$ 2500 ....Stay with Vandersteens ??...what else ?


Please refer my "system" to see my current set-up. Everything sounds wonderful together.....extremely musical, great soundstage depth and width, beautiful rendition of timbre and tone, natural presentation of voices and acoustics. BUT....I have the speaker "upgrade itch," wanting fuller, richer, deeper sound, and I need advice from my friends at Audiogon.

I spend around three hours a night of "serious listening," about 2/3 digital and 1/3 vinyl. Roughly 70% of my enjoyment is 1950's - 1960's jazz (Miles, Coltrane, Basie, Rollins, Brubeck, Ella, Mobley, Morgan, etc., etc.), 25% "classic rock" that I grew up with (Allman Brothers, Dead, Dylan, CSNY, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Led Zep, Yes, Hot Tuna, etc.), and the other 5% "newer jazz audiophile stuff" (Patricia Barber, Rebecca Pigeon, etc.)

Keeping the rest of my system the same (except for bi-wire speaker cables if needed), what do you guys recommend for new speakers ? Vandersteen 2CE Sig. II's seem a natural option, but what else should I consider ? I'm open to all kinds of suggestions. Thanks a lot, and Happy Listening !
adam18
Thanks for all the response so far.....My listening room size should be "plenty big" to supoort the 2CE Sig./II's.
I guess the next step would be to find a dealer that has the Rogue and Vandy's, and compare the 1C's and the 2CE Sig./II's in store. Obviously a home audition would work best. I'll check it out.
Anyway, any other speaker suggestions for my system ?? Let me hear more ideas. Thanks
Once you are connected to the Vandersteen sound you may find it difficult to accept another brands sound characteristics. There is something to be said for the rightness of the 1st order X-overs/time-aligment-baffeless design. I have had many other brands but always go back to Vandersteen

To return to the question...I would recommend a used pair of Vandersteen 3A Signatures. I have not had personal experience with the 2CE Sig MkII's, but I believe that the larger bass enclosure and hence the extended frequency response of the 3's are what places them above the 2's. The only other speaker I might suggest would be a Sonus FaberÂ…the Cremora, but that is outside your price range
I would suggest you have Mark Obrian at Rogue Audio install the special 6DB 80 HZ Vandersteen High pass in your existing Rogue Cronus integrated
Next add the a Vandersteen 2WQ this will lower the systems overall distortion while dramatically improving the clarity and transparency of the whole system also allowing you to control the amount of bass in the room to your preference not to mention since you are unloading the main amp the Tubes will last longer.
Of course you could go to the Vandy 2CE sig II Bi wiring them and then the above but either way you will have an awesome system
We have High passed many of the Rogues/Vandy 2WQ with fine results and customer satisfaction.
Cheers Johnnyr
Going from the Vandersteen 1c to the 2CE is certainly a logical upgrade. At the same price, however, I think it would be worthwhile to audition a pair of Mirage OMD-15s. There are some things that it would share with the Vandy 2CEs, such as smooth response, linear extension in both directions (I think the OMD-15s go a little lower), and sensitivity (the OMD-15s are spec'd at 1dB more efficient--certainly they're in the same neighborhood). Where the two depart is in impedance curve and dispersion. The Mirage has a bit flatter impedance curve; it's nominally 6 dB and dips to 4 ohms; the Vandy dips to around 2 ohms. Between the two the Mirage should present a bit friendlier load to your Rogue integrated amp.

The second difference addresses whether you prefer more specific sweet spot imaging (Vandersteen) or a room friendly soundstage regardless of listening position. The Vandy will present a sonic hologram in the sweet spot; the Mirage will energize the room like live music, meaning you get the same basic response curve wherever you are in the room. Because a significant amount of the treble response is rear-firing, you can easily adjust the HF tonal balance by experimenting with the wall hangings behind the speakers.

You wouldn't lose with either speaker, but the Mirage presents an alternative way to energize the room and listen to the music. These speakers disappear into the music and scale up and down from solo voice to large ensembles very naturally. Definitely worth a listen.

They should match well with your Rogue integrated.
I owned 1c's, went to 2ce Sigs, 3A's & now 3A Sigs. If you like the Vandie sound, it only gets better as you go up the chain. At some point I may add a couple of Vandie Subs, but otherwise, I've bought my last speakers.