, I suppose.

Maybe somebody is planning to ship their VA Mozarts and don't have the original boxes. Here's what I did with easy to find materials.

6 Packs 3/4 in. x 14- 1/2 in. x 48 in. E/O Polystyrene Panel (6 per Pack) - Home Depot
2 Golf-bag boxes (15" x 15" x 48") - Fedex
Foam sheets - Home Depot
Stretch film
Spare cardboards
Fillers (Peanuts, crumpled papers, foams) - Never use bubble wraps for very heavy items.
Packaging tape

Polypanels and foam sheets from Home Depot


Base and grille removed


Tweeter is protected with a foam housing (like walls and roof of the house). Whole speaker is then wrapped with the pink foam sheet to protect the veneer.


Place a rectangular cardboard to cover both woofers.


Cut a rectangular slot on one side polypanel for the Grille. (Like hiding a gun with a book). Make sure the grille's six mounts are pointed outward not toward the speaker. Cover it with foam sheet.


Speaker is wrapped with stretch film. This will protect the foam sheet from moving. The polypanels are positioned and ready to be inserted to the box. Note the Grille is sandwiched on the side. (The grille mounts must be pointd outwards). Also note the poly panel at the lower end.


Speaker is inserted. Do this with the speaker and box horizontally on the floor. You may need someone to help you.


Wrap the base and spikes and place them on the other end. Place a polypanel and cardboard between this and speaker to prevent accidental scratching of veneer during transport.


Check for any looseness. Add fillers if needed. Tape the box and you are ready to ship.
This actually takes time to do. Two to 4 hours depending on you. But knowing that the speaker will arrive unharmed, it's worth it.
The speakers actually arrived in the destination in perfect condition!

I hope this information can help someone.
Edited by ebug - 7/15/12 at 1:09am

Excellent post!

Looks like the gold standard of speaker packing right there and will be really helpful as a reference when I ship speakers in the future. Thanks for sharing.

Question: what caused the slight fade in veneer on your mozarts? I see this problem a bit when looking at second hand VA speakers. I'm guessing it's due to leaving the grill in place, but I would have thought that would actually make the part covered by the grills darker not lighter..

Great Post on Packing Mozarts! Thanks.

Question for the experts in the group. I just upgraded my Pioneer Elite SC25 to an SC55. The sound coming out of my Mozarts is completely different. It's as if they have come alive after a long, dormant sleep. What I don't understand is why this is the case. Both amps are rated at 140 watts and are made by Pioneer Elite. I have read that amps from different manufacturers can make the Mozarts sound quite different, but here we have the same manufacturer. Any thoughts?

Yes, I agree too - great post on proper way of packing speakers. Thanks for sharing.

Rezalon, congrats on the new AVR and good to hear you are enjoying it. There are those who frequent this forum that will say you are pyscho-acoustically imagining the SC55 sounds better to justify the purchase subconciously as all amps sound the same. Then there are those thay will say that amps really sound different. For an opinion on the latter, I direct you to the following link where the reviewer does say the new digital amps Pioneer has developed (SC55 & 57) are an improvement over the previous ICE amps they used in the SC25 & 27. Hope this reveiw helps and explains what you are now experiencing with your Mozarts.

http://www.hometheater.com/content/pioneer-elite-sc-57-av-receiver

I say whatever sounds good to you and makes you happy is what matters. In my case, I use an SC-25 as a pre-pro only and power my 5.1 VA setup with a Parasound 5125 power amp for home theater use. For 2 channel listening (mostly vinyl), I took it one step farther and use a Parasound 2100 pre-amp and completely bypass the SC-25's stereo pre-amp section. Some may say this is overkill. I say I couldn't be happier with the results and I now have the Multi Channel/2 Channel Stereo system I always wanted. I am pleased you are happy with the results of your SC55 too. Good luck and happy listening!

How much $$ did you spend on the packing materials?

I'm really not sure how it faded. I actually only noticed the difference after you mentioned it. You got sharp eyes! But the boundary is obviously the grille. Maybe an effect on light (?) but they are not that too exposed to sunlight.

I'm sorry I can't totally recall. I did this a year ago. But one pack of poly foams is I think $7 and you need about three for one speaker. Then $6x2 for fedex golf box. $6x3 for the pink foams. so probably around $60 for the pair (???) This approach is I think cheaper than crate and by experience very reliable. I have shipped my mozarts, maestro and waltzes using this method and the new owners were more amazed on the packaging than on the speakers (for real). It was funny thinking about it! =)

Want more pictures? This is for the maestro. I made this for another buyer.






That small notch on the cardboard is for the tweeter

Bug, I need you to come to New Jersey and pack my Salk Songtowers as soon as I find a buyer for them. I don't have the original boxes/packing materials so your post is very timely.

LOL, wow...I'm just right here in motor city. So near and yet so far =) The materials are cheap but my service may cost you an arm and a leg =) just kidding. Those Salks S are sweet!!!
Edited by ebug - 7/19/12 at 1:25am

Hi all,
I am new to this thread, so don't shoot me for asking questions that others may have asked before me

I am the proud owner of a nice pair of Beethoven Baby Grands which I have had for 3 years now. I was at a high-end show in Copenhagen roughly one year ago. The experience was a real eye-opener. Most of the systems I heard sounded unbearably bright to my ears, but as these systems were far costlier than mine, I started to suspect that maybe I had gone soft. So the same evening, I went to a small jazz club and was relieved to find that the relaxed tonal balance we all love from our VA speakers is actually very close to the real thing. I should note that i frequently attend live concerts of jazz and classical, I was just surprised to find that so many super-expensive systems were voiced so bright at the high-end show.

At this point I would like to recommend anyone who are looking for amplifiers to match their VAs to have a serious look at Vincent Audio's hybrid line. I use the SA-T1 tube pre and the SP-T100 hybrid monoblocks, and the combination with the BBGs, is absolutely stunning. The sweet midrange and treble of the tube pre goes really well with the Viennas, and the monoblocks have an iron-fist grip on the bass. The monblocks are running class a up to 20 W in 4 Ohms, so I practically never have to listen to cross-over distortion.

Just for information, my source is an Ortofon Rondo Bronze PU mounted in an Audiomods arm on a Michell Orbe. RIAA is a DIY tube (World-Designs phono 3S) developed by Andy Grove.

And now a question for Patrick: Can you elaborate on the differences between BBG and BBG SE? Is it possible to upgrade?

I just demoed the Vienna Acoustics Haydn Grand Symphony Edition and was really impressed by the sound of it! I took my Exposure 3010s2 amp and the match is great.

But another system I have my eye on is the AVI ADM 9.1 active speakers.

I want to use the system for music and movies, so I wanted to add a subwoofer, now AVI got a dedicated sub that will be easily integrated at 60hz.

But what about the Haydn Grands? What crossover should work fine with these speakers? I am looking at the SVS SB 12 or BK XXLS 400.

Usually, the recommended sub for Vienna is REL. They are the ones used in the Hometheater reviews. I've never heard them myself (I have plenty of bass in my Meethoven Baby Grands), but they are often recommended as a good match. But I think you should consider a pair of Mozart in stead of Haydn+sub+stands. I think you could end with a better (and better looking) system that way, and the price is not gonna be that much different.

But try both solutions in your home.

/Bevensee

A new question. I have Beethoven Concert Grands as my mains (fraking love them) and a Paradigm CC570 for my center. Worth the expense of upgrading to the VA Maestro Grand center channel? Nothing wrong with the Paradigm, just curious at this point. The VA center is smaller but with similar specs. Smaller would be a good thing in my room.

Dear VA Owners/loverls

I am new to the world of hifi. your patience and guidance is much appreciated.

i too have been hit by the VA bug lately. loving every single aspect of these marvellous speakers: aesthetics, cabinetry, the touch warmish sound and amazing soft dome tweeter. there is sentimental value too involved with these speakers. by far most enjoyable trip to Vienna other year.

i mostly listen to electronica (progressive house, downtempo, tribal) and classical music 80% of the time and everything else in between.

CD or grabbed online from rdo or loss less sources.

I like to play a bit louder than many and get my real satisfaction not just from sound stage, dynamics and balance but also from the mid and bottom heavy base.

systems i am considering are:

Naim superuniti or divided up to parts with naim 200 amp

Rotel RDG 1520 DAC
Rotel RC 1550 Preamp
RB 1572 Power Amp

mcintosh ma6300 but if the ma 6600 is highly recommended then i will push to make it happen. otherwise a bit over my budget of around 5K for electronics.

my understanding is that these speakers require a lot of power to drive them. what is a lot exactly?

i also understand that they require an amp with high damping? mcintosh ma6600 apparently has a very low damping factor of 40!!! 200+ and ideally 400 plus damping factor is what my research tells me these speakers want. i wasnt able to find this info on the naim.

on paper, Rotel has more watt, very high damping but we all know numbers can be misleading.

i know we are talking about options that are integrated like the MA, all in one like superuniti by naim and combo like rotel. its the amp/preamp compatibility with these speakers i am looking to find.

Thank you for the suggestions and any education that comes with it.

cheers

RS

Well, I may as well go ahead and share my setup with you guys here. I recently moved to a new apartment (in a new city, nonetheless), and unfortunately its a small one, just over 600 square feet. That leaves me with a very small living room, but I have to make do. While placement and setup is definitely not ideal, coming home after a long day and throwing on some music is really a fantastic experience every time.




The breakdown is:

Vienna Acoustics Schonberg
Vienna Acoustics Webern
Monitor Audio Radius 360
Pioneer VSX-1121
Emotiva UPA-2
Pro-ject Debut Carbon
Panasonic PG-50GT50
Apple Airport Express
Tivo Series4
WDTV Live Plus
Xbox 360

The Vienna's are truly beautiful speakers. The Schonbergs were an upgrade from a pair of Haydn Grands. Considering their enclosures, the bass response is impressive, and they definitely share that Vienna sound signature that we all enjoy.