Kef 104/2 or Vandersteen 2ci - vintage shoot-out

Vandersteen is my favourite speaker, but I haven't heard the 2ci in a very long time. I've had Kef also, but not the Model you list. When you listen to the Vandersteen's keep in mind that setup is absolutely critical to get best results. Even though a lot of people own them, very few set them up properly. It would probably be a good idea to download the Model 2 owners manual and read through it to see what I'm talking about. If they only have the manual for the newest version, the setup instructions should be the same. Also make sure that have them on stands.

thanks Zd

Ive hooked up my new mint 2ci's and my first impression is that i'll be selling 104/2's. They are more musically involving to my ear. I've noticed the "colored" warm sound that I've read about but i don't find it particularly offensive. I really liked the 104/2's but these have more imaging and as i say, seem more involving.

Next step is to source the lead shot for the stands… and i've sourced a Tempest preamp to mate up to the Odyssey Stratos Monoblocs so i'll have some fun switching pre-amps and speakers around before i make any final decisions.

Thorens 160 stock with Naoka MP110
Audible Illusions 2d
Audioquest Copperhead connects
Odyssey Stratos Monoblocs
Monster M series MCX-Is bi-wire
Arcam rdac for streaming

i have

If this is your first pair of Vandersteen's the main thing to worry about is setting them up properly. The manual goes over that in great detail, its pretty easy to do. Also, Vandersteen's benefit greatly from full double biwiring. That's 2 separate runs of speaker cables, not internal biwire. The upside is that you do not have to use expensive cables to do this. You can if you want to, but I find 2 separate runs of cheap cable will outperform single runs of expensive cable. If you decide to do this, just make sure the cables are identical. Other than that, when you are done setting them up, they should sound quite a bit better then they did during the demo.

Zd
Yes these are my first Vandies.
The cable I am using is internal bi-wire.

I have some old school monster cable, quite thick, I will try your suggestion.