$ 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
Hey Jdolgin...............Thanks for your response. You've really made a lot of sense. Last December, when I decided to upgrade from my old Arcam Delta 90 integrated amp and Marantz CD-63SE player, I spoke several times with both John Ruttan at Audio Connection and Mark O'Brien at Rogue Audio. I explained what I really enjoyed about the way my Arcam/Marantz/NAD set-up drove my Vandersteen 1C's, and what I was hoping to "hear in the music" through the Vandy's with new electronics. After much research and review reading, I followed the advice of both gentlemen, and bought the Rogue Audio Cronus and the Rotel RCD-1072. The entire transaction process with John was a pleasure.

As you can see from my posts, I'm extremely happy with "all my stuff." I've recently spoken with John again, and he thoughtfully and happily explained the rationale behind his recommendation of the high pass filter/Vandy 2WQ upgrade, while kepping my 1C speakers. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Your recommendation has further enlightened me as to the benefits of this idea. So,.....the saga continues
I 100% agree with Jdolgin regarding John Rutan. I have lefet the Vandersteen fold, but I have had great systems built on the Vandersteen platform based on John's recommedations. He is about as much a straight shooter as you will find in a audio retail shop.
consider a panel speaker. you could listen to martin logan or magnepan in that price range. if you buy used, your options for a panel speaker expand.