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Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand - anyone got any experience?

GruntPuppy

pfm Member
There's a pair local to me for sale, I'd appreciate any and all listening experience that anyone can pass on, I'm particularly interested in how flexible/inflexible they are with room placement.
 
A friend of mine had their big brothers with 3 woofers (Beethoven ?) driven by a big Audio Research pre and amp and the sound was awesome in my opinion.
They seemed to me to be very easy to place in the room as the woofers are rather small and the enclosure very narrow so soundstage was good.
Nevertheless, after less than two years, he replaced them with some Wilson Audio Sophia as the Vienna sounded too quiet for his taste. Kept the Sophia about 4 years and now runs some Boenick which are outstanding according to him.
He is (not like me !) a big fan of classic music with Gustav Mahler being his favorite and Carmina Burana is part of his weekly listening sessions.
For his rock music, he has a 42.5/110 with some vintage DCM Time Windows in the basement.
 
A friend of mine had their big brothers with 3 woofers (Beethoven ?) driven by a big Audio Research pre and amp and the sound was awesome in my opinion.
They seemed to me to be very easy to place in the room as the woofers are rather small and the enclosure very narrow so soundstage was good.
Nevertheless, after less than two years, he replaced them with some Wilson Audio Sophia as the Vienna sounded too quiet for his taste. Kept the Sophia about 4 years and now runs some Boenick which are outstanding according to him.
He is (not like me !) a big fan of classic music with Gustav Mahler being his favorite and Carmina Burana is part of his weekly listening sessions.
For his rock music, he has a 42.5/110 with some vintage DCM Time Windows in the basement.

Thank you, I'm thinking I may go and give the Mozart Grands a socially distanced listen if it is at all possible; I wish I had the means (and the premises!*) for a second system**; What I'm hoping is that these will be reasonable all-rounders.

* I would really, really like a basement where I could put a system for the Rock music; Somehow I don't think Cardiff Council/the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would approve..

** yes I know I appear to be building another system around Goodmans Magnum K2's; If it doesn't go to my parents, it'll be parted out on eVilBay***.

** yes I know I'm also building ANOTHER another system around Mackie HR624 mk1's for my bedroom/hobby room.... Hello, my name's GruntPuppy and I'm addicted to audio equipment... it's been zero days since I bought equipment I don't really need...

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they tend to sell very fast !! a number of folks i know have had the VA speakers and enjoyed them . must be something to them if they sell fast !
 
I had a pair for a while - the problem at the time was that I used an Alchemist Kraken (Class A and only 20w) the result was that music could sound really boomy, though at times they could sound wonderful. It was partly explained by the Ohms and after seeking advice, it was recommended to only use an amp with an output of 100W or so.
 
I had a pair for a while - the problem at the time was that I used an Alchemist Kraken (Class A and only 20w) the result was that music could sound really boomy, though at times they could sound wonderful. It was partly explained by the Ohms and after seeking advice, it was recommended to only use an amp with an output of 100W or so.

that's interesting - your Kraken was bang on the minimum recomended spec for the Mozart Grands, Thankfully I've got amps with plenty of power in reserve, to the point I'll have to be a little careful with the volume control.
 
I’ve had Bach Grands for many years and I love them. They have a smooth top end, deep bass and a full sound. If you set the up away from the walls they really image like crazy too.

I’ve found the Yamaha AS-801 to be a great match. In my opinion it’s a very clean, neutral amp with a lot of grunt. I’d probably stick with something similar.
 
I’ve had Bach Grands for many years and I love them. They have a smooth top end, deep bass and a full sound. If you set the up away from the walls they really image like crazy too.

I’ve found the Yamaha AS-801 to be a great match. In my opinion it’s a very clean, neutral amp with a lot of grunt. I’d probably stick with something similar.

What sort of side clearance do you find necessary on the Bach Grands?
 
What sort of side clearance do you find necessary on the Bach Grands?

I wish I had a better answer for you but I’m not sure. I never had to worry too much about side wall proximity. They sound good out a couple of feet from the front wall but they really blew my mind (after years) when I pulled them out even more close to near field.

too close to the back wall and the soundstage collapses pretty dramatically and they can sound a little congested
 
I have had a pair of Beethoven Baby Grand SE for three years and they're terrific. A bit too polite perhaps if I were to mention some caveat. I'd recommend to have at least 30 centimeters behind them or else the bass tend to get a bit boomy.
 
I have had a pair of Beethoven Baby Grand SE for three years and they're terrific. A bit too polite perhaps if I were to mention some caveat. I'd recommend to have at least 30 centimeters behind them or else the bass tend to get a bit boomy.
I wish I had a better answer for you but I’m not sure. I never had to worry too much about side wall proximity. They sound good out a couple of feet from the front wall but they really blew my mind (after years) when I pulled them out even more close to near field.

too close to the back wall and the soundstage collapses pretty dramatically and they can sound a little congested

Current owner is using these with 50cm of rear and side clearance (but rather agressive toe-in). Sadly he's in a flat (and not the ground floor) and wife and neighbours are not appreciative...
 
Current owner is using these with 50cm of rear and side clearance (but rather agressive toe-in). Sadly he's in a flat (and not the ground floor) and wife and neighbours are not appreciative...
I'm in a flat as well, never had any issues with neighbours or family for that matter that complain. Mine have roughly 50 cm side clearance as well. YMMV of course, but I never found toe-in to do much good with these speakers which is also in line with what VA themselves recommend.
 
I'm in a flat as well, never had any issues with neighbours or family for that matter that complain. Mine have roughly 50 cm side clearance as well. YMMV of course, but I never found toe-in to do much good with these speakers which is also in line with what VA themselves recommend.

sounds good - what amp are you using to drive them?
 
sounds good - what amp are you using to drive them?
McIntosh MA6900, which perhaps is a bit overkill. Used to have a Marantz PM15S1 that started clipping with the speakers, I never managed to find out if it was something wrong with that amplifier since 90 wpc should have no issues at all driving the Beethoven's. I have also tried a 6 wpc SET amplifier which sounded nice enough but was sadly a bit too weak when listening to larger scale music.
 
i tried a Line Magnetic 518ia (SET 22 watts) and that was a bad match. I always wanted to hear something like a Rogue Cronus on them, but now they are our family room/tv/etc speakers and have a big Rotel power amp driving them
 
I had a pair for a while - the problem at the time was that I used an Alchemist Kraken (Class A and only 20w) the result was that music could sound really boomy, though at times they could sound wonderful. It was partly explained by the Ohms and after seeking advice, it was recommended to only use an amp with an output of 100W or so.

The Alchemist Kraken is 50WPC and not class A but is does give the first watt or so in class A hence it gets hot.

Amp power as always has nothing to do with speaker control, boom etc etc.
 
The Alchemist Kraken is 50WPC and not class A but is does give the first watt or so in class A hence it gets hot.

Amp power as always has nothing to do with speaker control, boom etc etc.

Indeed - but I'm always curious about what people are running with speakers. One VIenna Accoustics owner was using an amp right on the lower level of recommended spec, and reported that it could sound boomy. Not a problem I'm going to have, if I do pull the trigger on them - and the GFA585LE's have been rebuilt and are well within tolerances. I'm aware that they're on the low end of high end audio, but they're what I had the chance to get. They do nicely at controlling difficult speakers - I use my TJL's as a qualifier for amp acceptability, if an amp can control them, it's generally ok.
 
The Alchemist Kraken is 50WPC and not class A but is does give the first watt or so in class A hence it gets hot.

Amp power as always has nothing to do with speaker control, boom etc etc.

Perhaps, but in this instance it did seem to - I tried lots of options re room placement and so on - eventually Breck Audio undertook some measurements and indicated that it was the lack of power. Whatever the case they did not work all that well in my listening room which is a little on the small size - I think that with a decent sized room that they could sound amazing?
 
Perhaps, but in this instance it did seem to - I tried lots of options re room placement and so on - eventually Breck Audio undertook some measurements and indicated that it was the lack of power. Whatever the case they did not work all that well in my listening room which is a little on the small size - I think that with a decent sized room that they could sound amazing?

No such measurements are possible. As I say virtually every day on here, amplifier power has no effect on anything but how loud a speaker will play.
 


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