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Von Schweikert Audio/DarTZeel/EMM
Labs/Jena Labs
Monte Carlo Ballroom, T.H.E. Show
Importer/Distributor Jonathan Tinn of Blue
Light Audio in Portland, Oregon, put together
a multi-channel package of components
believed as the finest sounding system
available. All of these components have one
thing in common: they were statement pieces
attempting to bridge the gap between hi-fi and
live music. In the case of Albert Von Schweikert’s new $60k loudspeaker design, the
Virtual Reality-9ES (his moniker for a set of
design standards that can closely replicate
live musical waveforms). Let me say this, the
VR-9SE sounded very close to “live” and
in comparison to more expensive loudspeakers I
heard perusin' round the show, this latest
effort must be considered a bargain.
[Consider this, Von Schweikert showed secret
drawings of his new VR7 prototype, which looks
very much like the VR9SE's minus a powered
sub, that will retail for about 30k and slated
to debut this spring.]
Von Schweikert - the man, as well as his
machine - blessed showgoers by unveiling two
pair of the mid-sized VR-9SE’s in a
four-channel format in gigantic 24' x 34'
ballroom. Employing the impressive
multi-channel EMM Labs Switchman preamp ($8K)
and SACD transport/DAC ($16k combo) rested
upon the attractive and
functional Craz
Reference isoRack
from Silent Running Audio ($7k). Four Swiss DarTZeel
($13K/ea) 100-watt amplifiers drove the
VR-9SE’s in a vertical bi-amp mode, using Jena
Labs woven copper cables (price TBA). A
variety of SACD multi-channel recordings were
used to demonstrate how recorded sound can
approach a live concert performance. Bravo,
Mr. Von Schweikert, you've done it again!
 Von
Schweikert, once again gave me the scoop on
how he and his design team, led by Kevin
Malmgren, VP Engineering at VSA (photo left),
were able to design yet another
ground-breaking system. Chew on these VR-9SE
factoids that Von Schweikert spoke quite
matter-of-factly into my Sony voice recorder:
Bandwidth: 10Hz
to 100kHz (claimed to be a “first” in a
reasonably sized system).
Distortion: Less
than 0.7% at 100dB (that’s the lowest
distortion around, folks).
Sensitivity: 96dB
(this amount of dynamic range will leave you
with goose bumps on a daily basis).
Output Level Capability:
127dB with less than 3% distortion (Is it Live
or is it VR-9?)
Drive Units:
1-15” powered subwoofer, 2-9” midbass, 1-7”
midrange, 1-1.5” Dual ring tweeter, and 1-5”
ribbon super tweeter (front), 1-5” ribbon
rear-firing Ambience Retrieval driver.
Amplification:
Built-in 1,000-watt Class D amplifier used to
drive the rear mounted 15” sub exclusively.
The Von Schweikert Audio VR-9SE is a scaled
down version of their flagship $125k VR-11SE,
considered by many as one of the most accurate
transducers in the world. Unfortunately, the
VR-11SE stands nearly eight feet tall and at a
½ ton in weight, many potential customers
demanded a scaled-down “real world” version.
From the front, the VR-9SE is not particularly
intimidating, being only 50” tall and 11” wide
in front. However, the 350 lb. weight per side
curb-weight and 30” depth makes you realize
this isn't your average floor-standing
speaker.
A handsome two-piece stacking system, the “L”
shaped bottom and top pieces
interlock together and “float” on rubber pucks
designed to reduce vibration. The woofer
section houses twin 9” Excel magnesium-coned
front-firing woofers to handle midbass down to
40Hz, while a 15” rear-firing Diamond woofer
provides infrasonic bass depth Von Schweikert
states is "equalized to 10Hz."
The split woofer system, using a large
infrasonic driver and the smaller midbass
drivers, enables the VR-9SE to have both huge
output at extremely frequencies and very high
speed in the midbass;/lower midrange
frequencies. You get the weight and power from
the fast 15” and the clarity from the 9”
midbass drivers - "minus the VR-11, if there
is anything out there that can top this
design, I haven’t heard it" boasts Von
Schweikert.
But bass isn’t everything, the midrange is
where the majority of the magic lies, of
course, and of course "that’s the real
strength of the VR-9SE" says Von Schweikert.
Due to the suspended upper cabinet and
sophisticated drivers; four of them for the
frequency range between 200Hz to 100kHz, the
human voice is said to be absolutely
dazzling. To begin with, VSA uses “Aerogel," a
proprietary midrange cone material made in
France. Composed of carbon powder, Kevlar
threads, and a composite of ceramic liquid and
paper pulp, this cone is amazingly thin,
rigid, and light in weight. Albert says this
midrange driver (in its sealed labyrinth
enclosure), is a close match in clarity to his
legendary FPS planar magnetic Japanese ribbon
drivers; the first driver Von Schweikert
claims beat out his Quads
in transparency. However, the VR-9’s
cone midrange driver has 100dB of sensitivity,
four times the sensitivity of the FPS planar
or Quad electrostatic, enabling extremely high
dynamic range and “punch” far exceeding any
planar driver or cone driver on the planet.
The human voice, trumpet, or piano, being very
difficult to reproduce in a convincing
fashion, is handled with incredible delicacy
by the VR-9, perhaps the best midrange
reproduction of heard from a Von Schweikert
debut.
However, it is in the treble range where many
high-end contenders stutter, and where the
VR-9SE speaks volumes. Since the treble range
spans from 2kHz to 20kHz (with some evidence
that sounds up to 100kHz are “felt” by human
listeners), Von Schweikert and crew split up
this wide range between two different types of
tweeters. The lower treble range is handled by
a 1.5” Dual Ring Revelator, while the upper
range is supported by a 5” aluminum foil
ribbon up to 100kHz. Note that the two
tweeters are Time Aligned mechanically to the
midrange and midbass drivers, and are arranged
on a very narrow baffle, enabling wide
dispersion without baffle diffraction. The
lower treble, crossing over from the 7”
midrange driver into the 1.5” Dual Ring
Radiator, sounds very thick and rich in
harmonics, and is very lush, almost velvety.
The top-end air, like the vertically rising
sound from cymbals, is handled very delicately
by the ribbon super tweeter, perfectly
complementing the larger, lower frequency
tweeter. The combined sound of these two units
sounded quite wonderfully blended, with great
power handling and extremely low distortion.
 Naturally,
if you are familiar with Von Schweikert’s
design theories, you know that his Ambience
Retrieval System adds the concert hall depth
that most box speakers gloss over. Albert
designed his original VR-4 speaker to behave
like a microphone in reverse, to achieve that
omni-directional microphone spaciousness heard
in classical recordings. The new VR-9 uses a
5” rear-firing ribbon driver and Ambience
Retrieval Extraction network to reproduce the
out-of-phase information that the rear of the
omni-mic would pick up; this reverberant sound
gives the VR speakers a unique depth and huge
sound stage. This ambience system enabled the
VR-9’s to fill the huge ballroom with an airy,
dimensional soundstage very close to a live
orchestral performance. In fact, this may be
the VR-9s secret weapon.
 However,
as we all know, even the best sounding
speakers in the showroom often
fall flat in our own
listening rooms, due to a variety
of reasons like lesser equipment, cables not
properly matched, poor recordings
- in short, poor synergy. To combat these
problems, Von Schweikert and crew put on their
thinking caps and provided the VR-9SE with
tone controls. "Wait, don’t laugh, responded
Von Schweikert, these are not simple volume
knobs with distortion." VSA provided
extremely expensive Autoformers; each with
individual windings for twenty different
volume level settings. Von Schweikert says
"these don’t add distortion like cheap
controls, so they’re a real help and not a
hindrance." Both the lower and upper range
tweeters are fitted with these controls, and
along with the amplifier controls for the 15”
subwoofer, enable the VR-9SE to be fine tuned
to any room issue or equipment scenario.
It was obvious that the VR-9SE’s were fine
tuned by Von Schweikert’s crew for that large
ballroom; although the bass was dramatically
deep, loud and powerful, it was also highly
controlled and incredibly tight. And the
treble, what can I say? When you can relax to
the sounds of massed violins and not cringe,
the world is a happy place. Either the level
controls, or hyper expensive tweeters, or
perhaps the high quality of the electronics
and cables, were the perfect match for the
VR-9’s. Or maybe Von Schweikert is on to
something, and this idea of adjustable ribbon
tweeters is the wave of the future?
Clement Perry
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