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Calling all Vandersteen Fans

A little over a year ago I owned he 1Cis for a short time. While I enjoyed many aspects of the speaker, I found their top-end was a bit ripe and sibilant, with multiple amps. I ended up having to attenuate the treble by 1.5db in order to enjoy them at all.

Lately I've been thinking about how well those speakers produced a realistic decay of instruments, the likes of which I haven't encountered in any other speakers. I'm wanting to give Vandersteens another chance and am considering the 2CE SigIIs, however, it appears they and the 3As have the same tweeter as the 1Cis. That and the measurements in the Stereophile review give me pause. I suppose it could be that I didn't allow the 1Cis enough break-in, or that I was actually hearing upper midrange distortion from their 8" midbass driver

I'm soliciting input from those very familiar with the brand. Would you say the 2 Sig IIs produce a warmer balance than the 1Cis? Do they in-fact share the same exact tweeter? 

Is a 100 watt/ch amp enough to drive 2CEs to satisfying levels in a 26×15' room?








helomech
tomcarr
1,468 posts
 
Bi-wire, bi-wire, bi-wire. Not doing that will degrade SQ.
tomcarr
1,468 posts
 
Soft copper spades might likely sound better than gold-plated...
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,767 posts
 
the Anticables copper spades are very soft and yield a nice gas tight connection without excessive torque.

helomech have they arrived yet ???
helomech OP
1,508 posts
 
the Anticables copper spades are very soft and yield a nice gas tight connection without excessive torque.

helomech have they arrived yet ???
Not yet. I was hoping I'd have them before my vacation, but had to postpone the ship date because they're coming by freight. They should arrive in a few days. 

I ordered both Vampire and Furutech spades, and will probably use whichever is a better fit for the barrier strips.

 I would have gone with AntiCables, but being as I occasionally re-route my cables for use with different amps, I'm afraid the insulation coating wouldn't hold up long. My gear is housed by a rather heavy entertainment credenza that necessitates the speaker cables being snaked behind it whenever I have the urge to switch amps.
helomech OP
1,508 posts
 
I finally received the speakers, unfortunately, the 26' of bulk cable I ordered with them had been cut into 5 random lengths (wtf?). So I'm using stranded cable in the mean time. I was surprised to discover my Audioquest Suregrip 300 spades were able to fit the barrier terminals.

I had my previous speakers hooked up to my Rogue CM-II prior to receiving the Vandys but decided to switch to my SS amp for initial break-in. They're certainly good overall but I need to play with positioning. I had positioned them according to the manual but not getting the decay I remember with the 1Cis - I suppose that would be a matter of tilt setting. 

The bass is definitely improving with each listen. I plan to hook them up to my CM-II this weekend to see if that amp was responsible for the better imaging and soundstaging I was getting with my other speakers (Spendor SP2/3R2).
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