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Watt’n Potatoes

Authorized dealers for VAF VAF Signature i91 MKIII SE Bookshelf Speakers

  • Carlton Audio Visual — in-store — Carlton, Victoria, Australia (website)
Potato score: 89.35

89%

VAF VAF Signature i91 MKIII SE Bookshelf Speakers #1
VAF VAF Signature i91 MKIII SE Bookshelf Speakers variant 1
VAF VAF Signature i91 MKIII SE Bookshelf Speakers variant 2
VAF VAF Signature i91 MKIII SE Bookshelf Speakers variant 3
VAF VAF Signature i91 MKIII SE Bookshelf Speakers variant 4
VAF VAF Signature i91 MKIII SE Bookshelf Speakers variant 5
VAF VAF Signature i91 MKIII SE Bookshelf Speakers variant 6

VAF VAF Signature i91 MKIII SE Bookshelf Speakers

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VAF Signature i91 MKIII SE Bookshelf Speakers

HANDBUILT IN ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA.

VAF is proud to present the most impressive stand-mount bookshelf speaker made to date. Years of experience lay behind the design of this unique speaker. Made by hand in our own manufacturing facility in Adelaide, every speaker is taken through an extensive process only begun when you order. Your speaker, uniquely made for you.


  • 10 Year Guarantee
  • 30 Day Home Trial
  • Ships Worldwide
  • StereoNET Applause Award Winner (

All speakers are built to order with an approx 12 week wait time.


SOUND AND BUILD QUALITY

The Signature i91 MKIII SE provides a level of accuracy and performance not seen in any other loudspeaker at their size or price. The reproduction accuracy is superb - transparency, detail, imaging, and sound staging deliver an amazingly life-like performance. The accuracy and dynamic capability contribute significantly to its realistic reproduction of all musical genres. The bass performance is extended and dynamic. Extended to 40Hz, this little speaker sounds more like a well resolved floor standing speaker.

Uniformity of process across the entire VAF Signature Series ensures that other VAF Signature models can be used in harmony with the VAF Signature i91 SE. In a multi channel home theatre system for example, paired with the Signature i90's in the rear channels.

The heart of the i91 SE is a proprietary white Magnesium/Alloy drive unit. The only one in the world like it. Developed with Norwegian company SEAS (Scandinavian Electro Acoustic Systems) the coaxial design combines an extremely high quality high frequency driver that mounts directly into the magnet assembly of an advanced mid low frequency drive unit. This means perfect alignment of all frequencies at all times from a single point in space. High, mid and low frequencies are produced in exact alignment - this is a keystone of VAF speaker design technology and the only way to be able to recreate musical instruments complex harmonic structure faithfully.

The Alloy is highly rigid with special damping properties that give the ability to reproduce extremely fine detail at realistic volume levels. The cone is supported by an extended roll surround and double folded rear suspension giving us an immense amount of excursion capability - meaning more bass than ever before. Copper shorting rings front and back of an over sized air vented voice coil lower distortion figures further.

The moving parts are mounted in an anti resonant magnesium cast frame with no less than six fixing points for the high tensile fasteners to secure the unit to the cabinet. The cabinet itself is a highly damped solid construction with considerable attention paid to internal resonances and standing wave distribution. High efficiency Hypersoft internal damping produces a near perfect loading environment for the drive unit allowing control and extension of low frequencies.

An obvious and integral design feature on every VAF loudspeaker is natural, acoustically absorbent fibre treatments. This is another key element in VAF's design technology and highly important to accurately control dispersion and effectively eliminate diffraction effects - a major cause of poor imaging and loss of a focused and accurate sound stage. Not only on the surface but also internally positioned this material is highly effective.

Manufactured from only first grade MDF up to 36mm thick, cabinet construction is highly detailed. Precisely mitred joints and substantial internal cross-bracing characterise the superior quality of these loudspeakers.


TIME ALIGNMENT

Time alignment is achieved by stepping the various drivers (Woofers, Tweeters and Midranges) on the front of the speaker so that the acoustic centres are the same distance from a listener. For this to be effective, a special kind of electrical crossover must also be used. All VAF loudspeakers are time aligned.


SHAPED VERTICAL & HORIZONTAL POWER RESPONSE

VAF engineer the power response of all its loudspeakers to radiate sound as evenly as is possible for each model. In this way the proportion of bass, mid and treble in the direct sound correlates more closely with the proportion of bass, mid and treble in the reflected sound and the listeners brain can correlate the two, making the speakers less affected by a room's acoustics and easier to place in a room.


STORED ENERGY DAMPING

All speakers take a moment to stop making sound (decay). The faster a speaker stops making sound, the less that sound ‘blankets’ sound which follow it. The more evenly the bass, mid and treble decay the more consistent the ‘pitch’ of the speaker. VAF loudspeakers are among the very few in the world that engineer for fast and even decay in all its incarnations. This includes diffraction, cabinet resonances, internal cabinet sound reflections, stored energy in electrical crossovers.


OPTIMUM Q FILTERS

As no driver is perfect, good crossovers also equalise and shape the response of each driver as well as the overall response of the speaker. VAF use a particular type of design approach which minimises the unnecessary stored energy in crossovers, and as a result produces a purer and natural sound than conventional crossovers.


HYPERSOFT DAMPING

VAF have performed exhaustive testing to find the most effective damping materials. This generation of Hypersoft offers the best performance yet. Accurate placement within each cabinet ensures maximum attenuation of any internal standing waves.


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Professional Reviews 89/100

Rating for VAF Signature i91 MKIII SE Bookshelf Speakers

Nicely Roasted

Sound Quality

91/100

Build Quality

80/100

Value for Money

91/100

The VAF Signature i91 MKIII SE delivers floorstander-like bass from a room-friendly standmount, pairing deep grip with pinpoint vocal focus and a broad, immersive soundstage. Craig Joyce at StereoNET United Kingdom found its crisp, tonally convincing midrange and coherent handling of dense mixes particularly compelling, making it a seriously accomplished all-rounder.

What Reviewers Are Saying

"In many respects, VAF's Signature i91 MKIII SE is a standmounting loudspeaker that performs more like a floorstander – with bass depth and grip that's easily on a par with larger rivals."

— StereoNET United Kingdom

Pros

Exceptionally deep, grippy bass for a standmount, with performance said to rival larger floorstanders.

Crisp, tonally accurate midrange with exceptionally focused, natural vocal reproduction.

Expansive, immersive soundstage and strong coherence on dense, bass-heavy recordings.

Considered strong value among room-friendly premium standmount speakers.

&

Cons

Ultimate detail retrieval does not quite match the sharper-sounding JBL comparator.

Imaging and soundstaging, while highly impressive, fall slightly short of the very best at the price.

SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 91/100

The i91 MKIII SE is portrayed as an unusually full-range and refined standmount, combining floorstander-like bass reach with outstanding vocal clarity and a vast, immersive stereo presentation. Its presentation favours musical engagement as much as precision, although the review found ultimate detail retrieval and imaging just short of the very best rivals at this price.

Bass

94/100

Bass is described as fantastic, with low-frequency extension that reviewers felt belied the cabinet size. It handled dense, bass-heavy material confidently, with depth and grip said to rival larger floorstanding speakers; this is exceptional performance for a standmount.

Mid

95/100

The midrange earns especially strong praise for tonal accuracy, crispness and exceptional vocal reproduction. Voices are portrayed with rich depth, immediacy and pinpoint focus, while strings and guitars retain convincing colour and clarity.

Treble

84/100

The review presents the speaker as precise and enjoyably balanced overall, but offers limited direct discussion of treble air, smoothness or extension. Detail retrieval was said not to quite match a JBL comparator, which suggests there may be more resolving alternatives for listeners prioritising the finest high-frequency detail.

Soundstage Imaging

93/100

The i91 SE produces a notably wide and immersive soundstage, described as having near room-filling, widescreen scale. Imaging and vocal placement are highly convincing, though the reviewer considered ultimate imaging and staging a step short of truly superb for the price.

Dynamics

83/100

Complex, effects-heavy recordings remained coherent and clearly separated rather than becoming congested. The review says less about large-scale dynamic impact or high-level headroom, so its ability to deliver explosive shifts is less fully documented.

Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.

Build Quality

80/100

The cabinet uses MDF up to 36mm thick with extensive internal bracing, and the crossover is hand assembled. These details suggest substantial engineering attention, although the review provides little direct assessment of finish execution, hardware quality or long-term durability.

Value for Money

91/100

At its listed 5,999-6,719 price range, the i91 MKIII SE is judged very positively against a crowded standmount market. The reviewer explicitly calls it great value and an essential audition for buyers seeking a room-friendly speaker with unusually deep bass and serious all-round capability.

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Authorized dealers for VAF VAF Signature i91 MKIII SE Bookshelf Speakers

  • Carlton Audio Visual — in-store — Carlton, Victoria, Australia (website)
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