February 2002 Reviewed by Jeff Fritz	Von Schweikert Audio VR-3.5 / LCR-35 / TS-350 / VR-S/3 Home-Theater Speaker System

Description Model: VR-3.5 speakers (mains and surrounds) Price: $3750 USD per pair Dimensions: 42"H x 7"W x 14"D Weight: 78 pounds each Model: LCR-35 center-channel speaker Price: $1695 USD Dimensions: 9.5"H x 26.5"W x 13"D Weight: 55 pounds Model: VR-S/3 subwoofer Price: $2695 USD Dimensions: 25.5"H x 14.5"W x 18"D Weight: 105 pounds Model: TS-350 surround speakers Price: $1995 USD per pair Dimensions: 13.5"H x 21"W x 7"D Weight: 21 pounds each System price: $11,890 USD with VR-3.5 as surrounds ($10,135 with TS-350 as surrounds) Warranty: Ten years parts and labor, three years for subwoofer

Features 5.5" aluminum-cone woofers (VR-3.5, LCR-35) 4" Aerogel-cone midrange (VR-3.5, LCR-35) 3" treated-paper midrange (TS-350) 1" silk-dome tweeter (VR-3.5, LCR-35) .75" silk-dome tweeter (TS-350) 1" rear-firing ambience tweeter (VR-3.5) Triple-chambered transmission-line enclosure (VR-3.5) 2" front baffles Switchable Monopole/Tripole or Dipole operation (TS-350) 12" aluminum-cone woofer (VR-S/3) 900W (peak) class A/B amplifier (VR-S/3) Stereo input (VR-S/3) RCA and speaker-level inputs (VR-S/3) Auto on/off (VR-S/3) Adjustable crossover (40Hz to 100Hz) (VR-S/3) Crossover bypass (VR-S/3) Phase switch (0/180 degrees) (VR-S/3) Removable IEC-type power cord (VR-S/3) Light- or dark-cherry end caps (black ash available as option)

You’ve all heard the old saying, "Everybody has a talent; it’s just a matter of finding out what it is." I’m not really sure what Albert Von Schweikert tried his hand at before figuring out how to design speakers, but one thing is for sure: he knows a lot about speakers. Talking with him is like getting a lesson in speaker design -- and not just book sense -- from someone who has seen and done it all. He seems obsessed with improving his designs. This wealth of knowledge has paid dividends for many who own his products, as well as a few companies that have contracted him to design, redesign, or just plain fix speakers for their company.

Getting set up

So when I contacted Von Schweikert Audio and asked for a home-theater speaker system for Home Theater & Sound to review, I knew that whatever they sent would personify Von Schweikert's obsession. Enter the $11,890 Von Schweikert VR-3.5-based home-theater speaker system.

I was immediately impressed by what I received -- and that was before I listened to the system. No, not because of the shiny gloss finish (the speakers are black cloth-covered MDF). No, not by the cool drivers with their exotic diaphragms (you can’t see the aluminum cones because the grille cloth is non-removable). Nope, I was impressed because the mains and the surrounds were the same speaker -- the VR-3.5, to be exact -- and the center-channel speaker was simply a horizontal version of the same design. The system promised similar response from all around the room, because, ummm, all around the room we had similar speakers. It seems obvious, doesn't it?

The VR-3.5 is a four-way tower loudspeaker with a narrow 7" front baffle. It features two aluminum-cone woofers, an Aerogel midrange (a combination of carbon powder, Kevlar, and cellulose-acetate pulp), and a silk-dome tweeter sourced from Vifa/Scan-Speak. There’s also an ambience tweeter located on the rear, with an adjustable level control. This rearward-facing high-frequency driver is there to compensate for various rooms’ absorptive natures -- increasing the soundstage's air and apparent depth.

The cabinet is wrapped in a knit-cloth material, capped on the top and bottom by either black or cherry end caps. The cabinet seems impressively inert when rapped, which, along with its 78-pound weight, hints at the complex bracing and damping scheme contained within. Speaking of damping, according to Von Schweikert Audio the interior walls are lined with a one-inch-thick layer of rubber and felt, which is further aided by Dacron stuffing. It’s one dead hunk-a-speaker! Finally, the VR-3.5 is equipped with dual sets of Cardas binding posts for biwiring, which is the preferred method of hook-up according to Mr. Von Schweikert.

The LCR-35 is simply a horizontal version of the above: same drivers, same cabinet construction techniques, etc. The only differences I could discover were the inclusion of a single pair of binding posts (versus the VR-3.5’s two) and the omission of the rear-firing ambience tweeter. This promised a pretty good chance of timbre matching across the front soundstage -- a must for great home-theater performance.

The system was underscored with a VR-S/3 subwoofer. Looking like a shorter, deeper and wider VR-3.5, the VR-S/3 is a substantial speaker. It features a 12" "extreme duty" woofer with a 3" voice coil. This reportedly enables the driver to play at louder levels with lower distortion than most conventional woofers. The driver supposedly has 2" peak-to-peak excursion capabilities -- and with the internal 900W amplifier, an A/B design instead of the class-D switching amplifiers so common among subwoofers, it may actually travel that far under regular home-theater use.

The VR-S/3’s cabinet features a 2" front baffle with 1" walls and copious amounts of internal bracing. With all that woofing going on, a dead cabinet -- and concurrently, low coloration -- is essential for the reproduction of good transient response. The VR-S/3's cabinet seems awfully dead. The subwoofer is laid out in a standard configuration (for powered subwoofers), with the amplifier and all the user controls on the back and a large flared port on the front face just below the woofer. The frequency response is rated by the manufacturer as being -6dB at 16Hz.

Toward the end of the review period, I was supplied with an alternative to the VR-3.5 surround pair. The TS-350 is a wedge-shaped, five-driver speaker designed for wall mounting. It features a 5.5" aluminum-cone woofer that faces forward and an array consisting of one .75" silk-dome tweeter and a 3" treated-paper midrange incorporated into each angled side baffle. It is switchable from "monopole/tripole" mode, where all five drivers are operating in-phase, to dipole, where the front-facing driver is operating out-of-phase with the side-mounted arrays. According to the manufacturer, the TS-350 is preferable for use with Dolby Pro Logic recordings and in some instances where placement of direct radiators is difficult.

The skinny

The Von Schweikert VR-3.5 speaker system sounds notably different from the last few theater arrays I’ve had in for review. It did not take long to get a complete understanding of what it was accomplishing in my home -- the sound was that striking. Where to start? How about at the top -- the high frequencies.

The apparent high-frequency extension of the VR-3.5/LCR-35 combination is exceptional. There was plenty of reach, along with a generous amount of air around the most delicate of sounds. It was not bright, but extended and subtle. I felt as though I were hearing everything that was offered on the soundtracks and recordings I was using. Take Aaron Neville’s Devotion DVD-A for example. The backing vocals on "Morning Has Broken" are breathtakingly clear, at least as reproduced by the Von Schweikert system. It was all there, exactly as it should be.

The sounds of nature calling on American Gramaphone’s Ambience DVD-A includes birds, leaves rustling, and probably most telling, the wisp of wind throughout the surrounds, mains, and center-channel. I heard not just the wooosh, but the woooshsss … all the way out into the virtual atmosphere created in my room. It just went farther into realism than I am used to hearing on home-theater systems. The treble performance literally sparkled with life.

Dialogue was dry and clear, with nary a boxy coloration to be found. Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) sounded as if he were right in front of me on HBO’s The Sopranos: The Complete Second Season DVDs. And his mother Livia (Nancy Marchand), foghedaboutit -- she sounded as utterly grating as could be. Her voice could almost physically cut into you, making the Von Schweikert system a little too real at times. The midrange was about as tonally neutral as I’ve heard from a design anywhere near this price range, truly accomplishing its objective of sounding like virtual reality. This was the case whether coming from the LCR-35 or the VR-3.5 using the phantom-center-channel mode.

The bass was punchy and quick, with the right amount of tightness, and good, though not excellent, slam. Perhaps the larger Von Schweikert models offer more weight and impact, but that’s what they’re there for, after all. The VR-3.5 is lightning quick in its delivery of bass and midbass sounds. The gunshots in chapter 29, "Lobby Shooting Spree" from The Matrix, were crisply delivered. The woofers seemed deliberate and composed, doing their business with deft agility. They don’t have the impact of a good middle linebacker, but they do hit like a motivated cornerback.

Deep bass was handled by the VR-S/3, and it could play deep. I have a large room that engulfs a lot of bass, so it takes some real output to drive the space properly. Viewing Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, I confirmed that the subwoofer could play deep and sustain its thunder for real dramatic effect. Chapter 36, "Wipe them Out," had clean, deep bass, the reproduction of which is essential to the success of the scene. The VR-S/3 also handled the drums in "Storms in Africa" from Enya’s Watermark [Reprise 9 26774-2] very well. The thrumming was not just belted out, but had a sense of texture I have heard with this recording only on the finest systems.

Surround envelopment was perhaps the system's strongest suit. The VR-3.5 made its case as both a main speaker and as a surround. The LCR-35 was similarly effective, making the combination work as a whole. Effects were delivered with striking accuracy, like the parachute popping open in Laura Croft: Tomb Raider. I ducked at the sound as Laura’s SUV was delivered safely to the ground below. In my estimation, this not only makes the case for proper timbre matching, which is a given for good performance, but also for having surrounds capable of near-full-range performance.

Substituting the TS-350 for the VR-3.5 was telling. The precision of the VR-3.5 surround pair was replaced with the more diffuse sound of the TS-350. Yes, the TS-350 in dipole mode could sound more spacious, and the speakers worked surprisingly well when I moved them closer to the listening position. I would give them a try if space behind your viewing area is limited, or your room necessitates close placement of the surround speakers to your ears. I ultimately preferred the more precise sound of the VR-3.5 as surrounds. They handled punchy midbass better too, though the TS-350 did remarkably well for such a relatively compact speaker.

Opposite sides of the track

The Silverline Audio home-theater speaker system, whose warmish midrange clarity and dialogue intelligibility so impressed me last March, is just about the polar opposite of the Von Schweikert Audio VR-3.5 speaker system. The two sound vastly different and will likely appeal to home-theater fans with opposing sonic priorities.

The Silverlines are warm in the midrange, which gives dialogue, such as Mel Gibson's speeches in The Patriot, a full, round presentation. Vocals are presented with plenty of substance and body, which carries over into the lower midrange and upper bass. The upper frequencies are a bit subdued too, by comparison, adding to this overall pleasant effect. This type of sound can make poor recordings sound a bit more bearable, while generally adding presence and body to the sound of movies and music.

The Von Schweikert Audio speakers are quicker, tighter, and punchier in the bass, and appear more neutral in the midrange. This type of sound lends itself to producing the harmonics and transient response delivered by the depth-charge scene of U-571, for example. This clarity also finds its way up into the dialogue region, making Mel Gibson sound a bit dryer and gruffer. The upper frequencies are more crystalline, with better reach and more realization of detail. There’s more air at the upper-frequency extreme, giving sounds like the birds and wind in American Gramaphone’s Ambience DVD-A a wholly realistic presentation.

Both systems will find their customer base, I presume. It not only depends on where your sonic sensibilities lie, but also on the type of music and movies you enjoy. A warmer, more touchy-feely sound can be had from the Silverlines, while a tighter, more focused sound is characteristic of the Von Schweikerts.

End of the line

It’s hard to imagine someone not liking these speakers from Von Schweikert Audio. There are reasons one might not choose them mind you, like the fact that they don’t have a glossy wood finish, or that the mains don’t offer subterranean bass on their own. But you can always find something that a product doesn’t do, or doesn’t have.

What’s more important is that they don’t make mistakes that could get in the way of the sound. They don’t editorialize the way many speakers do -- what they do, they do without outward colorations or complaint. This makes them a great speaker for those with varying taste in software. Don’t be afraid to feed them whatever you like; they will reproduce it with the character inherent in the work intact.

Manufacturer contact information:

Von Schweikert Audio
204 Greenfield Drive, Unit F
El Cajon, California 92020
Phone: (619) 444-7136
Fax: (619) 444-2847

E-mail: albertvonn@aol.com
Website: www.vonschweikert.com

• Go Back