TO cedargrove> For the record, about 5 years ago, I listed to both a pair of Vandersteen 2Ce's and also a pair of 3a Sig. The 3A's were much better sounding than 2Ce's which I thought sounded good but not good enough to buy at the time. The 3a's were too big and also outside my budget range. Last year, I happened to walk into a shop and the Vandy 5a were playing. I was amazed how good they sound compared to the models below them which sat beside them. I did not have the time to do a three speaker comparison, but my sonic memory said the 5a were in another league of both design and driver technology because they did so much right
The issue I gathered from even a few of the responses is that a 10 year old 2CE may be or (is not) the equal of latest version from 1 year ago There is a pair on e-bay that look very clean and supposedly a year old but the price is $2000. That may seem like a bargain considering the current retail is $2700. But what other speakers new like the Magneplanar 1.7i for almost the same amount of money may be superior even though they have different design and work on entirely different sound propagation principles. Regarding a more conventional box speaker, the Revel Performa F-206 is repeatedly praised by reviewers in TAS and Stereophile. I briefly heard them and liked them a great deal, but not for $3500, their current retail price. I have rarely seen a used pair under $2600 and their size and weight makes shipping to the West Coast about $200
Another thing I gathered from some of the responses is the that the Vandersteen's 2CE whether a Signature or Sig II has a euphonic tonal character, that is either laid back, soft, warm ( though accurate) as opposed to an analytical sound, that is, bright, edgy, canned and unemotional and some would say just does not "sound like music" If my memory is correct the Vandy 5a's were able to strike an almost perfect balance between these two interpretations of sound quality; the 3A Sigs got close, but ,(in my opinion and keeping in mind the time passed since I heard them), 2CE did NOT achieve that balance and generally sounded soft, and not very engaging. I don't want to try every ice cream stand at the carnival to see which has the best and richest chocolate flavor. This is not the type of merry go round I want to get on in trying to find out which "version" of the 2Ce is the best of its class
S.J..
