How do VANDERSTEEN Signature 2ce's rate?

In the 6 years of listening to the vendersteen line of speakers on a myriad of different gear I have never ever been impressed by them. The imaging is horrid and they are overall very dull speakers. They gloss over the music way to much. I have the thiel 2.3's and love them. But thiel are a pain in the butt to match gear with. I guess vandies are a great kick back and relax speaker. They defininatly don't draw you into the music though but they will never irritate. The 2ce's seem a little livelier but still no depth at all. The image is maybe a little tighter but still very small.

Kacz; It's interesting how different people have different reactions to different speakers (or other audio equipment for that matter). I guess that's why there are about 100,000 speaker manufacturers. I've used the 2Ces for 7-8 years , and the 3As and sigs. for 2-3 years-- they never fail to satisfy. When TJN summed up his review of the 3As in Stereophile, he said: "they sound terrific with a wide range of program material"-- I agree. Cheers again. Craig

I'm with Garfish. I think my Vandy 2ce's are great at imaging and, though not as detailed as the Thiels, are pretty good in the high and mids. The Thiels and Vandersteens are really on opposite ends of the spectrum with regard to sound, so there is little comparing between them. I would say that if your looking for detail, if your equipment is on the brighter side then you will have a better result on the mids and highs as the Vandy's are a laid back speaker. But they work very well with tubes as well.

With the right combination of electronics, program material and room, the Vandy's are wonderful full range speakers especially at their price point. They make music and they don't offend. Not all speaker systems can make that claim. They are not WizBang speakers (thankfully, there are enough of them) and it is hard to think of too many full-range speakers at their price point that do as well let alone better. Let your own ears decide. I owned a pair of 2C's for 10 years but had to move on because I couldn't get them to work in my new room. Richard Vandersteen is a smart designer who has true value products. I recently heard the 3A Signatures and was VERY impressed with the improvement over the 3A's. The 2Ce Signatures are also better than the 2Ce's. Some dealers don't even carry the 2Ce because most want the signature after listening. Good Luck

Personally I think the Vandies suck. When I listen to music I generally don't have cotton stuck in my ears but with the Vandy, that's the way the music sounds. It's ok if you are into really shitty music like most audiophiles are but I really like good music. I recently bought the Silverline Sonatas which are better then the Vandy in every way. I have to admit that I'm lucky. My hearing doesn't suck like most audiophiles hearing sucks. If your hearing sucks, the Vandy is probably all the speaker you will ever need. Hope this helps!