Vandersteen 2CE Signature III — video review on YouTube by Steve Guttenberg (1/15/2023)

Yeah, I wouldn’t call a Vandersteen speaker “bright”. Street smart and savvy? Maybe. Never bright. But what do I know? I’m a Vandersteen fanboy, too. 

Whether or not you think Vandersteen models are getting brighter will depend on how far you go back with the company.  I bought my first pair in 1996 and my last pair in 2014, my 4th, and they were voiced differently to my ears. I always suspected it was finally a reaction to the reviews. 

my 3a sigs are from 2007, definitely a smooth top end, slightly rolled -- made alot of popular cd’s -- and powerful but not so subtle solid state power amps -- sound listenable

of course, there is enough resolution there that when you hook up some fine, tippity top flight power amps they certainly sound great, but treble still a little recessed, coupled lots of mid/midbass warmth... like how real music sounds in at the symphony!

IMHO, the older models were rolled off, the more recent iterations more neutral.

I wouldn't consider myself a fanboy, just resistant to change. 😎

I've heard other excellent speakers I like at hi-fi shows, and read the hi-fi magazines, but I can't afford to "scratch the itch" and make frequent changes like some people seem to be able to do. And I am lazy! When you change speakers and then have to adjust amps etc to better match the speakers, that gets expensive and complicated. The one speaker I would like to listen to before I buy Treo CTs is the Larsen 9, because it's so different than most anything (AbSound did a good review of them). I like the idea of having some Magnepans for a second system, but they have to be placed so far out from the front wall and I don't have a spot for that. The Legacy Audios seem to be a good value, and a friend's dad loves his, but they are huge. Too big. 

But no matter what else I have listened to, the Vandersteens acquit themselves very well, for my taste. The Quatro CT is imho as much a great value (in its class) as the 2CE Sig III is, even with the price increases. The Quatro CT is the sweet spot for performance vs cost. For more money (a lot more!) I'd have the Kento in a heartbeat, I think, and there are only a handful of other speakers I would audition when deciding. 

There are a dozen or more elite speakers which intrigue me, but they are all REALLY expensive, and I am not sure why I bother knowing about them. The MBL Radialstrahler 101 for $70k (the 120 is "only" $24k), the Rockports, Estelon, Joseph Audio (actually pretty competitively priced to Vandy), Magico (maybe), Wilson, Stenheim Alumine (very efficient). I'd prefer USA made, like the Vandersteen. Robert Harley loves the Rockports, but they are really expensive...so far out of my league it is silly.

Good discussion on the Vandersteen Forum about the Vandy DNA, incl the consistency of design principles among all their speakers. Richard V chimes in. TOMIC is someone who let me listen to his Vandersteen 7s (with matching Vandy monoblocks) and they were amazing, but he swears that when he listens to his Treo CTs at 1/5th the price (and with more modest amplification) he gets nearly the same satisfaction and the sound is consistent in quality.
Thread:
Vandy Forum thread

Happy listening!