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Best of both worlds, Vandersteen and B&W

In my mid 30's, living in New Orleans at the time, I purchased my first pair of high fidelity loudspeakers, B&W matrix 802's. I have had a long term love-hate relationship with these speakers. I love thier dynamics and solid base but have always been bothered by a tilt toward the higher frequencys and an upper midrange glare I was unable to banish with ancillary equipment. After much deliberation I recently purchased a pair of Vandersteen 3A signatures. As promised these speakers are smooth and warm, without a hint of midrange glare. With jazz or classical music they sound beautiful and I initially thought I had solved my speaker problem. That is until I queued up rock and roll. The highs and mids still sounded wonderful, but the bass was hugely disappointing. Flaccid, aneimic, distant, without any drive or authority. My wife, who could not care less about high end audio, commented, "they sound a little flat", and "they don't have the same power".

I live in Maine where there is little opportunity to audition equipment. My question is are there any speakers that have both the smooth treble and midrange of Vandersteen and the excellent bass of B&W?

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uncledemp
778 posts
 
Hi, is keeping your Vandersteens and adding a sub an option? I've owned the 2ce sig and they didn't offend regarding bass in my room. Maybe you just need a foundation that a sub would give you. I've recently discovered my speakers that play in the 30's benefit from a sub- helped the bottom end as well as soundstage. 

Many swear by the Vandersteen subs for music - although I've not heard them.

From my experience, the positioning of my 2ce sigs changed the balance considerably. Have you done a bit of experimenting with the speaker tilt and positioning in general? (My apologies if you've exhausted this route)

Regards,
gary

mgreen27
147 posts
 

Something's not right. I had both of those speakers and if the bass is better on the B&W's, you probably have an issue somewhere in the system. Since there can be any number of reasons for the poor performance, here's 3 links to the best Vandersteen setup instructions available. To go back and forth trying to diagnose your system may take a considerable amount time. If you go through this info and still have a problem, it will be much easier to help you because you'll have already eliminated many potential problems. 

http://vandersteen.com/media/files/APJ%20Files/APJ_2_rl.pdf

http://vandersteen.com/media/files/APJ%20Files/APJ_8r.pdf

http://vandersteen.com/media/files/APJ%20Files/APJ13_Proof.pdf

wlutke
725 posts
 
+1
Something’s not right. 3A Sigs with anemic bass? Less air and just a bit loose would be my expectation in comparison. Both speakers play well with the right set-up and equipment. If not, the Vandersteens may bore and the B&W’s may glare/sizzle. I can't imagine them working interchangeably in the same system.
mgreen27
147 posts
 

"From my experience, the positioning of my 2ce sigs changed the balance considerably. Have you done a bit of experimenting with the speaker tilt and positioning in general? (My apologies if you've exhausted this route)"

Ultimately, you should do what sounds best, but I would highly recommend using the formula they give you in the owners manual. Once you have them in place, then deal with any problems. Issues are much easier to fix if you start from the proper position.

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