Replacing my Vandersteen 2CE Sig II

[DogsPart2]

Well the "ball and chain" is slowly wearing me down, complaining about the size of my Vandys.
As much as I love them, they may need to go.

Any ideas on a smaller footprint speaker which may sound as good?

I would love a Harbeth 30.1, however at 6K they are very expensive.
Any contenders out there in the 3K to 4K range?

I listen to CDs (Linn Majik) and DATs (Sony PCM-R500) through a Mac MA6600.

 

[ghamilton]

I hate to hear that. I have the model one and I love them. A smaller footprint too.

 

[bare]

Good sounds and 'Smaller' are usually mutually exclusive terms.
I'm considering the need need to increase mine, which are about a 1/3 larger than the Vandys.

Changing the door locks is what I would be considering when faced with that level of interference.

 

[fiddlefye]

So sorry to hear that. I'm glad my wife is fine with my old 2Cs. The only way I'd replace them is with a more recent version and even then I'd have to be seriously convinced it was a real improvement.

I recently added a second set or smaller speakers which you might like that have a lot of the fine qualities of the Vandy's: Reference 3A mm de Capo i. There is a later BE version with a beryllium tweeter, but I haven't heard it yet. These things image like crazy, have a more than decent bottom end for a monitor (or any speaker, really) and just "disappear". They get out of the way of the music. Set up is a bit fussier than the 2 series Vandy's perhaps.

 

[jocko_nc]

If you really dig the Vandy's then good luck. Show her the 3's and tell her she is lucky you don't have them.

 

[tomlinmgt]

That sucks. The series 2 Vandersteens (namely 2ci and later) are where I found one can cross over to big sound without a really big speaker. This is going to be a tough one. What has to change about the footprint? Width? Would a little deeper but much more narrow be ok? I've heard the Golden Ear Triton Two and liked them well enough to put them on a similar performance plane as the Vandersteen 2ci's I once had.

http://www.goldenear.com/products/triton-series

 

[hjames]

Absolutely - show your wife my setup below with the larger Vandersteen 3As for Front mains
and the JBL 4641 18' sub besides it ... I replaced my old 2CEs with the 3As 2 months back.
To a wife's untrained eyes, 5 foot tall 3 series are larger, but visually similar to the overall design of the 2CEsigs ,
which are much smaller and sound stunningly good. Honestly, the 2CEsigs are lifetime good speakers.
This may be an endless discussion as you go for smaller and smaller speakers until ... Bose!
Good luck with your discussion.

Well the "ball and chain" is slowly wearing me down, complaining about the size of my Vandys.
As much as I love them, they may need to go.

Any ideas on a smaller footprint speaker which may sound as good?

I would love a Harbeth 30.1, however at 6K they are very expensive.
Any contenders out there in the 3K to 4K range?

I listen to CDs (Linn Majik) and DATs (Sony PCM-R500) through a Mac MA6600.

 

[sqlsavior]

Well the "ball and chain" is slowly wearing me down, complaining about the size of my Vandys.
As much as I love them, they may need to go.

Any ideas on a smaller footprint speaker which may sound as good?

I would love a Harbeth 30.1, however at 6K they are very expensive.
Any contenders out there in the 3K to 4K range?

I listen to CDs (Linn Majik) and DATs (Sony PCM-R500) through a Mac MA6600.

Here's my tongue-in-cheek idea:

1. "Give away" your Vandies to a friend who will hold on to them for you.
2. Get some K-horn plans, a sheet of MDF, and a couple of sawhorses.
3. Begin construction in your living room (important!)
4. Offer to compromise IF you can get your old speakers back...

 

[cubdog]

Well the "ball and chain" is slowly wearing me down, complaining about the size of my Vandys.
As much as I love them, they may need to go.

Any ideas on a smaller footprint speaker which may sound as good?

I would love a Harbeth 30.1, however at 6K they are very expensive.
Any contenders out there in the 3K to 4K range?

I listen to CDs (Linn Majik) and DATs (Sony PCM-R500) through a Mac MA6600.

I'm not sure how Harbeths on stands will take up any less space than your Vandys. Still, from a sonic standpoint, as much as I love Vandersteens, I'd make that trade.

cubdog

 

[fredgarvin]

I'd recommend Merlin. Excellent sound, small footprint:

http://www.merlinmusic.com/

 

[DogsPart2]

Here's my tongue-in-cheek idea:

1. "Give away" your Vandies to a friend who will hold on to them for you.
2. Get some K-horn plans, a sheet of MDF, and a couple of sawhorses.
3. Begin construction in your living room (important!)
4. Offer to compromise IF you can get your old speakers back...

Thanks for all the advice.

For now, we are "compromising" by re-arranging the room.

In all fairness, I am not sure I could ever fine a better speaker at the same price point as the Vandys. They sound so damn good.

 

[cnolanh]

In all fairness, I am not sure I could ever fine a better speaker at the same price point as the Vandys. They sound so damn good.

Yes, yes, and yes. Hold fort!

 

[fiddlefye]

Thanks for all the advice.

For now, we are "compromising" by re-arranging the room.

In all fairness, I am not sure I could ever fine a better speaker at the same price point as the Vandys. They sound so damn good.

Absolutely agreed. The Vandys have a special sound and presence that would be hard to duplicate. If compromise can be arranged and decent placement is feasible then all will be well.

 

[superdog]

Maybe I am alone on this but Vandys to me do not have a large footprint.They may need more space to sound good.

 

[nickrobotron]

Look into the Totem Hawk! So tiny, so good.

 

[racca]

Well the "ball and chain" is slowly wearing me down, complaining about the size of my Vandys.
As much as I love them, they may need to go.

Any ideas on a smaller footprint speaker which may sound as good?

Is it the actual size of the Vandies, or the fact that they are visually imposing? Even a smaller bookshelf speaker will require stands, and will ultimately have about the same footprint. But they might not be as in-your-face as the giant block of cloth that the 2CEs have.

The Vandersteen Treo and Quatro can both be found for around 4k used and seem physically smaller than the 2CEs, even if they aren't really that difference in size. That would let you stick with the Vandie sound.

 

[frommerstop]

I suggest a Quatro because they are a bit smaller visually than the 2Cs... pretty close to what the 2Cs would look like turned sideways. Maybe you could turn your speakers and ask your wife if something more like that would be less objectionable. The Quatros are really impressive speakers and they are available in wood finishes or the usual Vandersteen cloth sock, so they have a better chance with WAF.