Vandersteen 2CE Signature II: Is it worth the price of $2700? Why are so many for sale?

TO cedargrove> For the record, about 5 years ago, I listed to both a pair of Vandersteen  2Ce's and also a pair of 3a Sig.  The 3A's were much better sounding than 2Ce's which I thought sounded good but not good enough to buy at the time. The 3a's were too big and also outside my budget range. Last year, I happened to walk into a shop and the Vandy  5a were playing. I was amazed how good they sound compared to the models below them which sat beside them. I did not have the time to do a three speaker comparison, but my sonic memory said the 5a were in another league of both design and driver technology because they did so much right

The issue I gathered from even a few of the responses is that a 10 year old 2CE may be or  (is not) the equal of latest version from 1 year ago There is a pair on e-bay that look very clean and supposedly a year old but the price is $2000. That may seem like a bargain considering the current retail is $2700. But what other speakers new like the Magneplanar 1.7i for almost the same amount of money may be superior even though they have different design and work on entirely different sound propagation principles. Regarding a more conventional box speaker, the Revel Performa F-206 is repeatedly praised by reviewers in TAS and Stereophile. I briefly heard them and liked them a great deal, but not for $3500, their current retail price. I have rarely seen a used pair under $2600 and their size and weight makes shipping to the West Coast about $200

Another thing I gathered from some of the responses is the that the Vandersteen's 2CE whether a Signature or Sig II has a euphonic tonal character, that is either laid back, soft, warm ( though accurate) as opposed to an analytical sound, that is, bright, edgy, canned and unemotional and some would say just does not "sound like music" If my memory is correct the Vandy 5a's were able to strike an almost  perfect balance between these two interpretations of sound quality; the 3A Sigs got close, but ,(in my opinion and keeping in mind the time passed since I heard them), 2CE did NOT achieve that balance and generally sounded soft, and not very engaging. I don't want to try every ice cream stand  at the carnival to see which has the best and richest chocolate flavor.  This  is not the type of merry go round I want to get on in trying to find out which "version" of the 2Ce is the best of its class

S.J..

To tomic601. 

Actually, I thought there was a speaker in Vandersteen line that was about $7000, but was not  amplified or  had EQ control. Maybe, it was discontinued in favor of making the (big) jump  to the current 5a speaker

BTW, I am aware of those dealer in L.A. County, but the sales tax is a killer at almost 9% now, so I have to shop for used speakers on AG. New is not an option..

Thank you to all who have responded so far. The information has been helpful in adding to my store of audio knowledge, especially about speakers

To tomic601.  I spoke to Vandersteen customer service to find out more about the difference between the 2Ce Signatures and Sig II. The 2Ce Signatures were issued approx 10 years. ago. The "Signature II" is the second version of the original Signature, and  was issued approx. 6 years ago. I was informed that every  upgrade in this series represents a significant improvement in sound quality. 

BTW, the rep told me that there was a Vandersteen 5 speaker that was under $10,000 (?) and sported amps for the low end drivers.  The current 5a is an  advance  in speaker technology and materials which includes the EQ circuitry and redesigned crossover. etc.

I will check out the Treo CT, but I think they are out of my price range of $3000 .  

S.J.

Thank you again to all who have responded.  This thread has provided me with a store house of info on Vandersteen 2CE Signature II. I am curious if anyone knows how much better the 2CE Signatures II are than the original 2CE Sigs

To Jafant   The electronics are still the Conrad Johnson 14L SE; pre-amp; Balanced Audio Technology VK200 (100RMS) and the Ayre CX7e mp2   CD player.  I did change out the speaker cables about 2 months ago from Harmonic Technology Ref 11 to the Grover Huffman EX cable.

The GH cable which I have owned for about 2 years amazed me with  its silent background, excellent dynamics, and deeper bass than the HT cable.. It does have a bit of sizzle at the top end which I can live with. I never got the new GH cable, but had the EX version re-terminated

I WANT TO THANK ALL MEMBERS WHO RESPONDED WITH SUCH GENEROUS COMMENTS AND ADVICE.

UNFORTUNATELY, I FELL AND BROKE MY SHOULDER TWO WEEKS AGO  SO I MAY HAVE TO CONSIDER A SMALLER AND LIGHTER SPEAKER  NOW, I CAN ONLY PUSH  A LOAF OF BREAD FROM TE COUNTER TO THE TOASTER.

HOWEVER, I AM GOING TO LAUNCH A  NEW THREAD ABOUT A SPEAKER CALLED THE LARSEN 6.2 AND HOPE TO GET SOME FEEDBACK ABOUT   THEIR PERFORMANCE   THE REVIEWS I HAVE SEEN HAVE BEEN GENERALLY VERY GOOD.

THANK YOU AGAIN,

S.J.

TO  PS; 

DO YOU GET SOME KIND OF SADISTIC PLEASURE  TAUNTING MEMBERS? . SHOULD IT REALLY MATTER TO YOU HOW MANY THREADS I SUBMIT SEARCHING FOR A  SPEAKER UPGRADE??  I DID NOT KNOW YOU HAD BEEN ROYALLY APPOINTED BY AUDIOGON AS THE GATEKEEPER OF THREADS.

IF YOU THINK SENDING LINKS OF SPEAKERS THAT ARE OVERWEIGHT AND OVERPRICED, I DON'T FIND IT HELPFUL OR HUMOROUS .....GROW UP

TO TOMIC601. 

THANK YOU FOR THE RECOMMENDATION.  THE MMG OR EVEN THE .7 MAY BE THE TICKET FOR NOW.. ALSO THANKS FOR WISHING ME A SPEEDY RECOVERY.

I WILL KNOW MORE TOMORROW WHEN I GO BACK TO THE ORTHOPEDIC SPECIALIST I WANT TO AVOID SHOULDER REPLACEMENT SURGERY AT ALL COSTS

BEST WISHES FOR THE FUTURE

S.J.

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO WISHED ME WELL; I APPRECIATE YOUR KIND WORDS

DON'T FALL WHEN YOU ARE 60 YEARS PLUS.  MY OPTIONS AT THS POINT.IS 1) TO KEEP  THE SHOULDER IMMOBILIZED TO REST IT IN THE HOPE IT WILL HEAL  2)  NEXT, IS SHOULDER REPLACEMENT SURGERY WHICH LASTS 3 HOURS, AND REQUIRES 6 MONTHS IN A SLING WITH A 4 TO 6 MONTH RECOVERY  ANY SURGERY HAS ITS RISKS SO I AM GOING TO HANG IN AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS

STUFF HAPPENS, BUT LIFE AND AUDIO MUST GO ON.

REGARDS

S.J.