Paradigm Studio v2 VS. Vandersteen 2Ce Signature ?

Hi there, I'm not familiar with the Pardigm's but I am familiar with the Vandersteen's. You can never go wrong with a time aligned speaker like the Vandersteen's. Do your self a favor and go listen to a pair before you decide.

It all depends...

On things like: Are you actually talking Paradigm Studio v2s or v3s? (Yup, some do think there's a difference and not always that v3s are superior). On how old you are ('cause high-freq sensitivity does steadily drop after ~30, 'specially if you're male), so what's bright to a 25-30 year old is just right to a 45-50+ old fart. On your individual hearing and preferences. And, on your budget. Studio 60 v2's at ~$500-550 used might sound a whole lot better than ~$1500 2CE Sigs.

Both are very good speakers - they're different (at least to my old ears), but each is very good in their own way. You have to go listen to each, to decide for yourself. Everything else is just our opinion, not yours.

Unfortunately, my listening room is small too (my bedroom), so this has been on my mind and may be a major drawback of these speakers. The Studio v3's sound fantastic, but I'm just wondering what the main differences are between the v2's and v3's. To me the v3's don't sound that bright (I'm a 23 year old male, so I'm somewhat sensitive to bright sounding epuipment). I think the warm-sounding Vandersteens would fit me better. There's a dealer listed on Vandersteen's site that's hopefully still in business (on the map it appears to be located in the same spot where an old audio place went out of business). My plan is to put the Triangles up on AudioGon while I go around and listen to other speakers.

Just to clear up what the sound of the Vandersteen Model 2CEs is: They sound like the upstram components. It's one of the most transparent speakers up to $3000 that you can buy. People who think they're mellow/laid back or warm need to listen to them with a good amplifier. I'm running mine on a 3 year old Rotel receiver and they sound very good paired this way. However, I have been known to bring an amp in or to bring them downstairs for listening in the main room. That's when you can really hear what they're capable of. Simply put, they're stunning, dynamic and neutral with the right rig in front.

This isn't to say that they're the ones for you, but I would certainly suggest you give them a serious audition.

Best of luck to you!

Unfortunately the dealer here in the Pittsburgh area that is listed on Vandersteen's site has been out of business for a while now. I should probably inform Vandersteen so that the listing can be taken off of their retailer list. The closest dealer now is in Cleveland.