Vandersteen or not to Vandersteen

The Vandersteen crossover that comes with a new pair of 2Wq's has a set of DIP switches inside the box that allow you to choose various resistor values, based on the input impedance of your amplifier. Vandersteen recommends that you initiallys select the crossover value that corresponds to the setting that is one value below your amp's input impedance. Having played around a lot with the Vandy crossover, I suggest you experiment with the values equal to one level above the amp's input impedance, the value that directly matches your amp, and the setting one level below the input impedance. The differences are subtle but noticeable.

After you determine the optimal setting, you can buy a "permanent" crossover with the optimal value for your amp. The "permanent" crossover has better resistors and capacitors in it than the one supplied with the subwoofer, but there is nothing that requires you get it -- you may find the original crossover suits you just fine.

There is one other option for you to consider, although it will cost a good deal more money. Vandersteen also sells the crossover that is made for the Model 5 speakers, but it costs $600 for the single-ended RCA version (the connecting cables are an integral part of the two boxes - one per channel). The Model 5 crossover, however, has much better component parts than the standard crossover, and it has internal connections that allow you to change the settings if you get another. Hence, the Model 5 crossover does not need to be replaced if you change your amplifier. Sometimes you can find the Model 5 crossover for sale on Audiogon.

If you are handy with a soldering iron, you could probably modify the crossover when you get your new amp. I'm sure that Vandersteen would give you the resistor values you will need to match your new amp, and you could then remove the original resistors and solder in the new ones. This would save you from spending another $125 for a new crossover from Vandersteen.

Maxgain makes some excellent additional points (and thanks for the correction about cap values -- I had a "senior moment" while writing).

I often respond on threads about Vandersteen products, and I sometimes feel like others may think I am a "pimp" for the company. However, given that I have been an audiophile for about 40 years, and have owned a LOT of speakers over the years, I think my comments are based on objective experience with Vandy products.

Maxgain makes a comment that I think should be re-iterated: the 2Wq subwoofer does take some additional tweaking / set-up time, but the results are well worth it. If having a sub that enhances the quality of your music reproduction, as well as providing low-frequency HT effects, is important to you, then you will have to spend substantially more than the price of the 2Wq to do better. I've owned several different brands of subs, and listened to many more, and for my money the 2Wq subs is one of the genuine bargains. If you decide to buy the Vandy 2Wq, I strongly urge you to consider having two subs in your system. From my own experience, a stereo pair of 2Wq's yields a VERY significant improvement in audio quality over a single sub.

There have been a number of threads about subwoofers on this forum over the past two years, including several summaries of reviews from audio mags that I submitted. Before you make a final decision about which subs to consider, may I suggest that you look in Audiogon's archives for articles about subwoofers? You might try using the search topic "subwoofer reviews" as a starting point.