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Calling all Vandersteen Fans

A little over a year ago I owned he 1Cis for a short time. While I enjoyed many aspects of the speaker, I found their top-end was a bit ripe and sibilant, with multiple amps. I ended up having to attenuate the treble by 1.5db in order to enjoy them at all.

Lately I've been thinking about how well those speakers produced a realistic decay of instruments, the likes of which I haven't encountered in any other speakers. I'm wanting to give Vandersteens another chance and am considering the 2CE SigIIs, however, it appears they and the 3As have the same tweeter as the 1Cis. That and the measurements in the Stereophile review give me pause. I suppose it could be that I didn't allow the 1Cis enough break-in, or that I was actually hearing upper midrange distortion from their 8" midbass driver

I'm soliciting input from those very familiar with the brand. Would you say the 2 Sig IIs produce a warmer balance than the 1Cis? Do they in-fact share the same exact tweeter? 

Is a 100 watt/ch amp enough to drive 2CEs to satisfying levels in a 26×15' room?








helomech
ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
great stuff and thanks for sharing.
helomech OP
1,694 posts
 
Well guys, unfortunately, the 2CE Sigs aren’t working for me. I’m really quite baffled (no pun intended), because they sound nothing like what I recall of the 1Cis. I played them quite a lot over the last week and regardless of placement tweaks, I just couldn’t duplicate the decay of the 1Cis. The midrange is also quite lacking in detail compared to nearly all my other speakers. On the plus side, I didn’t notice any sibilance in the high freqs as I did with the 1Cis. The bass extension is also very nice, though sometimes it sounds like it’s overwhelming the cabinet with resonance.

I realize speakers can take a long while to break-in, but these would have to undergo quite the transformation for me to keep them.

After boxing up the Vandys last night, just for kicks, I inserted my 43-year-old Advents into the system - same cables and all. I’ll be a monkey’s uncle - the Advents were producing more detail, greater midrange presence, better imaging and just overall greater musicality. I know that’s hard to believe but that’s what I was hearing. I’m sure at least 5 out of 10 would hear the opposite. Anyhow, my dealer was agreeable in making an exchange for a demo pair of Stirling SB-88s - a speaker I know I’ll enjoy.

I still appreciate everyone’s responses and advice here.

Happy Listening.



gdnrbob
4,447 posts
 
Sad to hear this.
I do know that speakers take a while to 'break in', but sometimes things don't work out.
I hope the Stirling's do the trick.
Bob
2psyop's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
2psyop
1,598 posts
 
Helomech-
Sorry to hear about your experience with these speakers. I know you have had bad luck now...twice! But hey that’s ok, just keep looking. Perhaps the Sterlings will work out to be the perfect match, they look to be very fine speakers. I often think, speaker choice is a very subjective journey. The key is to find what you like, not what others like. Good luck, happy listening.
daverz
487 posts
 
Vandersteens are fussy about tilt.  Not good for those with OCD. 

I use a Huepar Box 1-R laser level for this. 

But if you made some effort to follow the instructions, and it didn't work for you, I would move on.
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