World's best speakers?

"THE VANQUISH" - VR-11 The world's best speaker system? No company has designed a perfect speaker system, of course. And just what would the "world"s best speaker be, anyway? Would it have powerful, tight bass down to 10Hz? Astonishingly clear midrange and unbelievable transparency? Extremely smooth highs out to 50kHz? Three-dimensional imaging that creates a suspension of disbelief? Incredible build quality and a Twenty-year Warranty? A speaker so exciting that you want to stay up all night, savoring each and every note? A speaker system so incredible that each and every exciting listening session is not soon forgotten?

If these qualities are your personal "Holy Grail" and music is an important part of your life, the Vanquish VR-11 Special Edition is for you! Our award-winning technology has been praised by many esteemed reviewers such as Robert Harley (Stereophile review of Vortex Screen, 1989), Harry Pearson of of the Absolute Sound (VR-8 review for Fi, 1997), Greg Weaver (StereoTimes review of VR-4SE), Clement Perry (StereoTimes review of VR-6), and Paul Bolin and John Atkinson (Stereophile review of our Andra II redesign for EgglestonWorks Audio, Nov. 2002). Famous clients include Alan Menken, winner of seven Academy Awards for film scores; Herb Alpert of A&M Records; MTV Studios; Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs; JVC of America (Hollywood video screening room); Sheffield Sound Labs; Stan Ricker Mastering; Chris Huston (recording engineer for Led Zeplin, The Who, Young Rascals, Pattie LaBelle, etc); and more than 40 professional recording studios around the world. The VR-11SE utilizes our proprietary Acoustic Inverse Replication (A.I.R.) technology, developed by Albert Von Schweikert while at California Institute of Technology. A.I.R. utilizes our famous Global Axis Integration Network to enable our VR-11SE to replicate the inverse of the recording microphone's signal, thus decoding the dimensionality of the actual recorded event. In combination with our rear-firing Ambience Retrieval System, the VR-11SE will provide thrilling realism, so close to a live performance, that you will continue to ask yourself: is it Live or is it VR-11? A key ingredient of VR-11SE's magic is the extreme dynamic range offered by our 99dB sensitivity (using the bass/treble boost settings). As most audiophiles have realized, live music has a tremendous dynamic range, which most speakers compress to the point of sounding "canned." Conventional, low/mid efficiency speakers lack "jump factor" and lose the excitement of the live event. In addition, a "veil" is imparted by inefficient drive units and dissipation of low level detail by "commercial grade" crossover parts. VR-11 eliminates these problems by using large magnet/low distortion drivers in a line source time-aligned array, in combination with the use of extremely expensive crossover parts, internal wiring, and binding posts. The resulting dynamic range, clarity, and transparency are shocking; we believe the VR-11SE is extremely close to "live!"

Specifications System Type: Dynamic-driver six-way system using acoustic suspension and three-piece stacking enclosure system; adaptive room correction unit supplied for accurate sound in any environment. Woofer Tuning: Acoustic suspension design yielding the tightest mid-bass and sub-bass reproduction possible, without the added problem of "one note bass", often associated with vented designs. Large subwoofer cabinet design enables accurate sub-bass reproduction down to 10Hz. On-board high power amplification allows for incredible dynamic range, as well as custom-tailoring adjustments for varying room conditions. Cabinet and Bracing: A two-inch thick front baffle, sidewalls, and rear baffle provides exceptional vibration control and image solidity, while one-inch HDF interlocking braces provide exceptional rigidity and freedom from boxy colorations. The internal damping consists of thick acoustic felt lining, foam and Dacron stuffing to eliminate cavity resonances. Large casters are provided for ease of movement.

Size: Height: 90", Width Front: 11", Width Rear: 21", Depth: 30". Weight: Woofer module: 268 lbs each, M/T module: 157 lbs., System: 693 lbs. each tower. Driver Complement: (per side): (2)-15" Kevlar-Nomex honeycomb woofers, (4)-8.5" magnesium mid-basses, (2)-7" carbon Kevlar-cellulose Aerogel midrange drivers, (2)-1.5" dual-concentric silk ring Revelator tweeters, (2)-5" aluminum ribbon supertweeters. All drivers use a proprietary Advanced Motor System with low distortion design. Crossover: Hovland film and foil capacitors, Solen film-foil capacitors, Solen Perfect Lay air-core inductors, military-spec film-foil resistors. Crossover points and architecture are classified. Binding Posts: Three sets of five-way WBT Platinum posts enabling tri-wiring. Single wire can be used direct to M/T with jumpers to the woofer cabinets. Ambience Driver: Rear-firing 5" aluminum ribbon. Ambience circuit uses Dimensional Control (effects level) to compensate for room acoustics and soundstage depth. Provides a Global Axis polar response pattern to simulate live musical reproduction. Fine Tuning Adjustments: Subwoofer level control and frequency tuning variable from 50Hz to 100Hz (set flat at 75Hz, volume at 10 o'clock). Front tweeter level control adjustment centered at 4kHz with 3dB gain and 18dB cut. Front supertweeter level control adjustment centered at 20kHz with 16dB gain and 5dB cut. Subwoofer Amplifier Power: 1000 watts rms Class D technology. (one for each subwoofer). System total is 4000 watts rms, 8,000 watts peak. Frequency Response: 15-35 kHz, +/- 1 dB, 10 Hz-50 kHz –6 dB, (+/- 1dB at midband). Impedance: 8 ohms avg. (5 ohm dips between 200Hz-300 Hz and 6kHz-12kHz). Recommended Power: 20 watts up to 1000 watts (music power). Sensitivity: 96 dB @ 1w/1m using 2.83 v. (99 dB with subwoofer and supertweeter boost settings). Warranty: Twenty years Parts and Labor, excluding burned voice coils due to amp clipping. Amplifiers are warranted for three years. Transferable to second owner. Finishes: Standard finishes include Dark Red Cherry, Light Maple, and Black lacquer. A satin-gloss polyester clear-coat protects the fine wood surfaces. Premium finishes available at higher cost.

Price: $150,000