VUE Audiotechnik powered speaker review

[Prockenklang]

After having these speakers for a little over two months I'm finally writing a review! For those of you that don't know me,I worked for Alembic for many years and also worked for Greg Curbow and Glockenklang. Having worked for these respected manufactures,it opened the door for me to try and own some pretty amazing bass rigs! As some of you know,I have pretty much used Meyer Sound powered cabinets exclusively for almost ten years and absolutely loved them! A couple of years ago,Jim Sides who was the former CEO of Meyer Sound Germany and also my contact at Meyer Sound,along with Ken Berger who co-founded EAW,started a brand new company called VUE Audiotechnik. To say I was intrigued was an understatement! I knew that for Jim Sides to leave Meyer Sound to start his own company,this gear must be pretty amazing.Well after these two months,amazing was an understatement!

 

Right out of the box they sounded incredible.The first set-up I used was (1)h12n which is a powered 1x12 with a horn and (1)h25 2x15 powered sub.I tried it with various preamps such as my Alembic F1X,Alembic SF2,Glockenklang Bassart Classic,and a Millennia TD-1.As far as basses,I used Alembics,Curbows,G.Goulds,and several other instruments.Every combination sounded completely different!! The cabinets were simply doing what they were being told to do.That being said,I heard details of each bass and preamp that I had never heard before!! I called Jim and told him and he explained that now I needed to get a laptop and download their software and I'd really be impressed.

 

Once I downloaded the software,what I thought was an amazing system,just got a whole lot better! The software enabled me to change the gain on each speaker,add delay,change crossover points,and even monitor the heat of each poweramp! Out of the box the cabinets were set at 80hz.I changed the sub to crossover at 60hz and the h12n to crossover at 70 hz. I added 3ms of delay on the h12n and dropped the gain on the h25 sub down 3dB. These changes enabled me to totally dial in the system to my liking. Since the h12n is a narrow coverage cabinet,I noticed that when I stepped to the side of the rig most of what I was hearing was the sub,which was wasn't surprising because being a narrow coverage cabinet it was very directional.If you were gonna get a setup like this using just one top cab,you would get the h12w.I went ahead and added a second h12n that I was originally gonna use as a floor monitor. By doing that,it took the rig to a whole different level again!!! I was playing at a fifteen hundred seat Church and had somebody play my instrument at normal stage volume while I walked around the room.All the way in the back,the rig sounded just like it did onstage! I sat down in a seat and couldn't believe how much I could feel the bottom end. For me,one way to describe the sound is that it's very three dimensional with just an unbelievable amount of headroom.Like I said earlier,I hear details of my instruments that I had never heard before.

 

Having owned many different Meyer Sound cabinets I can honestly say that these VUE Audiotechnik are much better and that says alot!

 

I know in this day and age of lighter is better and also cost being a big factor,these cabinets won't be for everybody.They're not incredibly heavy but they're also not feather light either.They're also not cheap, but for the guy with the means that wants to amplify his high-end Fodera,Alembic,etc.,with the absolute best,you should really make an attempt to at least audition some of these incredible powered speakers.

 

I'll post some pictures soon!

 

John

[uncle smeg]

Sounds like it's a great rig.

 

I figured you must feel very strongly about the gear, as this is only your 3rd post in 13 years!