2. amps-preamps
  3. 150450-134126

Pulling myself out of old, broken equipment, one hesitant step at a time...

My father purchased Klipschorns in 1976, ran them with various McIntosh components, so it was only natural that I would look for my own version of hi-fidelity, starting around 1992. That brought me in touch with Vandersteen 2Ci's and 205wpc parasound HCA1200ii. The amp still functions; the 2Ci's are in the shop. They want $400 for the re-coning of one driver and re-edging another, on one speaker. This would also imply another $400 for the other speaker, which was the shop's recommendation and it makes common sense to refresh both speakers, as doing only one would create a kind of lop-sided musical affair. So, I can spend $800 on the 2Ci's, but this means I'm working with a thirty-year-old set-up and who knows when other drivers will pop. Truthfully, the shop is giving me a deal, even at the $400 mark; I know, because he waved some of the labor charges that he included initially. Apparently, Vandys are not easy labor, but Vandy lovers would like to keep the 2C experience rolling as long as possible...

Anyway, I also snatched a sale pair or RP280's for less than $500. They are lively and have provided many memorable music moments over the past nine months. Nevertheless, I find myself wanting to move on and up with things, so here is where I have gone and invested probably hundreds of hours reading reviews, few of which offer much in terms of direct comparison to other equipment (I might want to buy)... So, here is what is standing out for me:

Odyssey Kismet in the Stratos case.

Van Alstine Vision SET 120 or 400

Nuforce STA 200

So, any useful way of discriminating between the three, recognizing that the amplification of the STA 200 and 120 are about 80wpc, with the other two closer to 200wpc. I'm particularly interested in a 3-D soundstage. Subtlety and dynamics, authentic highs, sweet midrange and bass control are also on the top of my list. Before pointing me to tubes, I'll note that I live in one of the warmer parts of California. We are in the midst of 100 degree days here, so tubes will not fit well for me, until about November 1st.      

And finally, the idea is to pick a sweet amp, followed by a speaker upgrade. I'm interested in the excitement surrounding Tektons. I don't imagine spending more than 2K on any particular element of my new system... 

Thank you for your thoughts!
listening99
reubent
6,986 posts
 
It is easy to remove drivers from Vandersteen speakers. I removed the woofer and tweeter from a pair of Vandersteen 3's and sent the tweeter to Richard for repair. I believe the cost was $94 (in 2017), including the return shipping, and I had the tweeter back in less than a week. (They did the actual repair/replacement the same day the received the defective tweeter). For the woofer, I simply re-glued the existing surround which was in good shape, but had come loose from the cone.

I think there is a video, or at least printed instructions, regarding how to remove the drivers, on the services page of the Vandersteen website.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,468 posts
 
good for you reubent....I removed the tweeter and upper mid from a 5A and had them repaired at Vandersteen....not expensive.
delta77
18 posts
 
I’m using TEKTON and DECWARE..
I prefer my Decware over my Odyssey amp..
Fills the room very well, with a beautiful sound stage..
schteveuhn's avatar
schteveuhn
5 posts
 
Hey, @listening99 I’m just now reading about your repairs and issues with your Vandersteens. What has come of the repair work on them? Did you keep them or move on? I’m a little curious, as I’ve recently bought a pair of good 2ci’s but had to repair one of the tweeters and sent it to the factory last week. I am now waiting to get the repaired tweeter this week and see how it works for me. Thanks- 
listening99 OP
172 posts
 
@schteveuhn 

I ended up surrendering the speakers to the repair shop. Four or five drivers needed repair, and I don't know how much more life I could have expected from the remaining cones and surrounds, voice coils, etc... etc... I ended up going Tekton, Moabs. They fit the bill, satisfying my need for an adventurous leap into the unknown and supplying me with a commanding and subtle full range event. Currently, I'm testing out options for amplification.

The schiit aegir came in three days ago and the evident textures are palpable, rich, present. I auditioned a class D amp for a month and instrument textures sometimes lacked life, appeared hollow, or emerged in odd shapes. Voices were often constricted. I was caught thinking the amp was somehow revealing the space in which people sang, but then it seemed more likely that the voices never properly took form, and there was a kind of pinched effect around vocals. The bass was big, so that was attractive, but something as simple as a hand clap seemed inauthentic. I've also realized that my first impressions of a piece of equipment often have me excited about "differences" that may turn out to be evidence of weakness later in an audition, so we will see how things go with the aegir.

I wish it had more power, but then I would probably abuse that power and my ears. I don't really need to be listening over 90db, but I'm confused that the aegir, which would appear to work with my speakers, to push them to something on order of 107db, according to SPL calculators, seem a little out of breath around mid nineties... As I said, this might be a good thing... I don't feel my ears growing younger... 
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