vandersteen 2ce sig ii listening distance and tilt

Could be the headrest on your chair that is changing the sound also. I've noticed a difference in sound based on reflections off the headrest; thats why I got a saw and cut mine off (headrest, not head).

Vandersteen's are very picky about proper placement. When I had mine I found the set up guide on line and followed that. It was some sort of mathematical equation (maybe someone can chime in here...). It was pretty specific on the distance from the rear wall, side walls and listening chair. Vandersteens bass response is also effected by the toe, as toe changes the angle at which the bass reflects of the rear wall. Also, they sound best bi wired. I noticed that they sounded better,in my case, by using a cheaper bi wire than a more expensive, better, single run.

now, a little more info, my ear height is 42-43". which seems high! and i know again from the manual that non titled speakers are time aligned to 33". i'm a taller person so my only other choice is to get a lower seat which is most likely not going to happen.

I can empathize with you on this - i had the same issue when i was trying to setup my time-coherent Green Mtn Audio speakers. For that speaker i had to raise the speaker 1.5" & lower my seat so that my ears were ~38" off the floor such that my ear was about 1" lower than the tweeter. This was the guideline given by the manuf in the "setup" portion of the speaker manual. Like you I'm a taller person. If you want to reap the benefits of the time-coherency that the Vandys tout then you have no choice. If you can or won't then sell the speaker - you're wasting your time w/ a Vandy as you'll never get to hear what the speaker intended. if you keep it, don't complain! ;-)

musically speaking - norah jones nightingale song, sounded so different when i sat on the floor in front of my couch, 2-2.5ft closer (T distance) and ear's 32" off the floor. how did it sound different? it seemed like there was more airy sound with the opening guitar and first few words of voal. mix in with that some "grain" or "texture" or maybe "openess" to the sound. - like a french silk pie made with granular sugar.

here it seems you got the direct sound from the midrange & mid-bass from the mid-range which is where the starting vocals + guitar frequencies were. No wall reflections. A limited freq range but exactly what the start of that song had to offer & the midrange was the correct driver put to use.

whereas up back in my couch with correct time alignment, things seemed smoother and laid back and not as defined, like a french silk pie made with powdered sugar.

yeah, the speaker was correctly time-aligned due to its sloped baffle but correct time alignment does NOT mean correct time-coherency. Time-coherent speakers are naturally time-aligned but time-aligned speakers are not necessarily time-coherent (99% of the time they are not). So, yeah, the drivers are time-aligned when you are sitting in your couch but the freq are not integrating correctly at your ear 'cuz your ear height is wrong. At 42-43" ear height, you are getting all tweeter. Plus, you could be above the tweeter height & now you are getting into the vertical dispersion characteristics of the speaker, which on almost all cone driver speakers is pretty bad i.e. sonics drop off rapidly & in an ungraceful manner when your ear is above the tweeter height.

does that make sense? oh, and even though i was a lot closer to the speakers than they were wide apart, the image was still smack dab in the middle, like a razor :)

yup, didn't think this would be an issue for you....

Hey Steve

Did you ever do the laser tilt?
Most floors are never level.
After you have read the Vandersteen manual and are in the zone,
Use a bubble level confirm the speakers are level side to side,take a laser pen aim it on the wall behind listening chair area. Get a black sharpie pen with a post it note, draw a circle on the target O where the laser lands post it note stuck to wall.
Next do the same for the other speaker and make sure both speakers have the same bulls eye tilt landing on the O bulls eye?
Sit and listen,then slouch down in your chair,then listen sitting on a pillow.
One of the 3 positions will have magic.
Then adjust the final tilt to where your normal seating position is and make sure you confirm both speakers are in the new final bulls-eye.
Please let us know when you find it.
Cheers JohnnyR

I forgot to mention, that if the speakers are new, then you probably need to let them break in, and the contour controls should be set to flat.

I based my set-up on Charles Hansen's recommendation for the 3A Sigs: http://db.audioasylum.com/mhtml/m.html?forum=speakers&n=136275&highlight=88&search_url=

I think I'm within an inch or two of his measurements and using the same amount of tilt.