What do you consider the most musical speakers—$15000 & under

@hifiman5 ,

I am slack jawed by the Vandy 1cis. I ordered them online, expecting to likely return them because I'm used to $4K Spendors. I'm just amazed at what these Vandys can do for the price, and can't imagine how the 7s must sound.

Now I have the dilemma of deciding whether to step up to 2ce Sig IIs.

helomech, the performance range of audio systems is FAR greater than many realize. Experience in the home is often the only thing that can change that perception. The change which caused your  jaw to fail is a small part of a broad spectrum of performance change possible in the realm of systems.  :) 

I owned the 1B and 2CE in the past, and there is a nice bump in performance in the 2. Don't worry that you wouldn't hear a significant difference. 

The 7's are quite nice, but imo not inherently superior to many other super-speakers. YMMV 

You may wish to hang on to the Spendor speakers for a while, and conduct comparisons as time goes on. That would be informative. 

I agree that the upgrade to the 2's is a good size one.  Personally, the 2's is where Richards starts his magic in design.  It's the base of the Vandersteen first order crossover and time and phase correctness.  Yes, less smearing makes a huge difference in detail, size of stage and accuracy in general.  Not only that, it physically has larger cones and will move much more air than the 1's.  IF you can afford that upgrade, you will most probably love it.  JMHO.  Are you able to audition anywhere?  Sounds like you may not be able to.  

To me the upper line Vandersteen's best others in their price ranges. That's why I got the Treo and now the Quatro.  They subtly give you more detail than most of the other speakers.  Richard has learned where to make compromises in his products.  The bottom line is that any speaker regardless of cost has to make these decisions.  There are many flavors of speakers and it seems that most folks stay fairly true to their 'flavor'.  That's why if you like a line, you most probably will stay within that line. 

I've noticed that many companies tip up the treble 1-3 db (or more for a few) which gives an impression of larger sound stage and more sparkle to the speaker, but in fact that's not really what's happening.  I PERSONALLY can't handle products like that as I get fatigued quickly.  Unless we are in the production process we dont' know what is laid down on the tracks, so that makes it subjective.  

If you like the Vandersteen sound, then you will love each upgrade in his line.  As poster above said YMMV

@helomech  Three ways to go IMHE

1.  Stay with the 1Ci and enjoy them.

2.  Keep the 1Ci and add a 2wq sub

3.  Trade int he 1Ci on a NEW production model 2 Sig.  I say new production because Richard is consistently upgrading his designs with driver improvements and crossover enhancements.

Regardless, I don't see how you can lose.  One thing you can take to the bank, the Vandersteen line provides tremendous value for the $ invested.  Except for the original model 3 which had a bright metal dome tweeter which RV quickly rectified in the 3A, Vandersteen has never released an unsatisfying design.  You're in the driver's seat!

^^ Thanks for the input guys. I might have to move my system into a 12×11 bedroom someday, where the 2Cs would be too much. The 1Cs are a bit on the small side for my current man cave, but so are the Spendors. If I didn't keep reading that 2Cs need at least a couple feet from the walls, it'd be an easy choice. Unfortunately, the 2WQ sub won't work with my integrated amp.