Vandersteen 2CE Signatures and Quatros

[wolfpack]

I just enjoyed an audition of Vandersteen's 2CE Signature Speakers and the Vandersteen Quatros at my local audio store. I was very impressed with them. Has anyone out their heard these. If so, looking for opinions. Thanks

Wolfpack

 

[jaxvon]

My dad ended up buying the 2CE sigs after auditioning a number of speakers from AVI, Paradigm, Revel, Vienna Acoustics, and Sonus Faber. Many of the speakers were higher priced, but after listening, he felt that the best sound was from the Vandersteens. I'm inclined to agree. They have excellent imaging, and the quality of the sound (this is purely subjective, by the way) was on par with or better than other speakers we auditioned that were approaching $4k/pr.

Keep in mind these are just personal opinions. If you found the Vandersteens to sound good, then they might be good for you. Check out a few more speakers to get a good idea. If possible, audition speakers in your own room to get a better idea of what they will really sound like.

 

[skizzerflake]

I have had a pair of older Vandersteen 2c's for years. In my opinion, they are great speakers, something you can't duplicate for twice the price. They are not, however, for people who like speakers that have a hot high end. I have found that in stores, they generally don't impress very much because they don't do anything that makes then stand out (like a hot top end or boomy bass). Once you get them home, however, those things that stood out in the store can get on your nerves with extended listening. The Vandersteens are easy to live with and play all types of music well. They are my reference point for good sound at a moderate price.

 

[Bee-Man]

.. and they play very nicely at low volumes.........meaning a truly complete sound.

 

[rsachs]

Vandersteens are considered very very good speakers, that provide excellent value. They tend to be very plain looking though. They always get very good reviews in the trade press.

I have hear the 3s, 2a, and 5's many times at various trade shows (CEDIA, CES, RMAF, etc.) and they sound, well, very good.

Vandersteen emphasizes time and phase alignment. The former generally means that the acoustic centers of the drivers are all the same distance from your ear (so that the sound arrives at the same time). The latter means that all of the signals are in phase. This is argued to provide a very smooth integration of the frequency responses of the drivers over the entire audio spectrum, so that they in some sense "behave" as a single unit.

The other nice thing about the V's is that many of them can be 'upgraded' by the factory for improved performance.

The company's been around for many years as well, and is still run by Richard Vandersteen himself. All good signs.

Vandersteen also has an interesting patent on his drivers, in which the magnet and spider structure are designed to be very narrow, so as to not block and reflect the back wave of the driver back toward driver's surface. This is said to reduce distortion.

Check audiogon for used V's.