A question I would like to weigh in on~
I used to own a killer VI...everyone who played it loved it. It was a late VI..210,xxx and I used it for 13 years.
I then played a Ref 54 and 36 side by side with my VI. All 3 horns in perfect adjustment by the same tech.
The 54 blew my "killer" out of the water. The 36 was nice but did nothing for me.
3 days afterward I traded my VI flat for the 54 and have been very happy since.
Since then, I landed a silver closet VI in the 184,xxx range and had it overhauled and had the body to bow soldered. I have to say that, if memory serves me correctly, this VI is head and shoulders above my old one. It has a resonance or ring to it that my 54 comes close to, but doesn't match exactly.
I have also changed mps and reed set ups since I used my old VI, and this no doubt affects things a great deal, but I would have to say that amongst the Selmer line, a well-set up and in good condition VI can be hard to beat.
I am not saying the VI is the end-all-be-all of saxes. If it were, I wouldn't have sold all mine in the past.
I wouldn't sell my Ref 54 ever, especially since I had the ultimate Jason engrave job, amd side key pearls added.
That being said, had I not customized it so, I may be selling it instead of the VI I just put up for sale.