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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
stumpie OP
23 posts
 
Wow , Thanks for the responses so far . Very much appreciated .

Bignerd100 I was wrong about where my normal listening level is . The McIntosh meters are bouncing around the 4 watt area with peaks around 50 watts. I just listened to Amos Lee “Arms of a Women” and the slp meter was bouncing around the 90 db area with peaks of 95 db . I confused the 40W with the 4W . Opps .

Jgiacalo which Mac amp do you have ??

Uppermidfi My room is 10 1/2 X 14 .. Im about 8 feet away from the speakers now .

I just played Jamie Cullum’s “All at sea” .. If I try to turn this song up where it sounds live the sound gets compressed and thin sounding . I’m I asking to much ? ..
mauiaudioman
171 posts
 
Can't say enough about Green Mountain Audio speakers. Do yourself a favor and give them an audition.
evita
112 posts
 
VR4Jr's will do exactly what you're asking.
jack_dotson
210 posts
 
I would throw the Energy Veritas 2.3i's into the mix. I started out to buy a pair of B&W 803's and came home with these.

Also, some of my new favorites are the Ushers, but in the price range you seem to be looking at it would have to be one of their six series and I've only heard the C's, but how sweet they were. Love my 2.3i's, but can't get that Usher sound off my mind. The C's are probably out of my reach as well, but if the six series sound nearly as good I will be changing speakers yet again.

BTW, I used to own the 2Ce's and know exactly what your talking about, this is why I sold mine. IMO they lack severely in dynamic's when turned up anywhere past low to moderate listening levels. They earned the name Vandersweets. Too sweet IMO.
agaffer
256 posts
 
While I have been a long time Vandersteen owner if rock was my main intrest I would follow Eva Manley's lead and go with Tannoy speakers. She has had the opportunity to go with any speaker she wants and has Tannoy's because she has found them the best for rock music.
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