Add a Subwoofer to my Vandersteen 1ce s or replace with Revel Concerta2 F36

+1 sfall  Stay with the Vandys.  Do look into scoring a 2wq subwoofer to mate with them.  As was said a very good design and can be used long term with other speakers if you continue to upgrade down the road.  
+1 yogiboy  See how the Model 1s sound with the Rogue tube design.  I  have heard the 1s with tubes and it was a match made in heaven!

Thank you @sfall, @yogiboy, @kalali, and @hifiman5 .1 I have had the Zephyr for 5 months and it’s broken in. 2 My room is kind of rectangular and is about 12 ft deep by 16 ft. wide. I totally appreciate the one step at a time upgrade mode, and intend to get each new component about six months apart so I am thoroughly acquainted with my system, and am clear about what needs improvement. If I go Rogue first, would I hear enough improvement in the bottom end, that I would be happy for 6 months until a proper sub like the 2wq is in the budget again? Even with the weak NAD, it does sound pretty awesome, but there are certain furious piano passages on Analogue Productions -Nina Simone’s Little Girl Blue, and on the ORG’s Nina Simone Silk and Soul that get muddy almost distorted. I think it’s the speakers ability, and the lower end on say something like Ray Brown’s Moonlight Serenade just isn’t there. So I really want more full range depth and realism. Of course on a budget. Thanks again to all for your input.

voodooman13,

You have some really nice audio equipment, with one glaring exception. The NAD Miso 5 is a lifestyle 5.1 channel home-theater in a box. It is good quality, for what it is. But it is not of the same relative sound quality of the other hardware in your system and it would be the obvious first choice for replacement. Based on your initial post, I don't see a need for 5.1 HT as you only list 2 speakers (the Vandersteens). If this is the case, you should replace the NAD first, even if you ultimately decide to replace the Vandersteens or add a sub. You NEED quality amplification going forward, and you don't have it currently.

Regarding the muddy/distorted sound you are hearing now, it is likely not the Vandersteen speakers causing this. My guess is that the amplifier is running out of juice, or you have a setup problem with the TT. There would be the more likely causes of muddy/distorted sound.

Hey, it's your money and you can do what you want with it. But if you are trying to get audiophile sound from your system, and you have all audiophile level kit, with one glaring exception, you should probably address that exception first. That exception is the NAD HT/HTIB/lifestyle unit.

Good luck in your quest.

The Vandy 1CE is a 2 way and I owned a pair of 1Bs for years…great speaker and with the transmission line loaded 8" woofer those things can get down, so to speak. Also the advantage of the small baffle in there seems to work along with the simplicity of a good 2 way. Tube amps generally simply sound better than SS in my opinion, and I also think there is more "bang for the buck" in tubes as a moderately priced great sounding tube amp can be a better value (Rogue, the Jolida 502P I own, Prima Luna, etc.)…great SS amps are often relatively more expensive. I also suggest REL subs frequently as nice clean ones can be found inexpensively used (my Q150e and Q108e MK II were 200 bucks each and essentially perfect), and most models have all the adjustment you need…level, crossover, phase, etc., and you use the speaker outs for hookup. If you go for a tube amp maybe look for one with at least both 8 and 4 ohm outputs for compatibility with more speakers.