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Vandersteen 2C: Room for improvement?

zenith2134

zenith2134

Lunatic Member
I'd like to know what the downfall of these really are. Drivers? Cabs? Crossovers? By now, I assume the xovers need a refresh. They do sound very nice already though. And the cabinets are very simple, as a lot of you'll know.Just a few posts and a cloth. But I'm wondering just how good the drivers used in these were/are. Mine are a matched pair, circa 1991. I'm the second owner.

Thoughts? :scratch2::beerchug:
 
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I recently picked up a pair of Vandersteen 2CIs and am the second owner but first user (they were still in the original boxes). Having them on stands seems crucial for the best sound and be prepared to play around with placement.

I would suggest you go the Vandersteen Web site and check out the extensive Q&A section there.
 
zenith2134 said:
I'd like to know what the downfall of these really are. Drivers? Cabs? Crossovers? By now, I assume the xovers need a refresh. They do sound very nice already though. And the cabinets are very simple, as a lot of you'll know.Just a few posts and a cloth. But I'm wondering just how good the drivers used in these were/are. Mine are a matched pair, circa 1991. I'm the second owner.

Thoughts? :scratch2::beerchug:
Click to expand...

Are they 2C, 2Ci, or 2Ce models?
 
It's already been said but placement (and stands) are critical with the Vandersteens. I currently have the 1C's and have never seen another speaker so picky about room placement. I actually could not achieve a proper placement in my living room, at least not one with an acceptable WAF.:sigh: I moved them to my office upstairs where I could put them wherever i wanted and magic happened! They now have no "downfall" or weakness to my ears. :thmbsp: (price range considered of course)
 
They're the 2C ...

Yes, I have mine on stands, 14" from the rear wall, and about 3 feet from the sidewalls (more on the left, probably double that)


Biggest placement improvement so far was to level the speakers, since my floor made them tilt forward slightly. The tweeters are somewhat directional, so this helped a lot. :yes:
 
From the 2C Manual:
"The Model 2C should be placed at least two feet from the side walls, and two to three feet from the back wall depending upon that wall's composition and covering. The rear of the speaker should be parallel to the rear wall for proper imaging and correct low frequency response"

Ideally, they should be six inches off the floor.
 
Room for improvement? Isn't there always?

That said, it's a fine speaker with excellent, quality drivers and great sound.

I'd not worry about a re-cap so much. Not on these.
 
My brother in law had a pair of 2c, he found that his Cary tube amp did not match as well as an old Mac, his best results came from a high bred Blue Circle. He concluded the 2c are not load friendly with tubes. That said they are very musical and a steal used.
 
They need a room with some size. Mine were overpowering in a small bedroom, But sounded less crowded in my living room.
They also defiantly like power, and that's were I think I fall short.



Edit: I agree with the above poster, I think they sound poor with lower powered tube amps. I don't even think I meet there needs with 125 solid state amps, although I come closer.
 
Power is my downfall too. Currently passively biamping them with dual 75wpc SS amps.

And my listening room is the basement: Here are the dimensions: 24 feet L x 43 feet W and 10 1/2 feet H. That said, I rarely dare approach clipping.
 
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You defiantly have the room requirement satisfied for those Vandersteen's.


With that amount of space, if you ever run across a used cheap pair of Magnepans. Please pick them up. I think you would absolutely love them. I also run a set in my basement, due to there large room size requirements. With a large room there wattage input, in my opinion gets minimalised.
 
That's the opposite of what I thought, actually. Doesn't a big room tend to need more power, all other things equal?
 
Often Vandersteen speakers don't impress upon first listen. They are not a speaker that jumps out and grabs your attention in that they are not flashy sounding. What they do is get the music right...timbre, timing and texture are all there when Vandy's sing. They require enough power to provide good headroom and a decent source and they should provide years of enjoyment.

Need advice you can always call Richard Vandersteen and talk directly to the man...keep in mind that Richard will let you know if he thinks you're being a weenie, he's...ummm..quite straight forward.
 
They probably need refoaming if that hasn't been done already. Other than that, I wouldn't mess with the innards -- Richard Vandersteen knows a hell of lot more about how to design speakers than any of us do.
 
I refoamed the active woofers and had to hunt high and low to get adequate surrounds for the midranges. Upon a recommendation I also turned the back (passive) woofers 180 degrees since they tend to sag over time apparently.

Me and Richard V. talked on the phone in January or February and he wasn't too happy to hear that I didn't send 'em in. But hey, I live in New York and he's in CA. They sound excellent with my modest gear, though I can definitely benefit from some additional power. Once I get my funds in order I am looking at a C-J tube preamp and a Bryston 2B SST or better yet 3B SST power amp.
 
Richard does an excellent job of bringing them back to factory spec. That's the direction I would likely have gone.
 
I have had a pair of 2Ci's for many years that I purchased used.

While they are fairly good in several areas, they have some serious issues in my opinion.

The acoustic coupler has a thermal cutout that comes in fairly early and there are audible issues in the midrange that come across as a veiling or lack of transparency.

The tonal balance shifts so strongly in a standing position that they are basically unlistenable. I thought this was path delay issues between the midrange and tweeter, but later found that it is actually interference from the woofer due to it playing so far into the midrange.

The driver complement in these are an Audax 1" soft dome, 4.5" Peerless sealed back plastic cone midrange, Vifa 8" woofer, and a stamped frame 10" acoustic coupler.

I'd like to completely redo them, but the time investment is significant.

Do you know what drivers were used in the 2C?
 
Yes, Art but you are in OR and probably have funds whereas I really don't at this point.

Pete, I didn't check to see what brands they were.
 
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