A speaker to surpass the Vandersteen 3?
- Thread starter thought91
- Start date
thought91
Active Member
No I'm not, I dislike subs 99% of the time.
I didn't like the pair I heard, although they were in a tiny room.
thought91
Active Member
I heard some SDA's the other day, not my cup of tea. They were the big ones too! The sound seemed out of control, it's like the Vandies elegantly draw music, and the Polk's splatter paint all over the place. Anyway, I'm in the d
DQ 30i's seem pretty fancy, anyone have any experience?
I've never heard of genesis speakers like that. I'll look into it, thanks!
Donkey Karma
Super Member
Amen!
All preference I know, that being disclaimed. Coming from a former hoarder, thin the herd. Even if you sit home 24/7 and only sleep 5hrs a night how many will you actually get to enjoy properly?
Anyway, question is so open ended. Tossing rocks in the ocean.
I landed on Eminent Technology EFT8s. My current burning bush, the Vandys I have been in front of tapped out in the first rd.
GL!
Last edited:
Audio Fan
YT Channel - https://tinyurl.com/29zytwu9
You have a lot of experience in different brands, but I would say you need to venture outside your comfort zone. Since you have a project stack, you are not afraid of a little restoration work, so keeping that in mind below.
Beveridge Model 3 - electrostats really have a unique sound. Suggesting the Bevs, 1) because I am biased, but 2) the Model 3 is robust and the stat does not need to be rebuilt periodically like Quads, etc. Hard to find, however, they typically need to be recapped and new grills (which you can do), so it is possible to find them at a good price point.
Magnepans - work on the pair you have already. They are another unique experience, you just need some good power for them.
Large Bozaks, Wharfedales, Altecs, etc. - go older school with some efficient speakers paired with some tube goodness
JBL, ADS, B&W all have great offerings to be tried that will compete with the Vandies.
Lastly, Have Fun!
Beveridge Model 3 - electrostats really have a unique sound. Suggesting the Bevs, 1) because I am biased, but 2) the Model 3 is robust and the stat does not need to be rebuilt periodically like Quads, etc. Hard to find, however, they typically need to be recapped and new grills (which you can do), so it is possible to find them at a good price point.
Magnepans - work on the pair you have already. They are another unique experience, you just need some good power for them.
Large Bozaks, Wharfedales, Altecs, etc. - go older school with some efficient speakers paired with some tube goodness
JBL, ADS, B&W all have great offerings to be tried that will compete with the Vandies.
Lastly, Have Fun!
Philip moses
Member
Snell A3.
Wonderful speakers with luvly bass.
Wonderful speakers with luvly bass.
pauldrewry
Super Member
Legacy speakers, or something like single driver.
While I've not amassed quite the number of speakers as some members on this site, I've had my fair share and quite a few good speakers. Some I've kept for sentimental reasons or the stories that came with me buying them, and most all I've sold. I enjoyed the journey of trying different speakers out and was lucky, I guess, to have been able to find as many as I did during the years that those
"cheap unbelievable finds" were a-plenty. I've been through various AR speakers (AR11 and 3 pairs of AR-2ax) of which all were sold (AR11's were the best), Polk SDA's of different models, 2 versions of Altec Valencia's (did not like the sound at all), and on and on. What I've kept includes 2 pairs of Dynaco A25's, JBL L100T, Infinity RSIIIa's & Quantum3's, Celestion Ditton 44 Series II, and Norman Lab Model 9's. 4 or 5 pairs are at my best friends house as I didn't have room for them all after I moved back from Texas so they went there. He/we listen to them on occasion.
So where did I end up? Well, I've always had a personal liking to Heritage Klipsch models and have owned 3 different pairs of Heresy 1 & 2's, '78 Cornwalls, CF-3's (LOVED these) and '78 Klipschorns. I hated selling the Klipschorns because I got them for such a great deal from the original owner back when I lived in DFW and they were mint condition. But, with moving back to Arkansas to go back to college at 43, there was nowhere for them to go (I regret selling those). I'd always wanted a pair of Belle's and there never seemed to be any come up around me for either a reasonable price or in good condition for their price. It's hard to deny that they are about the best looking Klipsch speakers ever made.
So, I just built a pair and run them off of either a Mac fully rebuilt Mac MC250 or Dynaco VTA ST-70 amp. I like efficient speakers...I love the dynamics.
We are all different in what we here, what we like to look at, what we want to accomplish. Enjoy the journey in finding what works best for you as no one can tell you "what's the best"; only YOU and your ears/eyes can decide that. Make sure they work in the space you're trying to put them in and don't try to cram 10lbs of poop in a 4lb sack or you'll be disappointed. There needs to be room cohesion and, of course, the upstream gear has to mesh with them.
Once you find that, sit back, relax, and enjoy the music....
"cheap unbelievable finds" were a-plenty. I've been through various AR speakers (AR11 and 3 pairs of AR-2ax) of which all were sold (AR11's were the best), Polk SDA's of different models, 2 versions of Altec Valencia's (did not like the sound at all), and on and on. What I've kept includes 2 pairs of Dynaco A25's, JBL L100T, Infinity RSIIIa's & Quantum3's, Celestion Ditton 44 Series II, and Norman Lab Model 9's. 4 or 5 pairs are at my best friends house as I didn't have room for them all after I moved back from Texas so they went there. He/we listen to them on occasion.
So where did I end up? Well, I've always had a personal liking to Heritage Klipsch models and have owned 3 different pairs of Heresy 1 & 2's, '78 Cornwalls, CF-3's (LOVED these) and '78 Klipschorns. I hated selling the Klipschorns because I got them for such a great deal from the original owner back when I lived in DFW and they were mint condition. But, with moving back to Arkansas to go back to college at 43, there was nowhere for them to go (I regret selling those). I'd always wanted a pair of Belle's and there never seemed to be any come up around me for either a reasonable price or in good condition for their price. It's hard to deny that they are about the best looking Klipsch speakers ever made.
So, I just built a pair and run them off of either a Mac fully rebuilt Mac MC250 or Dynaco VTA ST-70 amp. I like efficient speakers...I love the dynamics. We are all different in what we here, what we like to look at, what we want to accomplish. Enjoy the journey in finding what works best for you as no one can tell you "what's the best"; only YOU and your ears/eyes can decide that. Make sure they work in the space you're trying to put them in and don't try to cram 10lbs of poop in a 4lb sack or you'll be disappointed. There needs to be room cohesion and, of course, the upstream gear has to mesh with them.
Once you find that, sit back, relax, and enjoy the music....
I'm going to throw out my obligatory recommendation of KEF 107's. Likely they won't top Vandersteens...although I'm not familiar with the model you have (or any Vandersteens for that matter, just know the name). The KEF 107's are my keepers, at least for now. Just added some Townshend super tweeters to them, and they're sounding better than ever. From classical to folk to classic rock to home theater, they can do it all, with absolutely no listening fatigue. Highly recommended especially if you're into a nice TEXTURED bass sound...no thump-thump here. Never heard bass texture in any speaker as I have with these, and I'm not any sort of bass enthusiast...it's just blatantly obvious how good the bass is with these speakers.
Still lots to hear on my audio bucketlist, but I'm truly satisfied with these KEF's!
Still lots to hear on my audio bucketlist, but I'm truly satisfied with these KEF's!
I also dislike subs, the point I was making is that PSB Stratus Golds will get you more
extension and max output over the 3A's, on top of being all around top notch sounding.
If you haven't tried adjusting the level controls, try turning the mid control down 1-2 dB on the 3A's.
Human's do something called frequency response adaptation and you need to give your hearing
system time to adjust to new settings- listen, give it a couple days, see what you think:
http://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=14964
I helped the dealer set up their Quatro's when they came in and was not impressed with the
sounding thinking that there was a problem in the mid treble. Then, after, I found the large
measured notch in the frequency response here:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/vandersteen-audio-quatro-loudspeaker-measurements
Last edited:
thought91
Active Member
Thanks for the input! I'll try it out. I'm gonna try to buy a new amp/pre amp here in the next week or two, I'll let you folks know how that turns out.
I still have my two pair of these, although I haven't stacked them since the 1980s. The earlier pair actually sounds better the newer, which have walnut veneer vs. a vinyl veneer on the originals.
Personally I sort of lean towards a mashup of a few comments above--thin the herd, save up some dinero, and step up a ways in your search. Time to reach higher! I'd even suggest watching for a used Vandersteen Quatro pair, but they are still very expensive and, in my watching various sources for the past two years, I can't even think of two or three times I've ever seen them for sale.
I've seen a couple around here complain about the bass in the Vandys, but use the right cables and spend time with positioning, and they lock in nicely. I am not completely smitten with them (I'm a planar fan myself), but I find they are the only system I've owned so far that finally gets the bass correct, they do enough right, and they are the only ones I've owned so far that throw a solid image and sound "right" to me, especially in their ability to reproduce the entire range with sufficient dynamics, something only large speakers can do.
I'd love to hear the most recent Quatro in my system, but those cost over 40x what I paid for my 2CEs.
Are you running the 2ce or the Signatures?.I still have my two pair of these, although I haven't stacked them since the 1980s. The earlier pair actually sounds better the newer, which have walnut veneer vs. a vinyl veneer on the originals.
Personally I sort of lean towards a mashup of a few comments above--thin the herd, save up some dinero, and step up a ways in your search. Time to reach higher! I'd even suggest watching for a used Vandersteen Quatro pair, but they are still very expensive and, in my watching various sources for the past two years, I can't even think of two or three times I've ever seen them for sale.
I've seen a couple around here complain about the bass in the Vandys, but use the right cables and spend time with positioning, and they lock in nicely. I am not completely smitten with them (I'm a planar fan myself), but I find they are the only system I've owned so far that finally gets the bass correct, they do enough right, and they are the only ones I've owned so far that throw a solid image and sound "right" to me, especially in their ability to reproduce the entire range with sufficient dynamics, something only large speakers can do.
Audiofreak71
yesshows77
Well-Known Member
While I'm in no position to advise what might be better than the Vandersteens, I was happy to see you have a stacked pair of Grafyx SP10's. I'm running a set of SP-8's stacked above some SP10's. Cheap thrills indeed. If you get a chance, try stacking two sets of KLH Sixes. As others have already stated, perhaps big ADS (like some L1530's), Infinity IRS Gammas or KEF 107's would be tough competition. Obviously, the OP has a stellar speaker collection, so I'm guessing those Vandy's must be quite special.
Designdweeb
Super Member
We have a pair of 3aSigs, but have yet to get the room and better source and amplification really settled, and we love them as they are. Maybe adding a subwoofer would help,
or messing with the midrange settings as someone suggested earlier. Did you try calling John at Audio Connection in Verona, NJ? With more details, he probably has some good perspective on your situation.
or messing with the midrange settings as someone suggested earlier. Did you try calling John at Audio Connection in Verona, NJ? With more details, he probably has some good perspective on your situation.
I’ll second a comment a few above mine. Refurbish the Linn DMS speaker and the Linn electronics. I had a chance to hear them properly at a Linn dealer in the late 1980’s. The system was outstanding and seemingly effortless, regardless of what was played on them.
Similar threads
