I had/have the Vandersteen 1Bs. Not sure how they compare to the 1Cs but between the KEFs, the difference is night and day. In just about every way, the KEFs are a vast improvement. I was specifically referring to the bass when I mentioned the vandees. In particular, the vandersteens could put out an impressive amount of bass, room shaking even, but it really wasn't very good bass. The KEFs, on the other hand, put out far more bass than their size would lead you to believe and the bass is very tight and detailed.
Ultimately what pushed me to upgrade was a "audiophile sampler" that audiogon released through HDtracks. It was only $5 so I grabbed it. I picked a particular track that had two very complex piano parts playing together. One was high while the other was low. I used that track to do a proper A/B comparison between the vandees and my little audioengine p4s that I use on my computer. Both were played from the same amp and source.
On my p4s the highs were clear and airy. You could easily here the room in which the recording was made. The notes were neatly separated from each other which made the music much more engaging and highlighted the technical skill of the pianist. The bass line came across just as strongly. You could clearly hear the character of the piano within each note. The imaging was clearly placed right between the speakers so that they almost vanished into the music. The p4s readily presented the piece as two very complementary and masterfully played piano solos.
The vandersteens were a completely different story. While the high notes still sounded good, the space around them completely vanished. The room was gone. The separation also took a massive hit and the notes all just sort of ran together. The bass line was even worse. Again the separation between notes was gone and everything just got mushed together. There was almost no detail in the notes themselves. The bass line sounded so muddy that it no longer sounded like a piano at all. It sounded more like an electric bass just plodding along behind piano solo. There was also no real imaging to speak of. There was clearly a left and right speaker making the music.
That little test is what motivated me to replace the vandersteens. I loved them dearly but now I had heard their limitations and could no longer un-hear it. The p4s hinted at what I was missing and the KEFs give it to me in spades.
Ultimately what pushed me to upgrade was a "audiophile sampler" that audiogon released through HDtracks. It was only $5 so I grabbed it. I picked a particular track that had two very complex piano parts playing together. One was high while the other was low. I used that track to do a proper A/B comparison between the vandees and my little audioengine p4s that I use on my computer. Both were played from the same amp and source.
On my p4s the highs were clear and airy. You could easily here the room in which the recording was made. The notes were neatly separated from each other which made the music much more engaging and highlighted the technical skill of the pianist. The bass line came across just as strongly. You could clearly hear the character of the piano within each note. The imaging was clearly placed right between the speakers so that they almost vanished into the music. The p4s readily presented the piece as two very complementary and masterfully played piano solos.
The vandersteens were a completely different story. While the high notes still sounded good, the space around them completely vanished. The room was gone. The separation also took a massive hit and the notes all just sort of ran together. The bass line was even worse. Again the separation between notes was gone and everything just got mushed together. There was almost no detail in the notes themselves. The bass line sounded so muddy that it no longer sounded like a piano at all. It sounded more like an electric bass just plodding along behind piano solo. There was also no real imaging to speak of. There was clearly a left and right speaker making the music.
That little test is what motivated me to replace the vandersteens. I loved them dearly but now I had heard their limitations and could no longer un-hear it. The p4s hinted at what I was missing and the KEFs give it to me in spades.
