The *OFFICIAL* Vienna Acoustics Owners Thread - Page 3

Whew! Ok, I was getting buyer's remorse. Thank you for the words of encouragement! I just sent off the funds this morning. Now I need to make it all fit and not have my wife freak out and sell my Maestro....

Thanks for the reply!

I ended up "downgrading" my price tag to Energy RC-30, but got them for a great price so if a used pr of Bach Grands comes along...

Are the original Vienna Acoustics Beethoven's similar in size to the Beethoven Concert Grand or the Baby Grand?

I liked the sound of the Baby grand more than the Concert Grand myself.

The original beethovens are more similar to the concert grand in terms of size

Steve, if you are going to go used, look up the mozart grands or even the baby grands if possible. I think the jump from bach to mozart is a good improvement in performance, especially for two channel or loud movies for not a huge increase in price ($750 or so at retail)

Thanks again Rick...

These are Living Room speakers that I wanted to have as small a presence as possible for a wood tower design...I do agree jumping up would be a good idea for primaries, but I'm still in love with my Paradigm Studio 100v2rw's!

100-130 WPC is about standard for most good high-current amps in premium AV receivers these days. The problem is that that requirement is kind of not real-world. Having listened to Mozarts, Haydns, et al, with a variety of amps, I can tell you that you can hear a difference when pairing them with a lower power amplifier. I'd pair them with nothing less than a Denon AVR4308 or equivalent. If you like the musical sound they produce, then go for a mid-to-high-end Yamaha AVR and you'll be in heaven. If you're an HT guy, then go with the Schönberg series. They're just as fantastic with music as the Grands, but they've got a much better soundstage and midrange than the Grands.

Very little interest in Vienna Acoustics? I just purchased a pair of the Haydn Grands and a Theatro for my HT set-up. Anxiously awaiting delivery!

Anyone have any idea how an HSU subwoofer would pair with the Mozart Grands?

Also been doing a lot of reading and lots of people are saying Viennas are great for music but not HT. Any thoughts?

I've been using my Viennas for HT (M&K sub, B&K processing) with excellent results.

I demoed them and heard tons of detail and they were very clear. What kind of movies are you watching?

While they aren't for anyone, I do like vienna surround systems because to my ears they don't fatigue the way the typical "metal" tweeter speakers will (in most cases). I do think the new maestro grand is a much improved center and sounds very good. The previous offering IMO was not very special, especially at the costs involved. They do need a good amplifier to get the most out of them and at a 4ohm load, they tend to need more then your typical mass market denon/pioneer/onkyo offerings to get the most out of them.

I was looking at a Pioneer Elite 92 or a Denon 2808 prior to considering the Viennas. I have read on this thread that some people have had luck powering them with the Pioneer. I do realize that it is important to pair them with the proper power source such as a seperate amp. Budget constraints though. Thoughts on using the Pioneer or Denon as a pre-amp, or other suggestions are always welcome.

I think using a modern receiver as a pre-amp is a great idea. Generally speaking, a modern receiver with all the bells and whistles is pretty damn low cost compared to the likes of modern pre-amps (anthem, krell, lexicon etc). For a power amplifier, maybe check out something like outlaw that offer high current options for reasonable prices. yes, they might not sound quite as good as the $3000+ 5ch power amps (I am not talking from direct comparison or anything) but they will most likely offer a good improvement over the factory amplifier from denon/pioneer/onkyo etc

Hell, I currently have a full martin logan surround system with a lexicon MC-1 processor and a ATI power amplifier. I am working on replacing the lexicon with a avr3808ci ( I really love the dynamic EQ from audessy)

just get an Insignia stereo receiver, i heard a rumor they do wonders with the Viennas

I heard those insignia's come with a built in fireworks show on 4ohm speakers

Fireworks! i love fireworks!!!! jlafrenz you get the Vienna's and i'll get the insignia receiver, and therick you cook some hot dogs, and we will have ourselves one hell of a 4th of July!!!!

Was just reading about Dynaudio. Seem to be very well liked for stereo listening. Anyone compared these against the Viennas

The only crit I could give Vienna's Grand line is that it isn't as precise with surround information as say DefTech or MartinLogan or even Klipsch.

Now, the Schonberg series corrects that.

any Schonberg owners that can chime in?

Funny you should say that about Def Tech and Klipsch. I have actually been thinking about those two brands. I like them all and trying to decide what to do. My latest idea is to keep the klipsch I have for HT and use the Viennas for music. No purchase yet, decisions, decisions.

I thoroughly enjoyed my Beethovens for 4 1/2 years. Used a BK Ref50 as a processor and Primare 2 Channel for fronts and 3 Channel for rears with Rel Stadium sub. Awesome sounding system....it was just time to upgrade. Maestro for center and Waltz for rears...

Do it again in a heart beat!!!

I just found this thread. Sweet!

I've had a pair of Beethoven Grands for the last three years or so in my 2 channel music system. I auditioned a lot of speakers over several months, and these we my consistent favorites. I'm very happy with them. The biggest positive for me is the imaging. With good source material, the soundstage extends well past the speakers. There is a lot of depth and height as well. The overall tonal balance matches well with the rest of my equipment, and the dynamics are good.

I have them set up 3 ft from the rear walls and about 11 ft apart. I had to play around to find the right position, toe in, and tilt (slightly back) to get them to really sing.

I'm running McIntosh 2102 amps as bridged monoblocks, 200 WPC, which is more than enough for these speakers. The Mac's are very detailed, a good match for these somewhat laid back speakers.

I am cheating a little in that I'm running some stereo ACI subs. You can see the Classe' power amp and Behringer equalizer on the left in the picture. The subs are equalized to only augment the 20-40 Hz region, and then only a little. The Beethovens are run full range, no crossover.

I have just bought a pair of Strauss speakers and the dealer has given me a 30 day trial to make a decision. I am just getting back into LP's and tube amplifiiers and have already purchased a McIntosh C2200 preamp and an MC275 power amp. (My other system is Meridian with DSP6000 speakers). My concern whether or not the MC275 will match up nicely with the speakers. They are rated at 75 WPC, but really put out about 92 WPC according to the dealer. Any input or advise would be appreciated.

That should work out very nicely, should be a very very warm setup.
If that amp doesn't suite you, you might give the mac MC252 a shot in the system as a solid state option (250w/ch). I don't remember exactly what the MC275 costs but i believe its very close the MC252.

Make sure you spend the time setting up the strauss. Most vienna dealers have gone through the sumiko setup training and should offer some assistance IMO! That speaker isn't the easiest speaker to setup from its size alone.

Wow, thats a nice looking setup. You have to admit, even if you don't like the sound or their ideas, the Mac gear sure makes a visual impression that is very hard to forget

cappy,
I was running a similar package C2200 and MC 2102 with my Beethovens. The MC 2102 is 100 WPC, not much more than the MC 275. It worked great in my 14' x 50' x 8' listening room. I have the system set up on the long wall, so the room is not a 'big' acoustically as the measurements would indicate. So unless you have a really big room, it should work for you. I hardly ever hit 20 wpc on the MC 2102 meters. That is loud. If you run out of steam, just buy another MC 275 and run them as monoblocks!

the rick,
Thanks for the kind words. It has been a great journey. Upgrade-itis is slowing a bit.

I have owned a lot of gear over the years, and none seems to elicit such strong opinions wrt audio quality and performance as McIntosh. Their latest batch of amps and preamps is really very good. Since I buy carefully used gear, (except for speakers) I do like the fact that every Mac piece I own has appreciated since I bought it.

My darling bride said: "Why don't you buy more of that McIntosh stuff - I like the way it looks." Yes dear, anything you say!

Great to see other VA acoustics fans that use Mcintosh to power them! I love the combo and began with a MC-7205 with a pair of Beethovens. Slowly moving up the chain, I now have a pair of MC-501 monoblocs to power my Mahlers for the front and a bridged MC-7106 for the Oratorio center and Waltz surrounds and I am in audio heaven!

Thanks to everyone for the helpful & encouraging input regarding the Strauss speakers & McIntosh MC275.

T minus 4 months until i purchase new speakers, that is when my new house i built!

Still researching speakers, spend more time listening around shops but it'll pretty much still down to Dynaudio Contour S3.4 or Vienna strauss/concert grand for me.

Based on what you guys are telling me, I feel that the A30.5 primare amp is sufficient and I really do appreciate big center speakers as they are such an important component of any surround setup.

There's alot of used VA speakers on the Danish market these days so I'm able to get a good deal on a pair of used strauss so when I compare the VA setup vs the Dynaudio I end up with the same conclusion each time which is performance vs value the VA wins.

Also the Dynaudio S3.4 do not have a whole lot of bass output whereas the strauss most likely will not lack that! And I do like bass!

I started off with the Concert grand and maestro in mind but I'm convincing myself that I must have the strauss and oratorio center now! Would still be using 4xhaydn as rears.

Question really is, what are the big differences between beethoven concert grand and strauss? I hear some talk about bloated bass on strauss (room dependant?).

Great thread. I'm looking for a pair of Haydns now.