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I love my Vandersteen's but . . . . . . . .

Over the last 35 years I have only owned Four different speaker brands . In the 70”s Radio shack ,In the 80’s ADS L-990's and Vandersteen 2ci , In the 90’s to present , Snell B’s and then back to Vandersteen 2ce sig’s .. You can see my current system here on Audiogon.. Do a search In virtual systems for Stumpies System ..This will give you a lot of info on my system.

Ok ,, Here is my question … I love the sound from my current system but there are times I wish I could get a little more volume out of it . Most of the time when I listen the Meters on the McIntosh amp are bouncing around the 40 watt area with “peaks” around 100 W . But there are times I wish I could turn it up some . If I try to turn the Vandersteen’s up the sound starts to get “compressed” ,, Instruments loose there air around them ,, everything gets thin sounding so I always turn it back down.
Is there a speaker out there that will play “bigger” in my small listening room ?
Speakers I have been considering are B&W N-804’s ,, Von schweikert VR4jr ,,, Green Mountain Audio ,, NHT .
I listen to all kinds of music . Light rock mostly . Eva Cassidy,,James Taylor,,James McMurtury,,Lyle Lovett,,Mark knopfler,,Bob James,,Larry Carlton,,Lee Ritenour ..

What to do ??? Any help would be appreciated ..
stumpie
mcfarland
356 posts
 
IMHO, try the Dunlavy SC 4 or 5's. Happy Listening.
aktchi
274 posts
 
Congratulations on your "stability", I appreciate a kindred spirit. Some people move through four speakers in a year. :) It also means your next choice is relatively more important as you may be living with it for many years.

I don't share musical tastes with you, so won't make specific model recommendations. However, I agree with Bignerd100 in general: you need more efficient speakers. So look for sensitivity ratings at least 92 or higher.

Living Voice, Zu etc have a reputation for great efficiency and sound quality. Same with Green Mountains although they look like alien gadgets.

For another approach, there are great small companies like Tyler or Salk, basically run by one very gifted speaker builder, who build one speaker at a time and will be willing to tweak a design for your situation. At least it cannot hurt to give them a call and see what they offer.
rolloff
129 posts
 
I had a pair of vandersteens for about twenty years too. I now have the Gallo ref 3's. I love them, and they seem to be able to rock out with gusto. I've got the little sub amp attached, so there's no problem with base. Priced in the used market they're a steal!You can see them on my system page too.

enjoy,

Rolloff
mikej
172 posts
 
Hi, I'm not convinced it's your speakers. More likely it's your amp that you're hearing. I suggest trying a different amp (Maybe borrow one) before worrying about the speakers. The 2s will play plenty loudly with the right amp in place. Since you have an SPL meter you will want to see how loud you're playing in the first place. The wattage is really irrelevant.
Just my 2 cents!
ejlif's avatar
ejlif
1,366 posts
 
I don't think your amp or any of your system is at fault, you are just ready to step up from the Vandersteens for sure. The Vadersteens are great, but slamming dynamics are not thier strong suite.

I'd skip on the Dunlavy reccomendation as well. I've owned those for years and they just don't resolve enough or put out enough bass to justify those huge coffins in your room. They don't do bass anywhere near as good as the little VR4Jrs

You will love the VR4Jrs I'm sure of it. I own a pair of them and a pair of the 4SRS. They love power like you have and will drop right into your current system like a dream. They will play loud and clear the bass is awesomely tuneful and tight, maybe not the final word in low extension, but really really satisfying. If you gotta have more bass get the SRs, but they may not be worth it, the super duper value is in the JRs for around 2500 used. If you have the system for them (good powered amp (and a good one too) great preamp and source) they are AWESOME speakers, but again they will reveal everything about the system. Placement isn't to tough and they are very small for the full sound they make. They don't have a humongously tall soundstage if that matters to you, and they sound superb out of the sweet spot as well as in it.

Good luck and feel free to hit me up with any questions you may have.

Ryan
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