Vandersteen with?

Hi Dhel,

Beautiful set-up you have. I am not sure how my wife will react as this will be in the living room. I'm hoping the sound will convince her. A couple of questions for you; 1) You don't think the wattage of the amp mattered, yet they sound better w/ 250w vice 125w. What do you think makes them sound better with that amp then? 2) I will be using a NHT powered sub with them. What do you think of that combo? Thanks for your input and I look forward to hearing from you.

Joe in Mobile

Hi Joe, here is a thought on WAF.

I'm sure over 90% of the Vandersteens sold (models 1, 2, and 3) have the black sox. Note that Dhel does and that his front wall is also a dark color.

Years ago when I was ordering new speakers that were very large (6' tall) and came standard with black grill cloth (covering 98% of the front of the speakers), I happened to mention this to a friend who was an interior decorator. She reacted in horror and ask if any other color grills were available. My walls and drapes on the front wall are off-white. I was able to order off-white grills and in spite of their size, these speakers blended in with the room quite nicely.

I believe Vandy offers beige and possibly gray as alternatives to the black sox. Finding a color that better blends with your room décor could help win the battle of WAF. Not everyone appreciates a 2001 monolith, let alone a pair of them in their living room.

Also, while I've not heard current versions, you might find the 2Ce Sigs with Vandy subs works better than the 3As. This is because you could then fine tune the bass more easily and accurately. And since the Vandy subs are self-powered, you would not need as much power on the main speakers.

What type of material did you order to use as grill cloth? How much material did you use? Were you satisfied with the end result? Was it easy to do as a diy project? If you can think up any other questions I should ask, please feel free to answer them. ;)

Joe in Mobile

Joe, sorry wrong impression. I ordered my speakers with off-white from the factory. And since I've seen them, I know Vandersteen offers other options to black as well. You'd best get current information from them.

In the event you bought used speakers or wanted a color that Vandersteen does not offer, I've heard of a company call Gilford that sells a selection of appropriate speaker material. I have not personal experience with them. And while it certainly can be done, I'll guess the replacement of the sox style cloth on Vandys is more difficult than a typical speaker with a pop-off grill frame.

Also, please consider my suggestion for the Vandersteen subs. They are very flexible for system matching and offer many of the advantages of the larger Quatro and 5 systems when used with the model 1, 2, or 3 speakers.

I have the 3A Sigs in beige cloth direct from the factory. You can see a picture by clicking the system link by my signature.