VAF’s Signature range of speakers are sometimes referred to as ‘no compromise’ designs, but as with all speakers they do incorporate compromises. However the compromises are to do with size and loading of amplifiers. These are compromised somewhat in pursuit of super accurate sound quality. Which is as it should be.
The system consists of two Signature I-93 floorstanders and three I-91 compact speakers. The floorstanders require a strong floor upon which to stand. According to my scales, each weighs 68.5 kilograms. They also demand a lot of space, being taller than many people and nearly half a metre deep. Add to this that the ideal performance is extracted from them with them placed up to a metre from the rear walk, and they do not really suit small rooms.
The final ‘compromise’ in pursuit of performance is a very low impedance of just three ohms. These speakers demand, and deserve, good quality electronics.
The weight comes from the complement of five drivers, exclusively crafted in Europe for VAF, the 25mm MDF used throughout much of the enclosure and even the crossover network contributes its part with exceptionally hefty components (those inductor windings would look more at home in a power distribution station!) A large port at the back supports the bass reflex cabinet design principles.
The I-91 speakers are very much smaller, and use a unique concentric driver configuration. The 170mm bass midrange has a hole where the dust cap would normally reside, with a 30mm soft dome tweeter sitting in its place. This ensures that all frequencies are delivered along the same axis.
Check out the specifications section for those figures, and note in particular the bass on the I-93s. See if you can find any similar specification from a reputable manufacturer for this kind of bass. Not for under $20,000 you won’t.
What specifications do not always cover is actual sound quality. There are dimensions to a speaker’s sound which are very hard to reduce to numbers. One such is detail. This is the ability of a speaker to deliver tiny signal variations amidst all hell breaking loose. VAF calls it ‘micro-dynamics’. And it is here that these speakers excel, both the I-91 and I-93 speakers. Everything in the signal is translated to audible sound. I was listening to the SACD version of Miles Davis’ seminal Kind of Blue and on one track there was a snare drum being continually brushed in the right channel. Or so I guessed using a different set of speakers. But plugging in this system removed all doubt. It was obviously brushing on the snare.
Still on stereo, the I-93s offer a three dimensional sound stage better than anything I’ve heard.
As a surround system the imaging performance continues. Transfer of the Video Essentials ‘walk around the room’ track (in Title 8) was completely seamless down both sides of the room, across the front and across the back. The result was so entrancing I pulled out my DVD of Dolby Digital trailers and ran through them all. In The Faculty, when our heroes leave the school the voices of the assembled crowd muttering from all directions is exceptionally creepy.
These speakers bring out the very best of the very best surround and stereo mixes. But their detail is mercilessly revealing of substandard recordings. In particular, the microphones used for many female singes have a ‘presence’ peak in the upper midrange and treble. With these speakers, you hear those peaks. But this accuracy also means that all details that you are supposed to hear are there in a way matched by few, if any, other speakers. And you will hear bass with a tightness and definition almost never experienced. You need never doubt when setting your home theatre receiver’s settings to ‘large’ with the I-93s.
Indeed, expect to spend big dollars on a sub to match with this speaker system. What’s the point of a sub that is outperformed by the main speakers?
Are these the best speakers in the world? I can’t say. I haven’t listened to them all. But they are the best speakers I have ever heard.
