Since I seem to be the resident Vandersteen nut, I have been asked privately on several occaisions my opinion of them to people considering them. Thus, I would like to get it all down for posterity.
For the record I have had my system for three plus years. I have a Denon 2900 and an old B&O turntable feeding a B&K Reference 30 prepro and a B&K 7250 (200W/ch claimed) 5 channel amp. They drive Vandersteen 3A signatures in the front, with Vandersteen VCC1 siganture center and Vandersteen VSM 1 rear. I also have two Vandersteen 2wq subwoofers with 300 w amps each. The room is 15 x 20 x 8 with mild sound treatment. The center and rears are set to small and crossed at 80 Hz with a 6 db/octave slope. As I will explain, the mains are set to large and wired parallel with the subs.
Vandersteen 3a and model 2ce speakers are rather different than the typical narrow front floor standers which dominate the market. They are time and phase correct speakers employing first order crossovers. They are relaively inefficient (about 87dB) but I can achieve a sustained 100 dB in my room if I crank it all the way which is more than enough.
The 3a signatures ($3500 inc stand) are the most linear and neutral speakers I have ever heard (except the $15000 model 5A). They are 30Hz to 22 KHz +/- 1.5 dB which is the tightest tolerance I have ever seen. +/- 3 dB from 26-30KHz. The drivers are mounted in an unusual manner which results in a baffleless housing which may have as much or more to do with the sound as the time phase correctness. I believe this mounting produces the phenomenal soundstage which is wider than the speakers are apart. It is also very deep, perhaps 10 or 12 feet by aural perception. There is no coloration to the sound that I can describe, just incredible detail and a crisp coherent sound. I have never experienced listening fatigue. They handle all types of music equally well.
There are downsides and tradeoffs. First, they have a poor WAF although the appearance is there for a reason. They also are more position sensitive than the average speaker and need some breathing space from the front wall. The 30" I give them is barely adequate and I move them out when I really want to listen seriously but they intrude on a major walk way. They must be biwired and the manufacturer strongly advises against bridging. My 17cent/ft wire works just fine. The sweet spot is fairly small no more than three feet in each dimension.
The main speakers image so well in fact that I usually turn OFF the center channel for movies and it sounds better. Richard Vandersteen says that I woudn't say this if I upgraded my center to the VCC5 but I don't want to pay for that now. I only use the center if there is a crowd over to help those outside the sweet spot. The rears are unusual as well. They are coaxial mounted two ways which do an excellent job but are neither cheap nor beautiful.
The sub was well reviewed by Richard Hardesty the audio perfectionist. This review is available for free at his website (
www.audioperfectioinst.com) and at
www.vandersteen.com. I don't agree with much of what he has said about other topics and sometimes find his explanations incomplete for my brain but this review is very well done. In short the sub is extremely fast and has an adjustable q. With the q set to the minimum the frequency response is flat to subsonic levels. There are no ports which maximizes flat frequncy response at the expense of effeciency. Thus they are nowhere near as loud as most subs. They are superb for music.
A great plus of the subwoofer is that they do NOT connect to the LFE output. Instead they are wired parallel to the main speakers from the amplifier output. The amp of the subwoofer is designed to see this signal. The sub includes a crossover connection to be placed between the preamp and amp (or the pre out and amp in on a reciever). Thus the amp does not need to make the low frequencies and the main speaker and the sub are smoothly integrated regardless of the make of the main speaker. This crossover is adjustable. If you believe that an amp imaprts color to the sound (I am skeptical) then it will be imparted both to the main speaker and the sub.
The subs blend imperceptably with the main speakers. I hear bass as low as I can imagine but it seems to come from the mains, not the subs as they should. If I want explosions I can turn up the q. For music I like the q between 0.5 and 0.7.
I didn't mean to be so long winded but these are VERY different sounding than most speakers. They use little wood and thus are very competitive at their price points especially the sub and the 3a and it baby brother the 2ce ($1500). I have heard nothing for less than $5000 which can touch the 3a including Martin Logan, Thiel, Meadowlark, Maggies, Ariel, Dynaudio or Monitior Audio. I realize they are a bit steep for most folks but I wanted you to realize that speaker Nirvana can be had for $3500 with no audible deficiencies. I can't say that about any other speaker less than 5 figures and wouldn't care if something that cost that much was better anyway.
