$149 a pair? CRAZY
The Vera-Fi Ranger speakers have really taken me on a trip down memory lane today. Many audio reviewers and enthusiasts with high-end systems sometimes forget where it all began. For me, it was a used pair of AR-7s for $50. My buddy Todd across the street purchased them new at J&R Music World (remember the ads in the back of Audio magazine?) for $79. Crazy.
Back in my University of Wisconsin days, the radio was peppered with ads for “Crazy TV Lenny” from American TV of Madison. He was audio’s screamy guy of the time, offering a pair of speakers for $199, with free speaker wire and a ten-speed bike!
This became such a big tradition in Wisconsin audio retailing that when Mrs. Crazy TV Lenny filed for divorce (and it was listed in the local paper), on top of the house, tons of money, and a red Mercedes 560SL, she received a ten-speed bike. You gotta love that. Ironically, I saw the airplane that she was on crash at Milwaukee’s airport. I was across the street at Holiday Inn, photographing an event for Miller Brewing Company. Weird.
In 2025, Vera-Fi has these damn cool little speakers selling for $149 a pair. No bike, but hey.
Now you might be thinking, “How can they possibly make a pair of speakers for $149?”
You might think Mark Schifter is crazy.
If you think about it, though, a new pair of Bowers & Wilkins 707 S2s costs $599. Just like the Vera-Fi speakers, they are made in China. Yet by the time B&W (and no disrespect here) sends them here, an importer takes their percentage, and the dealer gets their 50% cut. These prestigious speakers probably cost less to build than the Rangers. My neighbors have actually just bought a pair of 707s, and they aren’t even close to the Rangers in terms of the level of musical realism they deliver for $149. I’m debating whether to tell them to send the B&Ws back to Amazon and grab a pair of these instead.
Starting with my usual Aimee Mann test LP – Lost in Space, I’m immediately involved and intrigued. What these little speakers do so well, that so many inexpensive speakers can’t, is get the midrange right. Often, manufacturers goose the bass to make budget speakers more exciting. Kudos to the Vera-fi team for playing it straight up.
Moving on to a bit of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, with a dose of Grover Washington Jr.’s Mister Magic, I’m right back in the bedroom of my parents’ house in Wisconsin. I’m digging it.
These little cabinets are about 8″ wide, 11″ tall, and 9″ deep. Inside the gorgeous cabinet is a 5.25-inch woofer and a 1-inch silk dome tweeter. The crossover is set at 2,500Hz, and these 8-ohm speakers have a claimed sensitivity of 84 dB/1 watt. Kinda like your favorite pair of LS3/5a’s, right?
Schifter says, “These are friendly in look, sound, and feel.” I can’t agree more.
No, you can’t play your favorite electronica tracks on these and get floor-rattling bass, nor can you play Slayer at concert level. That’s not what these are about. The Rangers provide you with enough insight into the music that, if you’re a new audio enthusiast and music lover, they will get you hooked and encourage you to take your journey further, yet are a great place to park until you can.
Staying close to the budget system groove, I set these up in our 11 x 12 foot back bedroom with an $89 Sony SACD player (new at Amazon before the tariffs) and an old Pioneer SX-434 that I bought at a garage sale for $100. Things have gone up since we used to produce the Slummin’ column in the early years of TONE.
Rounding out the system with some of Vera-Fi’s Ranger cables and a used REL T3 subwoofer (which I picked up during Echo Audio’s closeout sale last summer for $75) brought my total system price to about $500. Good times.
For those curious about Vera-Fi’s $199 10-inch Caldera 10, I gave that a try and for my taste, the Rangers don’t quite go down far enough to blend seamlessly. The Scouts do, but these just don’t quite reach – that’s why I went to the used REL with an 8-inch driver this time around. Don’t be surprised if you see a smaller sub from Vera-Fi sooner than later, but you didn’t hear that from me!
Setup is simple, whether you are in a room or at your desk. Thanks to that great midrange, if you happen to be editing video on your desktop, the Rangers do a great job if you want top sound on a tight budget. Along with the sub, they were fantastic for watching F1 qualifying too.
Zooming in on 20 of our standard demo tracks reveals a high level of musicality at work. Much like my AR-7s or even the Spica TC-50s that I would cherish a decade later, the clean, natural midrange and smooth high end help you forget that there isn’t a lot of throbbing bass going on.
In the 11 x 12 room, placing the speakers soundly on a set of 22-inch stands, about 18″ out from the room’s corners, takes advantage of a bit of room gain, at the loss of some imaging specificity. Moving them in the near field, three feet out from the rear and side walls, creates a more immersive sound, if that option is available. This is a perfect setup to add a small sub to.
It was incredibly easy to forget I was listening to $500 worth of gear. In addition to a natural midrange, the highs are slightly rolled off. Still, they extend out smoothly and integrate well with the woofer, making the whole thing work seamlessly. Well.
You should only need about 20- or 30-watts worth of power to get excellent results. I would have matched these up with a used Dynaco Stereo 70 and PAS 3 if I weren’t going the Japanese receiver route. Using my PrimaLuna EVO100 integrated amplifier gave me a pretty good idea of what that might sound like.
A few more amp/pre/integrated variations were tried, with excellent results, but they were all in the $2k-$3k range – again showing off how much these little speakers can deliver. Used within the envelope of what they are capable of, I hope you’ll be as excited as I am about the Rangers.
Much as I love the $299 Scouts, the value offered by these little Rangers is off the chart. For everyone you see with giant speakers and amplifiers (myself included), this is where we all started. This is a great place to start if you’re new to this, and as Crazy TV Lenny used to say, “Trust me, you’ll love them.”