Vanguard Scout Speaker

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#22
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#24
I love to hear delight in a customer when they listen to a product that I made. This is from a message by a customer who got the Scouts based on a recommendation from a friend of ours. His email back to our friend is indicative of the type of reaction we are getting from folks who hear this speaker.

So the speakers arrived today. Perfect timing since I’m in vacation for 2 weeks. I’ve been listening to my two pairs of monitors: YG Acoustics Tor ($12k with stands) and Triangle Comete 40th year Anniversary ($3k with stands) and switching back and forth between the Gato DIA400s integrated (400w/ch) and Moonriver 404 Reference integrated (50w/ch). Both of these monitors need some help in the lower end so to get the bass i like I’m using a SVS Micro 3000 subwoofer.
Well, i placed the Vanguard Scout on the console just to hear them. I hooked them to the Gato integrated using Viablue speaker cables. But before i go into how they sound, few words about the build: they’re light and tiny…feather-like when compared with the Tor that weigh 40lbs! The wood finish is flawless. I like how they have a certain profile at the front edges. The covers were fitted really tight and i was afraid they would break when i pulled them off.
Certainly this little speaker needed a lot more help from the sub…i turned the music on and the first thing i noticed is that i had to crank up the volume. Not a surprise since these aren’t efficient. I sat next to Anca on the couch and i became transfixed…speechless…my eyeballs almost fell out of my skull while my jaw was resting on the floor…’what is this that I’m hearing????’..i looked at Anca and her face said everything: ‘if these speakers can sound like this, then Santa does exist!!!’
How is this even possible??? Next track…wow!..okay, next track…wow!!!!!…hmmm, where is this bass coming from? Ah, probably from my SVS sub since i increased the volume. So I turned the sub off and guess what?? The bass was still present!!! It was coming from these little gnomes-like speakers!!!! WOW!!! Even Anca said ‘explain to me why a $12k speaker (the Tor) needs a sub to fill the listening room, while these cuties do not?’ What could i tell her?? Nothing cause i was still speechless!!!
Are they as refined as the YG? No..are they as revealing on top as the Triangle? No…but my gosh, they are 95% there!!! And we are talking about a $300 speaker!!!
You’ve known me for more than 20 years and you know that i had more than 25 pair of speakers in my room…I’ve never had this kind of shock/experience/audio bliss for this kind of $!!! These are clearly THE best value in the speaker world!!!
I’ve been listening for about 3 hours now..with the subwoofer off…my jaw is still somewhere on the floor!
Thank you my friend for pointing me to this product!!!
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Message above by A.L. (NJ), used with permission.

A new photo of Vanguard Scout (not from above customer)
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#27
Just received my Vanguard Scout and Vera-Link combo. Out of the box, the speakers sounded very boxy. I was surprised that about two songs worth of music they loosened up and sound very good. They are placed on my kitchen counter with the nearest wall about 10 feet away. I want to mention that the right blue power light is blinking but the left blue power light is solid on. It is definately playing in stereo. I highly recommend this combo. Just give it a little time to break in.
 
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#30
We had a nice note from a customer in France who had this to say.
Speakers arrived yesterday in perfekt condition. Many thanks for shipping in the speed of light.

Gave them 24 run-in and in summary I’m simply amazed about what they deliver. Wide soundstage with very good instrument separation, sweet mids and strong bass. not for too small rooms but perfect for usual room sizes. Unbelievable what you have managed here, respect! Will let them run-in another 2-3 days and then start some serious listening.
A proper placement is a must and it took me just 30min. to get the Scouts singing! They are powered right now by Hypex Class-D. Will also try Class-A and Tube-Amps later but usually bookshelf speakers like Class-D power very much. I can compare here with Falcons, Spendors, Focals and KEF*s bookshelf sized speaker that I own.

Since years my expensive high-end gear is on hold because there are so many very good and bloody cheap and excellent sounding Amps, DAC, etc. on the market (and more to come) that I decided to invest from now on only in this type of genius and inexpensive gear in order to see what can be achieved. I’m relatively convinced that the Scouts will fit perfectly into my set-up!

Will come back you after more intensive listening.
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#31
I'm looking for an amplifier for the VS. It must be small in format, since it goes on the desk, listening will be in the near field, although I do not rule out, when I am alone at home, moving away from the desk a little and turning up the volume.

Do you think that with these characteristics it will work well with these boxes?

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all the best
 
#33
I am not a big fan of Bluetooth since almost all my files are hi-res, and due to the transmission codecs a lot of information is lost.
For guys like me it would be a good option to add a line input to your amplifier.

Thanks for your recommendation, I will look for an amplifier with those chips.
 
#36

This is pretty funny. I have not bought any speakers from a white van, but my brother in law did buy a large 3 way once. This was quite common in the LA, California area in the 1980’s.

But I can guarantee you that the sound and cabinet finish on the Scouts will beat any “white van” speaker.
 
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#39
I received my Scouts today . The wood finish on the Scouts is absolutely beautiful. Straight out of the box I’m finding the Scouts to be rather bass forward / dominant compared to the treble region. The treble on the Scout sounds like it’s been voiced further back in the mix, behind the forward sounding bass ?
This is especially noticeable with some of my Jazz quartet recordings where the prominent bass sometimes overwhelms / obscures the Trumpet players solo . And with solo Bach piano recordings where I hear slight over emphasis of the bass line .
I have the Scouts placed a good 4 feet away from my back wall. I personally don’t care to plug the rear ports to temper the bass response , as I find this muffles the Scout’s lovely mid range ?

And the mid range is really lovely . Very resolving with a wonderful natural tonality - though , it’s a bit overwhelmed at times by the prominent bass . Others may differ on this point . For me - the mid range is where the music lives .

Out if the box the tweeter sounds a little harsh . This improved significantly with some serious toe-in .
I’m confident the sound of the Scout will evolve and improve after the suggested 50 hours of burn in.

When I removed the grills, a few of the inset black plastic receptacles that the grill pegs plug into and secure the grill to the speaker’s face - came right out of the speaker face - attached to the grill pegs . I wrestled them ofF the grill pegs and re-inserted them in to the empty holes . Perhaps during assembly , someone forgot to secure them with glue ? No big deal .

Despite my issue with the sometimes overwhelming bass response and the grill pegs, the Scout’s are VERY impressive sounding and perform way beyond their modest price point .
 
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#40
You might try adding polyfill stuffing inside the cabinet to temper the bass without muffling the midrange. You can either remove the woofer to do this or the binding post plate on the back. In general, I voice the tweeters so that the response has a right tilt down of -5dB from 100Hz to 20kHz. This is the “Harman House Curve” and in general, works to make the speaker non fatiguing and good for all genres.
 
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