Not Thrilled with Vandersteen 2CE Sigs - where is the first place to work on?

@gjinwi

Fantastic to hear. Johnny is a gem of a gentleman, and knows Vandersteen better than most all.

I have the 2CE Sigs, and can tell you, I feel the disparaging descriptions to be misguided. This is all very subjective; what one feels about a particular piece of equipment can always be countered by another who desires, demands, and expects something else. That doesn’t necessarily equate one of being good or bad, just different. And we all may want different things.

For me, at the price point I picked-up my 2CE Sigs at, I doubt most any other can compare. To me, they just sound ‘right’, great tone and timbre, natural, which for me is most important. In addition to great soundstage and dynamics potential. Positioning and placement is the key for any Vandersteen. But once you get that dialed-in, and you like the overall sonics they can provide, (for many many hours of listening at a sitting), they should make you happy and pleased. And, of course, as you improve your front-end, they sound even better. They please me a great deal, and astound me with their capabilities still.

Enjoy

I did a lot of looking around before I bought my Quatros CTs.  One of the key elements is not just the product, but the company behind the product.  With Vandersteen, I found a family company working hard every day to improve their craft.  After reading comments about how Richard may be losing high-frequency hearing, I called Richard to discuss the design process, as this idea that Richard's ears play a big role did not match what I understood as there is a lot of work done in an anechoic chamber.  Most speaker companies don't have an anechoic response measurement and the consistency that it creates.  In this case, 44 years and 8 models of Model 2 speakers.

I learned that Vandersteen speakers have always been Time and Phase Correct and measured flat in frequency response, in contrast to the tipped up highs and booming bass of many other designs.  Over the years, passive components like internal wire, capacitors, resistors, input connectors, and driver technology advancements have revealed more information and transparency. The basic design has not changed, including the newer VLR CT, TREO CT, QUATRO CT, and SEVEN MkII being:  first-order networks, one driver per frequency band above 200Hz, minimum baffle area, pistonic cones and domes, and time alignment. Richard has always referenced his product designs with live vs. recorded evaluations, which is self-correcting for age; besides, Nathan, his son, does all of the anechoic chamber work these days. I found all Vandersteen speakers still measure flat today like they always have, but modern technology does allow them to reveal much more of the recording. The continued effort at Vandersteen is to employ materials as they develop to better the speakers by reducing noise in the products.  The Model 2 may represent the best example. Although aesthetics remain the same, the new model introduced in June represents another improvement in clarity and timbre, while remaining true to music, at least to my ears.  If you have a Vandersteen dealer in the neighborhood, just go in and talk to them.  Most of the dealers, I found, have 30 to 40 years of experience with Vandy.  I see Jonny R posted here.  That is a great place to start.

 Sell them and get the 1Cis -- much better speakers.

I have them both. I’ll take the 2CE’s as my mains all the time, every day. The 1C’s serve as my rears when in HT mode.

Don’t get me wrong, the 1C’s are great speakers as well, (they lead me to the 2’s), but they are not the full range sound you get from the 2C’s. I had to reinstall the 1C’s to my main 2 channel speakers a while back while having one of the 2C’s acoustic couplers repaired, and man-o-man, I missed the 2’s.

I’ll keep the 1C’s just in case I ever have to down-size.

@helomech I’m surprised to hear you say that. I’m not sure the 1ci’s are necessarily better, but I’ve found they work better in my house with small rooms than the 2. 
There is something magical about the 1’s though isn’t there?

I was enchanted by them from my first listen in Johnny R’s back room. He really has them dialed in there.