Von Schweikert Audio dB99 Audiophile Speakers
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| Condition | |
| Payment methods |      |
| Ships from | Gilbert, AZ, 85233 |
| Ships to | United States |
| Package dimensions | unspecified |
| Shipping carrier | unspecified |
| Shipping cost | Free |
| Original accessories | Box |
 Average | Research Pricing |
Von Schweikert dB99
Full-range Stereo Speakers
A
gorgeous pair of classic VS dB99 stereo speakers finished in automotive alabaster
silver. This pair is in very fine cosmetic and operating condition (they were
hard to photograph because they reflect other things in the room so view the
photos carefully). I’ve never had
any operational problem with them, always used in a smoke and pet-free
environment. Competitive speakers
manufactured today would probably retail above $16K. These speakers in this
condition & color rarely appear for sale on A’gon. Conservatively rated
8/10 for age, but actually better.
Their
design objective was high audio performance with versatility. Their
high-performance comes from covering the full frequency range, cone drivers modified
to be accurate & transparent, and using no grilles that muffle the higher
frequencies. This results in accurate tonality and very fast, life-like
dynamics. The dB99’s versatility comes from having a 300-watt powered woofer
built in, so the unique mid and high frequency drivers can be driven separately
either with low or high-powered, solid-state or tube amplifiers, and
adjustments on the rear plate compensate for room placement effects. This
speaker received rave reviews and offers single-ended amplifier devotees an
alternative to horn-loaded speakers without horn colorations and other
problems. Von Schweikert’s speaker and driver designs invariably receive high
ratings by critics because he is a uniquely knowledgeable, experienced and
musical designer.
On
a personal note, these speakers finally satisfied my audiophile search (itch?)
for one speaker model that works well with all musical genres in a home
environment. And I’ve owned (for long-term listening) various models of Quad,
Innersound electrostatics, and coned models from B&W, Fried,
Snell,Vandersteen, Sonist, KEF and others. Now at age 75, with a smaller
retirement house, less storage space for boxes, weaker muscles to move heavy
speakers, and some loss in HF hearing, I’ve decided to downscale and let some
other audiophile enjoy these speakers.
I
will split their shipment cost in CONUS if the buyer makes arrangements that
satisfy him. Note how each speaker
is cradled like an egg in its original coffin-like, well-padded, almost-molded heavy
cardboard manufacturer’s box.
Thus, they should suffer no shipping damage.
Questions for the seller |
|---|
| What were you driving them with? No super tweeter option correct? Bi wire or single pair in option? Hi
1. No super tweeter since the highs were already very good and the transients fast & transparent. I didn't think it would add anything significant given my age then.
2. Never bothered to bi-wire the Mid & HF cones since they sounded well-behaved with all my amps & their damping factors. The self-powered woofer offloads the impedance problems that could bedevil a single amp driven full-range speaker. In sum, this speaker is easy to drive with almost any competently-designed amplifier.
3. I drove the MID & Hi cones with solid state designs from Classe (25, CA-300, CAV180), ARCAM receiver (AVR300), Tandberg (3009A monos); and tube amps from Shanling (MC-30), Marantz 8, Conrad Johnson (Premier 8A monos) and Audio Research (VT-100). All sounded very good or excellent with subtle or subliminal differences. None needed more power since the drivers' needs were very modest; the transients seemed a little faster with SS amps; the quiet musical absences & floors seemed a little fuller or warmer with the tubed amps. I kept coming back to the Classe CA-300 because the sound was excellent in all respects, its SS design matched the SS-design of the woofers 300 amp speaker, and I didn't want the heat or light generated by the tubes, their maintenance fuss, etc. |
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