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Anyone had Vandersteen 3's upgraded to 3A Sig?

Hi,

I have a 12 year old pair of Vandersteen Model 3s that have served my system faithfully over that time and through many other system upgrades.

I have been researching my options on a new pair of speakers, since the rest of my system has far surpassed my trustee Vandy 3's (at least in terms of list price!).

As all of you know, buying new speakers online is not as easy as buying other equipment, due to the cost/risk of shipping them.

As I considered my options, one interesting idea I discovered was to have my Vandy 3's upgraded to 3A Signatures for $1600.

I am also considering adding 2 Vandy 2Wq subwoofers to aproximate the sound of Vandy 5's.

Some of my concerns are:

Shipping my perfect Vandy 3's across the country for the upgrade. I would hate to have them lost or destroyed by UPS!

Adding a crossover and more cabling into the signal path, which I try to keep as simple and direct as I can.

If anyone has experience with either of these topics, I would appreciate hearing about it.

My associated equipment:

Meridian 586.2 DVD/CD used as a transport for audio/video.
dCS Purcell D/D upsampler - Cardas Lightning RCA intercon.
dCS Elgar D/A Converter - 2 Cardas AES/EBU for 192 upsamp.
Krell KSA 150 with all new Caps - AudioQuest Amazon XLR.
Vandersteen 3's - Audioquest Dragon+ (top) Sterling3 (bot)
Sound Application CF-X - Delta MAC powercord

Thanks.
davemon
sdcampbell
2,136 posts
 
Hi, Craig:

Good to have you posting. I forgot one point in my first post: the cost of the upgrade includes the cost of return shipping from Vandersteen to the owner. I would expect the cost of shipping for Davemon will be around $250-300 via truck freight from the east coast to Hanford, CA (somewhat less if he is in the midwest). Shipping via UPS and FedEx will be a bit less -- maybe $50 less -- but the monetary savings is not worth the increased risk of damage.
maxgain
526 posts
 
Davemon,
The cross over for the 2wq's can be quite transparent providing that you DON'T; #1,use the switchable X-over box that comes with them. #2,use the wrong value fixed filter. #3,use the Vandersteen fixed filters(they cloud the sound in a bad way).

DO; #1, use the Vandersteen 5 crossover. #2, solder High quality caps(the Vandersteen fixed X-2 used cheap muddy crap) in the amp at the input for the filter value or have some filters custom made using the cap brand of your choice.

I had to learn this the hard way!
sdcampbell
2,136 posts
 
Maxgain's comments about the temporary crossovers that come with the Vandy subs is pertinent. I purchased a used pair of the Vandy Model 5 crossovers, which contain MUCH better component parts. Further, there is a separate crossover box for each channel, and they contain a 9-volt battery that keeps the capacitors charged at all time. Unfortunately, the Model 5 crossovers are expensive ($600 for single-ended, and $800 for balanced), but you can sometimes find them here on A-gon for 1/3 to 1/2 off retail. The Model 5 crossovers are absolutely transparent when used with my Vandy 3A Sig's.
imkennyg2
3 posts
 
I haven't had mine upgraded, but I did buy them used and FedEx caused $400 worth of damage! Take Richard's advise and ship them with a motor freight co. FedEx paid for repairs but it took over a month to collect.
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