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$ 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
mrmitch
359 posts
 
Hi all! Just as an aside to Adam's or anybody's quest for better sound, I would just say this: Advice by the members of our community is always a welcome thing. I would hope anyone here is wise enough to take advice on components as just that....advice, not the Gospel. It's up to each one of us to gather all possible information including listening with our own ears in our homes, then synthesize the gathered info into making an intelligent choice for ourselves. Just my thoughts on the subject of what to do with members' advice.--Mrmitch
adam18 OP
670 posts
 
Nicely said, Mrmitch. For me, the overwhelming purpose of my participation in our "audiophile hobby" is the pure and simple enjoyment of music. Beyond that, I very much cherish all the interchange of ideas and advice that we share on these Audiogon forums. It is extremely educational and thought provoking to converse with all of you about our audio systems and ideas for their improvement, and it's really a lot of fun to be part of this discussion community. Participating in these forums is a wonderful way to learn more about our hobby, and to explore the vast wealth of knowledge that all you guys are so willing to share. As a result, I continue to realize how much I love listening to music, and how much I enjoy the many hours I spend in my "sweet spot chair" in front of my Vandersteens, with a smile on my face as the music stirs my soul. For all of this, I am quite thankful.
chashas1
596 posts
 
Years ago a shop near me carried Vandersteens, and while they were okay, I never regarded them as anything special-these were the 1b's and 2's. I carried this assumption with me for over 20 years.

Well, today, after hearing the newest versions of both of these, I can honestly say I had no idea they were so good.
I was totally blown away by their sound. Very coherent, top to bottom cohesivness, good tonality, and just plain fun.

And the fact that you get that type of sound for so little money boggles the mind. My friend commented that they make many speakers seem very overpriced.

Well, it was certainly a wake up call for me--to quit assuming that I know so much about audio.

I can't see how you could go wrong going up the Vandersteen ladder. Can't wait to hear the 3's....
I'm a believer!
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