To Vandersteen or not to Vandersteen

I have the 3ASigs and I love the way they sound. The thing with Vandersteens is that you have to really take the time to set them up properly to get all of what they have to offer and they have a lot. It took much trial and error but the pay off is tremendous. I also would second the recommendation of contacting John Rutan @ Audio Connection in Verona NJ. John really knows the speakers and is more than happy to make sure you're getting the best results.I also own Maggie 1.6 and have gotten the most out of them as well and I must give credit to John for helping me. Happy Camper? Yes I am!

Forgot to mention when I disliked 2's with any setup, John set up 1c with pair of 2wq. That combo stays between 3's and 2's budgetwise, but reaches the performance qualities of 3A's at ease. I think 2wq with decapos may have a potential of similar magic.

I owned 3A Sigs for a couple of years, spent a lot of time fine-tuning their set-up, and got them to sound really nice. While not the final word in resolution or dynamics, they are remarkably organized, coherent and convincing, and deliver plenty of detail if properly set up. Almost every little parameter affects their sound, like how much you tighten the Sound Anchor bolts, as crazy as that seems, so you have to be willing to work them, as Tonyjack said.

At around $2K used for a thoroughly realized design that's time-aligned and almost-full-range with purpose-built, matched drivers and almost no cabinet-resonance issues, you really can't go wrong.

OP-

if you have the space, I would consider the 3A. Very fine speaker that plays out a large soundstage. The current 2 series is nice also, bargain priced as well.

I would like to hear the 5/5A series someday for a comparison to the 3/3A series.

I also am asking this question again!!
I am still trying to move in a different direction and have 3 contenders Wish I could get them all together but that is not happening fundswise. The SDAs and Infinitys I do have together.

PolkSDA2Bs which I own and are upgraded Maybe moving on from these.

Vandy 2CEs This ties into the OPs question. Have had them before but had to sell them. I can get another pair localy but no home trial. More depth, tighter bass, tighter imaging then the SDAss but not as wide of a stage . Close but not quite. Almost to clear sometimes. Metal dome tweeter?? I respect them but am not sure the are for me

Infinity RSIII Very pretty Have them on loan but have to make a move soon Tighter bass then the SDAs A little more transparent and more depth out in front of the speakers. Voices are out front. Very wide and tall image Lifelike size. One thing is that when listening to these I do not miss the stage width of the SDAs like I did with the Vandersteens. Not as rich as the SDAs My wife commented on a Bonnie Raitt live track that it sounded slightly clinical Not the best recording

NEW DCM Timewindow 1A We carried smaller DCMS when i was in the biz but not this one How would this compare to the above offerings??

I have go by what i can afford (which is not much) and what is around locally fun fun fun