For Vandersteen owners & lovers: Which other brands do you like?
If you didn’t own Vandersteens, what would you own instead and why? Or, if you switched to another brand what did you choose?
First, let me say that I am a Vandersteen owner for 20+ years, now on my 2nd pair of the 2CE, the Signature III. I have owned other brands, and heard many others and even liked some. 😀 I don’t change gear frequently once I settle on something. Lazy & frugal = me.
I am on the verge of being on the verge of getting the Vandy Treo CT. I have auditioned them at length. I have also heard the Quatro CT and if budget allowed (including upgrading my front end) I would get them for sure. I’m not a fanboy—there is a reason why Vandersteen has sold something like 100K pairs of the 2CE. They sound very good and all of their models are a real bargain/value in their category, imo.
I have heard and liked, for different reasons, Maggies, Magicos, Harbeths, Focals, Linkwitz-Riley, and other brands. Others that I have not heard intrigue me too. I keep circling back to Vandys—maybe it’s what I have known the longest. I have flirted with the Larsen 8 or 9, which is a totally different design (AbSound has reviewed them well), and also the MBL 120 and 126 (omnidirectionals).
I know I could be happy for life with Vandersteens (Treo, Quatro, or dreaming—the Kento or 7). I am interested in detailed opinions of alternatives in the $10K range though. Thanks!
We do the best we can with what we have left. I can only listen in mono now, but I still have the music playing most of the day. God bless you. |
If I was you I’d be on the lookout for two used 2wq subs as there are really good deals out there on those subs now, and two very good subs is almost always better than one great one. And IMHO the 2wq was and still is a damn good sub, and two of’em? End game stuff to me. |
PD and Russ, Yes, we do our best. We have to have the mindset that being happy is our responsability, enjoying life is what we should try to do, you can't buy happiness, but you can sure have it, and take it with you (and give it away as well). I still love my wife, still love my home and system, and enjoy what I have. I don't need any more than that. My best to you guys! Regards, Dan |
@islandmandan My wife’s mom struggled with dementia, but those of us around her struggled much more, especially her dad and that seems like where you are. I hope you have access to resources to help you (in addition to your stereo) so if things progress and make it even harder on you that you have help. I pray it doesn’t come to that for you, but I know how hard it can be and God Bless for whatever you’re going through because I know how hard, and how heartbreaking, it can be to watch someone you love slowly slip away and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. It’s a cruel and evil disease, and I only hope you the best. Reach out for support/family is the best advice I can give, and keep rewarding yourself with the wonderful gift of music as it can be a refreshing oasis for you because you need to keep caring for yourself in addition to your wife. Again, I completely identify and appreciate what you’re going through, and you seem like a supremely optimistic and courageous man, but don’t take it all on your own shoulders because it’s likely you just can’t at some point. You have my sincere thoughts and prayers, and my wife is a social worker and obviously gone through this with her mom who has sadly passed, but if you need any advice on support services that you and/or your wife might need please reach out to me. For example, when her disease progressed and my father-in-law needed a break and she needed stimulation/support a bus would come pick her up and take her to a place where she got stimulated and interaction with others, and it was all funded by NY State. Anyway, sorry to drone on here, but just know that you are not alone in this and there are people/services that can help improve both you and your wife’s quality of life if needed. Yours in life and music. Tim |
@patrickdowns figured I’d throw in my input. I had 3’s for 30 years with sending them in for upgrades 3 times, the last time a full upgrade to Signature 3 spec on all parts. ( Richard’s answer when I asked what would be different before I sent them was “ the only thing you will get back from your speakers is the wood, the frame and maybe the cloth”) I was thinking about the switch to Treo’s and went and listened to them ( New Jersey dealer, well thought of) and after my audition I went to look at some finishes in another building with him ( basically deciding on what I was going to buy) and he had some Harbeth SLH 5 Anniversary speakers set up that he had on commission. I had never heard Harbeths so I asked for a listen. I loved my Sig 3’s and liked the Treo’s which to my ear had similar sound but just cleaner with more detail. The Harbeths are to me even more detailed and incredibly realistic while being not fatiguing in any way. The first day I had the Harbeths they seemed almost too detailed, it was like the Sig 3’s had been more blended…? But after a few hours I haven’t looked back in any way. The real input is to just get what sounds right to you. Just give your ears a touch of time to adapt if the sound is different at first. For me hearing the Harbeths that first time they just seemed effortlessly detailed and they just stuck in my brain. Enjoy! |
