Is anyone using Vandersteens these days as their primary speakers?

Just curious if anyone is using these, what their thoughts are.

2Ce Signature II; replaced 2Cs that I bought in 1988. Quite different, and better to my ears...more forward in the midrange, tighter in the low end, more dynamic, more detailed. The 2Cs were always a bit wooly/congested/ relaxed for my tastes, although very pleasant.

I run them with Vandersteen 2W subs.

Also run JBL L112s, which I prefer for some music (primarily amplified)...but the Vandersteens are usually better for acoustic, orchestral and much of my jazz collection, although the JBLs are quite good as well.

Placement and positioning are especially important with the Vandersteens.

I did home auditions of 2Ce and 2Ce Signature models when they came out. They were progressively better (more dynamic and detailed), which from what I can tell has been the evolutionary direction for the 2 series; however, for me the change was not enough to warrant pulling the trigger until the Sig II.
 
Last edited:
I've been listening to a pair of 2ces for probably 15 years, and I don't feel myself hankerin' fer new speakers . . .
 
I've got the 2ce sigs playing as I type, they sound great to me. The sound stage is very good and I didn't play with placement yet, for the money I think it's hard to go wrong. The binding posts are a bit of a pain.
 
The original 2 came out in the late 70s, I believe. It has been continually improved since then...sometimes with new model numbers (2a,2b, 2C 2Ci, 2Ce, 2Ce Signature, 2Ce Signature II), and sometimes not.

I provided my opinion on the sound of the 2 series as it has evolved; see my post above.

The 1 series are a different product line, at a lower price point. Two way, vs the three way design of the 2 series (which also have an "acoustic coupler" for improved low frequency performance). As with all Vandersteen designs, time and phase alignment are primary design considerations.

If looking at older 2 versions, those after 2C (starting with 2Ci) used woofers with rubber surrounds (other than perhaps some early versions of the 2Ci). This is more important than with many other speakers, given the relative difficulty of accessing the woofers.
 
Last edited:
2ce owner here. I love mine. Very laid back sound and nice, wide soundstage. Sometimes I hit the loudness switch if I feel I need more oopmh.
 
I own the 2ce Signature ii’s excellent speakers imo absolutely love current , correct placement is key and biwiring is a must for correct sound . I’m currently running mine with an upgraded Musical Fidelity Nu Vista M3 at 305wpc and they have never sounded better , highly recommended.

Audiofreak71
 
I've got the 2ce sigs playing as I type, they sound great to me. The sound stage is very good and I didn't play with placement yet, for the money I think it's hard to go wrong. The binding posts are a bit of a pain.
Hopefully you have the bases that go with them as they are crucial for getting there placement right , once you set them up correctly that’s when the magic happens . Let us know when you have as the difference is huge and you’ll know it once there set up right .

Audiofreak71
 
I guess I am the dissenter. I owned a pair of 2C's and just could not like them. I tried to, but they just didn't "do it" for me. I tried different amps, different placements, even different rooms, but I found the highs lacking the "sparkle" of my other speakers, and a lack of detail in the mids. They got passed on.

EDIT--BTW, I had the Sound Anchor stands that came with them when I bought them.
 
I guess I am the dissenter. I owned a pair of 2C's and just could not like them. I tried to, but they just didn't "do it" for me. I tried different amps, different placements, even different rooms, but I found the highs lacking the "sparkle" of my other speakers, and a lack of detail in the mids. They got passed on.

EDIT--BTW, I had the Sound Anchor stands that came with them when I bought them.
We’re they they the 2c or the Signatures?

Audiofreak71
 
I guess I am the dissenter. I owned a pair of 2C's and just could not like them. I tried to, but they just didn't "do it" for me. I tried different amps, different placements, even different rooms, but I found the highs lacking the "sparkle" of my other speakers, and a lack of detail in the mids. They got passed on.

EDIT--BTW, I had the Sound Anchor stands that came with them when I bought them.

I believe this is why they gradually changed the sound throughout the continuing evolution of subsequent versions. The current version (2Ce Sig II) is much improved in these regards.
 
Yes..based on my experiences with 4 versions of these speakers, I would probably limit myself to the 2Ce Signature or later if looking to buy another set...but of course, speaker preferences vary widely.

My comments, of course, reflect only my own preferences. Even the later versions are certainly not "rockers", but they do a lot right and for the price are very, very good.
 
Last edited:
They were just the 2C--not one of the later models. They didn't do anything horribly "wrong", but just weren't for me.
Ah ok , your right about the 2c being to laid back , that’s why I asked if it was the Signature or not because I have listened to the 2c and it was almost muddy sounding to my ears . The 2ce signatures however are a complete 180 and have that sparkle and air on top .

Audiofreak71
 
Ah ok , your right about the 2c being to laid back

Glad it wasn't just me. I had heard/read great things about them, but they don't turn up in my neck of the woods all that often, so when a pair turned up relatively locally at a reasonable (no score, but reasonable) price, I jumped on them. Sadly, I was a bit "underwhelmed". Also keep in mind, that the other speakers in my stable at the time were Infinity (EMIT tweeters), Klipsch (Ti diaphragm horn tweeters), Apogee (ribbon tweeters), Magnaplanar (ribbon tweeters) and JBL (Ti dome tweeters) which probably clouded my judgement a bit regarding the upper end.
 
Glad it wasn't just me. I had heard/read great things about them, but they don't turn up in my neck of the woods all that often, so when a pair turned up relatively locally at a reasonable (no score, but reasonable) price, I jumped on them. Sadly, I was a bit "underwhelmed". Also keep in mind, that the other speakers in my stable at the time were Infinity (EMIT tweeters), Klipsch (Ti diaphragm horn tweeters), Apogee (ribbon tweeters), Magnaplanar (ribbon tweeters) and JBL (Ti dome tweeters) which probably clouded my judgement a bit regarding the upper end.
Yeah your other speakers definitely have a higher presentation on the upper end , I have heard a couple you have , the magnaplaners and the jbl’s and I will say that the 2ce Signatures have that sparkling airy top end, so may be more fitting for you , however the vandys have gone up a lot in price so finding a good deal is hard these days , a friend of mine is selling his 2ce Signatures though (for space reasons and him and his wife are expecting ) but he loves them and hates he has to let them go .

Audiofreak71
 
I've owned 2Ci's for about 25 years that I bought used - more or less reverse engineered
them when I got them.
I finally played with the mid and tweeter controls when I was ready to take them out of use
and found them to sound MUCH better with the mid at -2 dB and tweeter 0 to +1 dB. Try it
might work for others. It helps add some depth to the sound.
 
Back
Top Bottom