Are my speakers so old that I'm missing out?

[Johnny2Bad]

Design age isn't the defining criteria for loudspeaker quality. There are many examples of older designs that still perform at a very high level; if you happen to own one of them, age itself isn't the problem, or perhaps more precisely, isn't a reason by itself to change to a newer model. Your Vandersteens are a good example; they are excellent and are able to compete against contemporary examples from other manufacturers.

Maybe it should be pointed out that not every outstanding speaker is recognized as such. You could have bought QUAD ESLs 50 years ago and never changed, and you would still have a speaker that out-performs modern examples by some criteria, if not every metric.

I personally don't have any plans to replace my 20 year old loudspeakers anytime soon. I can do better, but not without spending considerably more money than what I paid for them. All the speakers of similar price point I've auditioned are not significantly better.

I do believe that modern loudspeakers have improved more than other component categories over the last 20 and especially over the last 40 years. However, the improvement has been overall in the market; in other words it's harder to buy a "bad speaker" (whatever that is) today because the typical HiFi speaker is better than the typical speaker of yesteryear. What isn't true is that the outstanding speaker of yesteryear has been eclipsed; they still are stellar performers.

Perhaps it's important to keep in mind that consumers don't generally buy the best speakers available in the market, and if they did, there would be much less need to "upgrade" over time. But that's not how the market overall works. A lot of ordinary speakers are sold every day, and those ordinary speakers are better than they would have been two decades ago, but they are not the best available.

Maybe I'm not the ideal person to ask the question of; I believe in providing a speaker with the best available source, and the best amplification. There are many who suggest spending the majority of a budget on speakers and leaving the source and electronics to whatever is left.

All I can say is when you read a review of any loudspeaker, they are hearing them as I suggest with high quality electronics, cartridges, and so on driving them. But it's a difficult sell, and unless someone demonstrates the difference so it can be heard in person, most buyers won't accept that advice.

Throw in buyers who don't audition anything before buying online and you end up with a lot of mis-matched systems that under-perform. But I'm not going to talk those buyers out of it, so I don't try.

 

[Chokurei]

Johnny2bad, you make good points. I am really not in a huge hurry to change things up. I think I'll do a little snooping around to listen to some current brands/models, but I think I'm going to be hard pressed to find something that makes me want to put the Vandersteens up for sale.

 

[Winkleswizard]

See if this helps...

I had a similar but older Vandersteen setup with 2Cs and 1Bs. I built my subwoofers. The Vandies were banished to the basement and eventually salvaged for parts after flooding from the “storm of the century” destroyed them. Here is what I learned from my salvage operation:

1. I have repaired and salvaged many other speakers and no other design has had the attention to detail of my Vandies. That said, there was clearly was some sloppiness as at least one of the woofers had its surround splattered with adhesive.

2. Most of the drivers were quality OTS types but dust had settled on them. It would be some work, but if you plan to keep, I would open and clean. At the same time, consider replacing any tweeters that use ferrofluid.

3. While least likely to be a problem, the crossovers are coated with adhesive. I assume this was to done to reduce vibration, but renders them almost unserviceable.

One of the main reasons my Vandies were banished was the bass from them. It may be that it was accurate, but did not work for my HT. Over time, I found that the 1Bs sounded more dynamic as my fronts than my 2Cs. As 3s are a comparable design, I suspect they have comparable bass timbre.

To sum up, I think you might hear some significant improvement by replacing your 3s. If they are still in good shape, you may be able to recoup some cash by selling. As they are large, suggest trading or selling locally. Shipping them can be quite expensive. If Vandersteen offers an upgrade, this would be a good way to get your 3s “tuned up”, but would check with local dealer before spending money to ship across U.S.

Ww

 

[Chokurei]

Thans Ww. I will look into cleaning the drivers. I know there are videos now on the Vandy website on how to remove the cap and sock. The bass from the 3a is not really an issue as I have a pair of 2wqs doing the heavy lifting there. I've been through the shipping thing when I sent them to Vandersteen for the upgrade from 3a to 3a signatures...It was a hassle and that was when I had a local dealer.

 

[Winkleswizard]

Since you went through the upgrade, might be able to wait on cleaning. It is not a small task. But if you are keeping them, would consider at some point.

Interesting comment about your dealer. Mine is now someone’s house in a fancy neighborhood and by appointment only. Have also noticed there seems to be more updates on his high end designs than any of the lower end models. Am guessing he has shifted his point of entry higher as there is much more competition at the price point of the 2s.

If you are still considering replacements, since you did the signature upgrades, you might get better resale value now than if you wait much longer. But as the other comments state, if you are happy, your speakers are not obsolete from a design and/or technology perspective. The midranges from my much older 2Cs are still better than many newer ones available today.

Ww

 

[mtrot]

I have had a complete set of Vandersteen speakers (3A signature, two 2wq subs, VCC-5 center and a pair of VSM-1 surrounds) for around 20 years. The audio junkie in me wants something new in part because I wonder if with all the advances in speaker technology, I may be missing out on something. Having said that, Vandersteen is still selling all of the speakers I have, which in and of itself, is a phenomenal accomplishment for a speaker manufacturer. I'm also thinking that in order to get something at least as good or better, I would need to spend serious cash. Do you think it is possible for me to get comparable quality/sound for 5k or would I need to spend a lot more? If I were to buy the Vandersteen new today I'd be looking at over 10K!

Yeah, with my speakers being 20 something years old, I understand your thinking. Polypropylene mids and woofers, aged capacitors(I assume), binding posts a bit loose, etc. They sound decent, but clearly not as dynamic and clear as many current technology speakers. So, I'm continually looking around and researching possible replacements.

As to the treble boost of the Goldenears, I'm approaching Medicare eligibility, and have some HF hearing loss, so that may not be a totally bad thing, if they are good in all other parameters.

 

[Dirty Al]

Lots of great information here and good answers, too! But one important element has been avoided. You may very well be missing something and could find the cause is your own ears! That's my case, anyway... Something happened in the past two or three decades and I can no longer hear the high frequencies! Can you imagine that? I haven't had a hearing test because I can hear 'well enough' but I know things have changed. You might take this factor into account before you spend a lot of money on new electronics! Just sayin'...