XSA Labs Vanguard Speaker Review

[fineMen]

…of the time.

If you had measured those general purpose speakers you would see that they were not good. LS3/5A was a superior speaker of its time within its design constraints.

Na, listen to e/g David Crosby's "What's Broken". On a (close to) perfect stereo it is full, overly so, of 'detail' in every frequency range. Colorful and all, again in every frequency range. Packed with cues for this and that, caleidoscopic. But, when auditioned over more mediocre equipment, it is just a w(h)iney lullaby of no further essence (hope I didn't insult anybody).

Some, as me, don't fall for exceptional studio tech. The LS3/5 helps with that

 

[fineMen]

Na, listen to e/g David Crosby's "What's Broken" ...

And after to Elise Coron, Michel Benita "Oh My Love". It is a good example for humble, yet effective studio work. Not the least it sports musical invention, especially in the jazzy part, which exemplifies the song's lyrics in speechless notes. This would do even on LS3/5s and XSA's. I come to understand why some demographic spoils the hifi-sound paradigm. (You can have it more easily with not following the rules coming with 'perfect' stereo, by just placing your head somwhere else than in the 'sweet spot'.)

 

[Geert]

Not quite as it says it's an homage to the BBC's LS3/5.

What the measurements say is that the frequency response of the measured speaker does not resemble that of a LS3/5 at all, and the builder has confirmed there's something totally wrong with this specific unit. So far for the homage.

 

[Mart68]

What the measurements say is that the frequency response of the measured speaker does not resemble that of a LS3/5 at all, and the builder has confirmed there's something totally wrong with this specific unit. So far for the homage.

It seems more like a homage to the old Linn Kan.

No bass, big midrange hump, too much top end roll-off.

 

[sarumbear]

It seems more like a homage to the old Linn Kan.

No bass, big midrange hump, too much top end roll-off.

What terrible speakers they were They demonstrated them using the “naked emperor” method and no kids were allowed to the demo room

 

[RickS]

Wonder whether this vanguard gets some secondary support or is it to perish under Amir’s scrutiny?

 

[amirm]

FYI I have turned down testing another sample. It is a lot of work and it not a common product.