Vandersteen Speakers / Small Room Situation

[anamorphic96]

I was wondering if I could get some insight into how well Vandersteen speakers would work in a smaller listening space around 12' x 12' and 8' ceilings. Not the greatest situation but its fitting the bill for the next few years. Im aware the best test is to bring them home and try them out, but im hoping to get some food for thought.
The room is treated and works pretty well with my Studio 40v2's. However ever since I took the dive into high end audio I have always stuck with Paradigm. Im thinking of looking into other makes and designs. Vandersteen has always caught my eye at shows and has an excellent reputation. Im looking at the 2C's and 1C's. Dont get me wrong my Paradigms are amazing speakers. But im looking to try something diffrent.

System -
Amp - Rotel RB 1080.
Pre Amp - Rotel RC 1070
CD Player - NAD C541i - Soon to be an Arcam CD73t.
Cables - Tara Labs and Audio Quest - Nothing exotic. (Thanks to Audioholics) This site saved me some serious cash.

 

[O'Shag]

What model Vandies are you looking at? I've noticed some Vandersteen speakers in great nick going for extremely low prices on ebay. I was actually interested in some for myself. One of my friends has a pair and they sound really excellent. He's driving his with a Sonic Frontiers tube amp.

By the way, it looks as if you've invested in some good gear. I hear the NAD 541 is a good player. Also Tara Labs and Audioquest interconnects/speaker cables are terrif.

 

[JoeE SP9]

As a true lover of planar speakers. I have convinced at least half a dozen fellow audiophiles to purchase maggies or some type of electrostatics. The only person to go back to boxes bought some big vandys and I actually like them. His wife just couldn't stand the size of the MG3's. The vandy's have less of that "boxy" sound. If their smaller ones have the same type of sound they should sound quite good. As always an audition in your room is the best way to tell. If you can't get a pair on loan find someone who has a pair and bogart your way into a listening session.

 

[Dan]

I have Vandy 3As and listened to the 2ce extensively before buying. I've seen but not heard the 1 in a store. My room is 15 x 20 x8 for comparison.

I do not think your room is necessarily too small. Vandy are relatively innefficient and so a smaller room is better in that regard since you don't sound like you are adding more watts at this time. However, Vandys are very position sensitive and need some breathing space ahead of the front wall. They do not sound good up against the wall. Mine are 30" forward and I wish they were more like 48" but I can't cut into the pathway anymore without a divorce. So you need to be able to bring them out. In your room 4 feet from the wall is the theoretical ideal but 2-3 feet should be OK. Any less and I'd look at reconfiguring the room or less picky speakers. Maggies are at least as picky in terms of needing breathing space by the way.

Also try not to have too much gear between the speakers as it messes up the soundstage. The Vandy 2ce and 3A have soundstages that can't be beat when set up properly. I love mine and I think you will find they are a great value (not cheap) when compared to the competition at their price points given their paucity of costly veneer. They also are available with excellent stands which I recommend.

 

[anamorphic96]

Thanks for the input everyone. I have been floating aoound this site for some time now. These forums are much better than the audio review site. Friendlier with more tact and proffesionalism.

Back to my situation. Dan its sound like I might have some issues with Vandy's in my room after all. All my equpment is in the center of my speakers. Not many other places to put it here. I do have my 40's pulled away from the wall about 2.5 feet. I get a respectable sound stage in this small room but nothing close to perfect. I kinda figured Vandersteen would be tough in a small room. Im gonna rule out the 2C's due to my small space but im gonna keep my eyes on the 1C's.

If anyone has any other opinions on floor standing speakers that work well in a small room im all ears. They need to keep up with my Studio 40's. I have listened to alot of speakers over the years and I have only heard a few companys that caught my eye. Dynaudio, Epos, Vandersteen and Paradigm Reference (I dont care for the other lines). I have looked at Signature S2' and 4's and they are impressive. But I would like to try something from another manufacture. Please do not recommend any B&W products. I have never liked any speaker by them. Even with Rotel gear, which is what there supposedly voiced on. Not very impressive speakers in my mind at all.

Thanks Again,
Glenn

 

[cornelius]

With your size room, I'd try a pair of Ohm Microwalsh talls. I've been mentioning them a lot here lately because the topic of different designs has come up. The Paradigms are great, but Maggie, Vandie and Ohm are a great alternative. I like the Ohms because they remind me of a combo of Maggies and Vandies but work well in small spaces.

If you're not into that option, I would suggest Green Mountain Europas or Meadowlark Audio.

 

[Dan]

I too have all my gear between my speakers. This includes pre/pro, amp disc player, turntable, phono preamp, VCR, casstette tape and cable box. This is why I went the plasma route.

I looked far and wide for the lowest height rack that would hold all that stuff and allow a wall mounted TV above. The Atlantis Reference AV rack fit the bill at 22" high. The center speaker is on a separate stand behind the rack with the top of the speaker flush with the bottom of the TV and it is above the rest of the gear. You can find it at www.audioadvisor.com although a web search found a dealer in Quebec that sold it for less and shipped to me in Maryland. It looks good and is low enough for Vandersteen 2 ce purposes. I'm not sure about the Model 1 though.

As for other speakers, I like Thiels but not as much. Meadowlarks are great classical speakers but very weak on bass. You would definitely need a srong musical sub or two. The Monitor audio studio line is also nice especially the silver series. Ariel Acoustics is also very good but a bit pricey. Monitor Audio and Ariel are beautiful to look at also.