Zervas: I had auditioned the SF Auditors at a Chicagoland store who also sell Vandersteens. Back in December 2005, I listened to the store's latest model of the 2Ce Signatures for about an hour, with CD's I had brought and my integrated amp (Marantz PM84D) before switching first to the Grand Piano Domus. The difference was quite audible. There was greater clarity of sound, liveliness of sound without inducing fatigue. But the GP Domuses sounded a bit veiled to me, rather like sound emnating from a tunnel. I did not think that the GP DOmus was a significant upgrade over the Vandy's. We then switched to the Auditors and this was a big improvement. The voices sounded like they were present in the room. The sound was much less veiled, and the slight graininess of the sound from the Vandys and the Grand Pianos disappeared completely. The Auditor was smooth, and had terriffic mid range and highs. Bass response was surprisingly good for such a small speaker. Note that the 2Ce Signatures I auditioned in 2005 have been replaced by a new version, one I have not heard. All these comments notwithstanding, the Vandy's were great speakers and superb value for the money. At a price nearly twice that of the 2Ce signatures, the Auditors had better be much better !
BTW, if you are in the Chicago area, you should try this dealer - Quintessence Audio in Skokie, IL. They have a great listening environment, and are low key sales people.
We need people like them to stay in business, so I WILL purchase at least one major item from them in my future purchases. I had bought my Vandy's from them over 10 yrs ago, and will probably buy a REL subwoofer from them in the not too distant future(I auditioned the REL Stadium subs with the Auditors - sounded really nice, filling out the bottom - but want to listen to the Auditors at home b4 making that decision). I hope this is helpful.
BTW, if you are in the Chicago area, you should try this dealer - Quintessence Audio in Skokie, IL. They have a great listening environment, and are low key sales people.
We need people like them to stay in business, so I WILL purchase at least one major item from them in my future purchases. I had bought my Vandy's from them over 10 yrs ago, and will probably buy a REL subwoofer from them in the not too distant future(I auditioned the REL Stadium subs with the Auditors - sounded really nice, filling out the bottom - but want to listen to the Auditors at home b4 making that decision). I hope this is helpful.