Vandersteen 2Ce and bass performance


I recently bought a 7-month old pair of Vandersteen 2Ce speakers and stands. I am running them with an Adcom 545 MKII and GFP555 Pre Amp. They are biwired with Monster M1.4s bi-wire. The room is large and hard (windows, maple floors, drywall, and brick). I'm hard up for more bass. I'm particularly concerened with the fact that so much of the musical stage is convincing and yet the kick drum in so much of my music sounds reticent. The speakers are reputed for "excellent bass extension," and I do not remember this reticence when auditioning other 2Ces in a local dealer. Suggestions for how to evaluate or improve this situation?? Any help is appreciated.
bostich
having the 2ce go flat to 30 in more than one system, il cant understand why more of you havent advised getting different electronics. the 545 probably doesnt have the oomph in the bottom. arc sp9/classic 60 combo would be awesone but expen$ive. a hafler 500 is hard to find but i assure yu the bass would be visceral. do NOT put these fine sounding spks in corners or near walls. if they sound too spacey, toe them in toward the sweet spot. im not potshotting you medford, just offering the solution it took in the dealer showroom whre they were a bit too close to a reflective wall. theyre spacious enough without depending wall reflections. these speakers need to have space on all sides to take advantage of their near boxless design. they look goofy without the grill but thats the way id want to hear them all the time. kimber 8tc works well with this system also. ive never messed with biwiring but would if i owned these spks.
You might want to try a different CD player. I know when I bought a higher end CD player the bass response of my system went up noticeably. If you don't want to spend money try the following: 1. Spike the speakers. 2. Put lead shot or sand in the speaker stands. 3. Verify the speakers are firmly connected to their stands. 4. Put the speakers a little closer to the wall. You will pay a little in imaging. 5. Biwire the speakers. I did this with mine and noticed a sound improvement. 6. Shorten your speaker cables as much as possible & keep them off the ground. 7. Clean all of your connectors. 8. Sit further from your speakers. Low bass makes very large standing waves that you cannot hear up close. If you do want to spend money you can 1. Buy a cheap solid state amp for the low end. Pick up an old adcom, rotel, denon etc. Put your lower quality amp on the bottom. 2. Buy a used Vandersteen sub. I have heard the old 10 vintage 2w, and thought it added a lot to the vandersteen 2's.
Go tubes, these speakers thrive on tube gear ARC for the best result. This will give you rich full bass that you're missing.
Experiment with placement! 2C's are very critical in terms of how far away from the rear wall they reside. The speaker does have very good low-end extension if setup properly. Using a good amp will also help your situation.