Vandersteen's, optimum placement, room limitations

All of your feedback has been quite helpful. I should add a couple of points to clarify my position- my listening room has the speakers against the long wall, which is the only place I can put them- it's a living room about 18 feet wide. Speakers, though only 20 inches from front wall, are about 7 feet apart, and would be about 6 feet from left side wall and 5 feet from right side wall. The only other speaker I've seriously considered so far would be the Von Schweikert vr4-jr's, which I think are actually front-ported. Don't want to go to 2 CE's, wasn't satisfied w/ their sound. I do want speakers that go down to 30Hz or below; want a bit deeper bass than I get w/ my Thiels. My impression has been that stand-mounted monitors don't tend to go that low, or give a great soundstage, all other things being equal, but I'm not too knowledgeable about them. My Thiels don't sound as good as they could in current position (20" out), but are serviceable- my sense has been that Vandy's would suffer relatively more in that position... Any thoughts out there on relative sensitivity of Thiels, Vandy's, Von Schweikerts in that position, plus stand monitors that go low, w/ great soundstage? Sorry for the length here, just have a lot of questions about this...

No, monitors won't go to 30hz unless they're powered like ones from Paradigm or Definitive Technology. Neither of these has a rep for being exactly smooth. Of course if you find 2Ce Sigs dark then maybe you'd like one or both, although your electronics might be a bit better than this.

The problem remains that you're in a smallish room but want big speaker sound, especially at the low end. Whether that will work might depend on how porous your walls are to low frequencies, along with a lot of other factors.

I think small speakers with a sub makes sense for this case, because the active low end can allow you to adjust the bass level somewhat to the room. So I might suggest monitors with sub like a pair of the von Schweikert LCR-15 center channel monitors (reportedly better than the VR 1), the Totem Arros (floorstanders), Joseph Audio RM7si Signature Mk2 (or maybe even floor standing 22 to around 40hz), VMPS 626 with FST tweeters (rear ported, so a question mark). The last three would tend away from the 2Ce Sig kind of warmth you didn't like.

There might be more problems with time aligned monitors since you have to sit so close to them. Even though they can all be adjusted vertically that can begin to change the image height and floor bounce and so forth. Also, their off axis response might be less smooth, including that of the first order crossover VMPS, and that might be a drawback in cramped quarters.

HTH. It's all so subjective....

Thanks, Suits_me-

You gave me some helpful things to consider. Also, I'd like to thank everyone else for their feedback.

Hi, the new Quatros should suit your needs since they will have an ajdustable bass amp. It's similarity in this respect to the Model 5 will allow you to place them where you (generally) want them and then to tune the bass for that spot. Additionally, it's likely that they will sound better than 3A Sigs due to the constant improvements that RIchard makes in his speakers.

Otherwise, the 3A Sigs are probably not a good idea based on the room dimensions you have. A pair of 2Ce Sigs would be great with subs, but not as refined as the 3s or Quatros.

Good luck!

I am going to disagree with the above posters and say that you can get very excellent sound from Vandersteen 3A Signatures in a relatively small room. I have these speakers (without the subwoofers) in a 22 foot x 12 foot living room and I am very happy with the sound.

My system is set up the same way and I get excellent, balanced sound with good depth. The bass is not boomy, and I probably have mine set up closer to the wall behind them than you do. There are some challenges due to furniture configuration which I choose not to address, like a big wall unit between the speakers. This does cut down on reverberant sound and although I wouldn't call the sound "diffuse" at all, other speakers have given a more precise and more laser-like imaging presentation than the Vandy's in my room. They are not "slow" or dull or dark to my ears. I do lose some deep bass, from my room, as I live in a Manhattan concrete box and this does generate an amazing amount of bass energy into the next apt. rather than staying in mine, but you may not have this if the construction of your building differs from mine.

In spite of all the negatives of furniture in the room, speaker placement necessitated in front of a long wall, listening across the width of the room and thus barely sitting 8 feet away, with very careful setup, I was able to make these speakers sing. It was a lot of work and I was frustrated for months. Toe-in, tilt back and positioning changes of 1-2 inches can make a huge difference with these speakers. A very careful setup which relies on trial and error as well as sufficient time to evaluate different placement options can yield excellent results, if my experience means anything.

By the way, besides currently owning the 3A Signatures, I previously owned the original Von Schweikert VR-5 and have extensive auditioning experience with the VR-4JR, but not in my home. I do feel the VR-4JR is a better speaker than the VR-5, although they do share many characteristics. I owned the Vandies at the same time as the Von Schweikerts. Vandies unquestionably went deeper in the bass, although the Von Schweikerts were not a slouch there, particularly for their smaller size. Von Schweikerts had a more transparent midrange. The Vandies had a slightly more laid back presentation, throughout the mids and highs. The VR-5's were definitely more forward in their presentation. Although I liked the VR-5's overall, they were too big for my bedroom and I wasn't so in love with them that I would sell the Vandersteen's. I liked the Vandersteen's better overall. I am in love with the VR-4JR and am pondering trying to make that work someday as a bedroom speaker.

So, I wouldn't give up on the idea of 3A Signatures in a room even only 18 x 12, if the speakers are set up along the long wall as yours and mine are. This may not be ideal and we may be leaving some performance "on the table", but I am confident that my system sounds very good indeed with this setup. With careful placement, even with other room restrictions, excellent sound is possible and even readily attainable with work from these speakers. I wouldn't want a room any smaller than yours to work with and if my living situation changed where I had more room to play with, I would enjoy hearing these speakers in that environment.