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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
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
audionoobie's avatar
audionoobie
361 posts
 
Incidentally, I currently own the Vandy 1ci's with a 2wq sub and am far happier than I ever was with the 2's. YMMV 
gjinwi OP
2 posts
 
Basement is finished - drywalled ceiling and walls, carpet.  Anchors are filled.  I agree with the "veiled" comment - mids and highs sometimes feel like they have a film on them... Low volume is not real pleasant, full, or thick.  Higher volumes (when my wife starts texting from upstairs) can be enjoyable with the right stuff.  Thanks for the input so far!
soix
9,542 posts
 
You need to be more specific about what you’re not liking about the sound and what recordings aren’t sounding good to you, otherwise you’re just spinning everyone’s wheels here. 
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