Calling all Vandersteen Fans

I finally received the speakers, unfortunately, the 26' of bulk cable I ordered with them had been cut into 5 random lengths (wtf?). So I'm using stranded cable in the mean time. I was surprised to discover my Audioquest Suregrip 300 spades were able to fit the barrier terminals.

I had my previous speakers hooked up to my Rogue CM-II prior to receiving the Vandys but decided to switch to my SS amp for initial break-in. They're certainly good overall but I need to play with positioning. I had positioned them according to the manual but not getting the decay I remember with the 1Cis - I suppose that would be a matter of tilt setting. 

The bass is definitely improving with each listen. I plan to hook them up to my CM-II this weekend to see if that amp was responsible for the better imaging and soundstaging I was getting with my other speakers (Spendor SP2/3R2).

great stuff and thanks for sharing.

Well guys, unfortunately, the 2CE Sigs aren’t working for me. I’m really quite baffled (no pun intended), because they sound nothing like what I recall of the 1Cis. I played them quite a lot over the last week and regardless of placement tweaks, I just couldn’t duplicate the decay of the 1Cis. The midrange is also quite lacking in detail compared to nearly all my other speakers. On the plus side, I didn’t notice any sibilance in the high freqs as I did with the 1Cis. The bass extension is also very nice, though sometimes it sounds like it’s overwhelming the cabinet with resonance.

I realize speakers can take a long while to break-in, but these would have to undergo quite the transformation for me to keep them.

After boxing up the Vandys last night, just for kicks, I inserted my 43-year-old Advents into the system - same cables and all. I’ll be a monkey’s uncle - the Advents were producing more detail, greater midrange presence, better imaging and just overall greater musicality. I know that’s hard to believe but that’s what I was hearing. I’m sure at least 5 out of 10 would hear the opposite. Anyhow, my dealer was agreeable in making an exchange for a demo pair of Stirling SB-88s - a speaker I know I’ll enjoy.

I still appreciate everyone’s responses and advice here.

Happy Listening.

Sad to hear this.
I do know that speakers take a while to 'break in', but sometimes things don't work out.
I hope the Stirling's do the trick.
Bob

Helomech-
Sorry to hear about your experience with these speakers. I know you have had bad luck now...twice! But hey that’s ok, just keep looking. Perhaps the Sterlings will work out to be the perfect match, they look to be very fine speakers. I often think, speaker choice is a very subjective journey. The key is to find what you like, not what others like. Good luck, happy listening.