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The sound of the 3A was not entirely at odds with my impression of Vandersteens in the past—a little warm and forgiving rather than analytical and detailed—which is why I didn't immediately look for solutions. But after a couple of days of this, I was certain that something had to be done. My first reaction was to rearrange the listening room and try other setups—the diagonal setup I'd chosen didn't allow me to try the setup guidance suggested by Vandersteen in their excellent owner's manual. I wasn't concerned about the tilt-back of the 3As, as I had carefully adjusted that aspect of the…
However, the introductory drumstrokes on the Jurassic Park soundtrack (MCA MCAD-10859) did cause the speaker to break up at realistic—though not unreasonable—levels. The drumstrokes didn't cause the woofer to bottom, but did result in a distorted, fluttery sound until I turned down the volume to a level that degraded the sheer visceral impact of the piece. I wouldn't expect this to be a problem in a smaller listening room (mine has a volume of about 5000 cubic feet. I have found this particular passage to be a problem for other loudspeakers—including the Infinity Epsilons when they're driven…
Greenhill: Do you think the store and its sales force has more of an influence than the magazines?
Low: It's so interrelated. Stores tailor what they carry to what's gotten good reviews. Along with the politics of distribution—I talked to a dealer in Albuquerque and he doesn't want to carry his favorite speaker because it's carried by a dealer in Santa Fe who has business practices, he believes, that result in the business in Albuquerque being stolen away. You do get these politics and that's unfortunate. And that has something to do with what kind of speakers are going to be sold in…