2. speakers
  3. 163003-141885

Not Thrilled with Vandersteen 2CE Sigs - where is the first place to work on?

Trying to build up the system this year, bought some Vandy 2CE Sigs.  Have the anchors, following instructions for placement, built bass traps and a couple of acoustic panels in my medium-sized but odd-shaped basement listening area - still not thrilled.  Using laptop with Tidal and Dragonfly Red - and some stuff sounds GREAT (Steely Dan, SRV, Beck, Dire Straits, Wilco) - but disappointed in a lot of other stuff.  Some objective opinions on where my issues might lie?  Expectations too high? Hearing the truth of production variations?  Running an NAD C272 at 150WPC and an original 1979 APT Holman Pre Amp.  Not MAC, Bryston, etc - but was expecting more.  Thoughts? Rebuild/recap the APT?  Amp upgrade?  Where might the low-hanging fruit be?
gjinwi
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
Owned 2CE years ago.  If they are uninspiring,  move on. I found them over time to be too wooly, flabby. Learning experience.   
nwres's avatar
nwres
232 posts
 
Regarding your preamp, do you have another source like a CD player or turntable to test with or can you borrow one? If another source sounds good then maybe it's not the pre. For your digital source, I put in a Node 2i hard wired ethernet and ditched the laptop. Big improvement there for me. Then upgrade to a better DAC.
tomstruck's avatar
tomstruck
352 posts
 
I had 2ce sigII loved them replaced with Quatros
you need a better source and DAC laptops and desktop have programs running in the background causing noise 
what is the sound missing is the basement finished need more info
the Vandersteens are not the weak link and are the bases filled with steel shot and sand
its a journey you have to start somewhere 
audionoobie's avatar
audionoobie
361 posts
 
@gjinwi I completely agree with douglas_schroeder. I struggled with the 2ce for a long time. It is a very laid back speaker. Wooly is a good adjective. Colored and veiled are others I would use. 

I tried different amps, cables, high-pass filters, changed rooms, and worked on speaker placement until I was blue in the face, but ultimately I decided that I couldn't live with them any longer. 

I also agree with your sentiment that they sounded stellar with only the very best audio recordings. I would dump them and seek out opinions on speakers that are more aligned with your listening preferences. 
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,150 posts
 
I agree with nwres, that’s the way they sound.

Oz
More to discover