A VR3 Pair of One of a Kind

VR3 · January 2014

Just shy of $700

northernwind · January 2014

ah crap.I'm very ocd when it comes to my speakers,so now I won't be able to get over it until I do the upgrade.....How much do kidney's go for nowadays?lawl.

teekay0007 · January 2014

Thank you, Mikey and Trey, for clarifying this for me - makes sense for some, I guess. I'm just saying that the stock 703s sound damn good to me. I mean, listening to some of my better-recorded CDs and SACDs I'm walkin' around here nearly at half mast. That's something the Sonus Faber's didn't do for me, even at about $5500/pr + $1100 for their custom stands they were on. Don't know if I could handle much better sound out of the 703s. ;-p Maybe someday though, when their caps are on the back end of their productive lives.

Mikey081057 · January 2014

I have been playing these for a few days now and am appreciating a level of detail i have not heard before. And very versatile. From classical to metal.. from jazz to punk they seem to get a little sweeter day by day.

northernwind · January 2014

hey V,does your upgrade improve the efficiency of the speakers?

madmax · January 2014

Talk about crossover ****!

Mikey081057 · January 2014

madmax wrote: »

Talk about crossover ****!

In this case better to listen than watch :-)

TroyD · January 2014

Trey hit the nail on the head about the whole pricepoint thing......and I've been amazed at what modding can do, I've got a couple of modded CD players.....the venerable Sony SCD-555ES, stock, was a Stereophile Class A player and the Jolida JD100. With competent modification, both modded players are VERY much improved over the originals (which I didn't think was all that possible, being familiar with both units in the stock form).

Again, competent modification is the key phrase.

BDT

treitz3 · January 2014

northernwind wrote: »

hey V,does your upgrade improve the efficiency of the speakers?

I'll answer this one for you. Directly? No. If you have a 4/6/8/16 ohm nominal speaker, this will not change. Indirectly, yes. The end result is the the volume knob does not need to be turned up as much to achieve the same volume as a stock speaker. Dynamics, frequency response and impact are all improved [both perceived and actual, sometimes dramatically] without straining your amplifier or demanding any additional load. Then, you add in the imaging and sound staging improvements and it's a no holds barred win-win situation for your ears.

Tom

Mikey081057 · January 2014

treitz3 wrote: »

I'll answer this one for you. Directly? No. If you have a 4/6/8/16 ohm nominal speaker, this will not change. Indirectly, yes. The end result is the the volume knob does not need to be turned up as much to achieve the same volume as a stock speaker. Dynamics, frequency response and impact are all improved [both perceived and actual, sometimes dramatically] without straining your amplifier or demanding any additional load. Then, you add in the imaging and sound staging improvements and it's a no holds barred win-win situation for your ears.

Tom

Yeah... what he said!!

I don't know if it's my imagination, but my tube amp is soooo sweet with this mod. The detail and soundstage is greatly improved.

VR3 · January 2014

Tom pretty much nailed it!

Mikey081057 · February 2014

So it's been about a month of listening to these VR3 LSIM 703's and as Trey said, they would open up as I played them a bit. I estimate that I have about 80 hours on them by know, and have done some experimenting connecting to my different amplification options and have settled on keeping them with my Yaqin MC100B.

What I really find that I like is that they have incredible versatility in this combination. Acoustic Jazz is superb; Female vocals are sweet; Rock is full and impactful; Jazz fusion is like watching fireworks.

My little 30 watt amp makes the 703's sound huge, and the accuracy I experience is so precise.

I really wish you guys could hear these.

Thanks again Trey!

Mikey081057 · February 2014

Zero wrote: »

Cool speaker collection. Aww, you've grown up so fast (VR3).. little effer.

My house is a veritable IHOP... International house of Polk

VR3 · February 2014

Hey Mike!

Thanks for the 80 hour update! When you get to 200-250 you will be back again though, long burn in on them!

newrival · February 2014

treitz3 wrote: »

I'll answer this one for you. Directly? No. If you have a 4/6/8/16 ohm nominal speaker, this will not change. Indirectly, yes. The end result is the the volume knob does not need to be turned up as much to achieve the same volume as a stock speaker. Dynamics, frequency response and impact are all improved [both perceived and actual, sometimes dramatically] without straining your amplifier or demanding any additional load. Then, you add in the imaging and sound staging improvements and it's a no holds barred win-win situation for your ears.

Tom

I don't feel this answers the question asked. nominal impedence and efficiency are not the same thing.

And while nominal impedence while not likely change, band specific impedence will, and very likely so will efficiency. This is all to a small degree. The only way to find out is to test or do the math. To my understanding, VR3 doesn't perform these tests nor those calculations, but that isn't to diminish the work, simply to say his approach is different. I think the testimonials speak to the quality. But if you're looking for technical details, you will want to bring your modified equipment to a licensed and experienced tech/engineer who can perform that task for you.

VR3 · February 2014

I actually have all of the software to do just about any type of measurement if requested.

In the impedence sweeps I have performed modified versus stock there is usually no real difference.

Mikey081057 · April 2014

So i am about at the 200 hour mark on the VR3LSIM703's and as Trey indicated they just keep on continuing to get more impressive. na matter what I throw at them from low vols to 11 i can't find a deficiency. From classical to jazz to rock to metal I must say they are sweet and still getting sweeter.

I can only compare them to my VR3LSI9's, and not to take anything away from the 9's but they can't hang with the 703's. At this point I guess I will find another use for my 9's in my ht or something cuz I just don't listen to them anymore. I am thinking of maybe using the 9's as the mains in my ht and putting the 15's in my listening room to see how they stack up against the 703's... might need a rainy saturday to do that tho.

Hats off to Trey

TNHNDYMAN · April 2014

Mikey- Glad to hear you are enjoying the 703's as they continue to improve. Was curious as to how satisfied with the Parasound 2100 you have been? I'm looking at it and the new P5 to use in my system. Are you using the full range output to the 703's are are you using the fixed 80Hz high pass output?

Mikey081057 · April 2014

The 2100 pre is a very good value, I am sure you could spend 2-3 times and just get nominal improvement. I use the full range output to the 703's, but as you have probably researched there is an array of options you can try. I tend to experiment and move things around. I use the dac in the SA8004 but if you don't have a dac then the p5 seems to be a great value too.

TNHNDYMAN · April 2014

I'm torn as to which one to get. I already have a Peachtree DAC-iT with an asychorus (misspelled) adapter that I doubt the internal Dac in the P5 could top. But it they were even close in quality the ease of use and lack of IC's would sway me to the side of consolidation. I do really like the variable high pass out on the P5 compared to the fixed 80 hz on the 2100. I know the 703's dig pretty deep and feel like I'd rather cross them over at around 50-60 instead and send the rest to my sub.

Mikey081057 · April 2014

Maybe you can find a way to demo them ... it is getting hard to do that, and i checked amazon they have no p5's. Sometimes you can buy both and return 1 with a restock fee...

Mikey081057 · April 2014

You are integrating with your HT rig?

You can setup using the full range option and crossover the sub variably.

TNHNDYMAN · April 2014

Yes integrating with the HT setup. It's not the sub that I'm concerned about, it is fine. I would just like to take the bottom end load off the 703's but not as high as 80 more like 55-60Hz.

A VR3 Pair of One of a Kind

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