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Calling all Vandersteen Fans

A little over a year ago I owned he 1Cis for a short time. While I enjoyed many aspects of the speaker, I found their top-end was a bit ripe and sibilant, with multiple amps. I ended up having to attenuate the treble by 1.5db in order to enjoy them at all.

Lately I've been thinking about how well those speakers produced a realistic decay of instruments, the likes of which I haven't encountered in any other speakers. I'm wanting to give Vandersteens another chance and am considering the 2CE SigIIs, however, it appears they and the 3As have the same tweeter as the 1Cis. That and the measurements in the Stereophile review give me pause. I suppose it could be that I didn't allow the 1Cis enough break-in, or that I was actually hearing upper midrange distortion from their 8" midbass driver

I'm soliciting input from those very familiar with the brand. Would you say the 2 Sig IIs produce a warmer balance than the 1Cis? Do they in-fact share the same exact tweeter? 

Is a 100 watt/ch amp enough to drive 2CEs to satisfying levels in a 26×15' room?








helomech
peterclemens83
20 posts
 
I owned the 2ce Sigs and loved them! Was driving them with a Peachtree 220se. I was moving from Milwaukee to NYC so I had to let them go. Switched over to KEF LS50s with a REL sub, and was more than happy for a while.

I've done a bit of an overhaul this past year. I now have the VLR CTs being driven by a Simaudio Moon ACE. Still using the REL sub as well. The CTs are incredible. They've really reconnected me to the music I listen to. I've got a friend who heard the VLR CTs and a week later traded in his 2ce Sigs. The carbon tweeter is that good.

As far as room size goes, I live in an old warehouse in Pittsburgh. My listening room is about the same size as yours. My ceilings are about 13-15 high. I was worried the VLR CTs wouldn't be enough. I was wrong.
gents's avatar
gents
99 posts
 
The 2's will be fine with both your room and a hundred wpc.
I had an extremely fine sounding Krell KST100 & 2Ci set up in the 90's. I didn't want for highs, sparkle, soundstage, depth, extension or volume. In fact, I had the 2Ci tweeter control dialed at 12 o'clock for a very long time. The 2's are terrific speakers that will allow good components to be heard. 
clipdin
14 posts
 
More break-in, definitely!  I have the 2Cs and the  2CE SigIIs.  The more break-in time, the better!  Once broken in, you will never want to part with them.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,864 posts
 
@peterclemens83

wow cool, can you post a picture in the virtual systems ? warehouse vibe w VLR-CT
how cool

and yes the carbon tweeter is a wonder
helomech OP
1,525 posts
 
I appreciate all the input.

For some reference on the sibilance I heard with the 1Cis: Yesterday I bought a pair of near-mint Large Advents (77'), the ones with the orange "fried egg" tweeter. I kid you not, they sound better than the 1Cis ever did in the month I owned them...well, aside from the decay factor. However, I noticed the Advent tweeters exhibit a similar sibilance with some recordings. The same applies to my EPI 100s (I have 6 pairs of speakers currently). In my system, the 1Ci tweets were no more refined than those of these vintage models. 

Rest of my system is probably considered "mid-fi" around these parts. Amps are the Rogue CMII and Yamaha A-S1100. Current sources are Pro-Ject Pre BoxS2 Digital and an Acoustic Signature Wow XL turntable with Hana SL cart. Parasound JC3 Jr. for the phono stage. The most refined speakers I own at the moment are JM Reynaud Bliss Silvers - best tweeters out of speakers I've owned but not the best I've heard. 

How would you guys rate the carbon tweeter against a good beryllium unit? Since I run stereo subs crossed over at 120Hz, I'm thinking I might be better off with the VLR CTs.


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