To Vandersteen or not to Vandersteen

Shakey,

Vandersteen has never been my cuppa either. I like something with more jump factor and the feeling of live musicians in the room. Their top of the line might do it (although the original Model 5 didn't overly impress when it first came out) but I have never heard the 2 or 3 sound more than average.

Funny I always felt the same way after hearing the model 5's at a dealer for many years. About a year ago I purchased a pair of 5's that needed some work. So I finally got around to finishing that task. Plopped then in my system and I was astonished how they sounded. The jump factor and the feeling of live musicians in the room was better than most speakers I had heard in my system or others. I was very taken back by what I was hearing and granted I did not set them up properly yet as instructed by the manual. Go figure, I have to change my opinion on them now. BTW, I build my own preamp and I think that what I am hearing is because of my preamp and how it mates with the Vandersteen 5's. I never heard a speaker with such a black background, detail, clarity and musicality like what I am hearing now. Anyone what to sell me some Vandersteen 5 carbons cheap?

So the point is that your speakers need to match your components to sound their best.

Happy Listening.

Simao....I strongly recommend you talk to Audio Connection in New Jersey. They are a Vandersteen and Maggie dealer. John who owns the place will give you lots of good advice. I have Vandersteen 5A's and are very happy with them.

I have the 3ASigs and I love the way they sound. The thing with Vandersteens is that you have to really take the time to set them up properly to get all of what they have to offer and they have a lot. It took much trial and error but the pay off is tremendous. I also would second the recommendation of contacting John Rutan @ Audio Connection in Verona NJ. John really knows the speakers and is more than happy to make sure you're getting the best results.I also own Maggie 1.6 and have gotten the most out of them as well and I must give credit to John for helping me. Happy Camper? Yes I am!

Forgot to mention when I disliked 2's with any setup, John set up 1c with pair of 2wq. That combo stays between 3's and 2's budgetwise, but reaches the performance qualities of 3A's at ease. I think 2wq with decapos may have a potential of similar magic.

I owned 3A Sigs for a couple of years, spent a lot of time fine-tuning their set-up, and got them to sound really nice. While not the final word in resolution or dynamics, they are remarkably organized, coherent and convincing, and deliver plenty of detail if properly set up. Almost every little parameter affects their sound, like how much you tighten the Sound Anchor bolts, as crazy as that seems, so you have to be willing to work them, as Tonyjack said.

At around $2K used for a thoroughly realized design that's time-aligned and almost-full-range with purpose-built, matched drivers and almost no cabinet-resonance issues, you really can't go wrong.