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$ 2500 ....Stay with Vandersteens ??...what else ?

Please refer my "system" to see my current set-up. Everything sounds wonderful together.....extremely musical, great soundstage depth and width, beautiful rendition of timbre and tone, natural presentation of voices and acoustics. BUT....I have the speaker "upgrade itch," wanting fuller, richer, deeper sound, and I need advice from my friends at Audiogon.

I spend around three hours a night of "serious listening," about 2/3 digital and 1/3 vinyl. Roughly 70% of my enjoyment is 1950's - 1960's jazz (Miles, Coltrane, Basie, Rollins, Brubeck, Ella, Mobley, Morgan, etc., etc.), 25% "classic rock" that I grew up with (Allman Brothers, Dead, Dylan, CSNY, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Led Zep, Yes, Hot Tuna, etc.), and the other 5% "newer jazz audiophile stuff" (Patricia Barber, Rebecca Pigeon, etc.)

Keeping the rest of my system the same (except for bi-wire speaker cables if needed), what do you guys recommend for new speakers ? Vandersteen 2CE Sig. II's seem a natural option, but what else should I consider ? I'm open to all kinds of suggestions. Thanks a lot, and Happy Listening !
adam18

Showing 3 responses by rufipennis

rufipennis
118 posts
 
I haven't heard everything but, with a budget of $2500 (new), I am unaware of anything as good as the 2ce Sig IIs. In fact there is nothing else at that price point that at all piques my interest. If I ever upgrade, I'll be looking at speakers >$5k - that's how good I think the Sig IIs are . . . YMMV.
rufipennis
118 posts
 
>>>how do the mid-range and tweeter drivers in the 2CE Sig./II compare to those in the 3A Sig. ?

The 2ce Sig IIs and 3A Sigs are *identical* in the mid-range and tweeter! With the latest iteration of the 2s, you only give up a bit of bass extension (and, possibly, definition) compared to the 3s. IMO, the 2 Sig IIs give you nearly all the performance of the 3s in a smaller (thus, more attractive) and more affordable package.

I own the 2 Sig IIs and have heard the 3A Sig driven with the same model amplifier, but in a different room - so I have direct experience to inform this opinion. I've also heard several mega-buck speakers (Wilson W/P 7, Thiel 7.2, Avalon Eclipse, Revel Studio, among others) and am here to tell you that - no, the Vandersteen is not better than these - but gets you nearly all the way there for a fraction of the price. If I ever upgrade ($$$ dependent), I'll be looking at stuff like the Quatro ($7-11 K), Thiel 3.7 ($12K), or lower-end Avalons (>$10 K). I'm convinced that that's the kind of money I'd need to spend in order to get a substantial sonic improvement!
rufipennis
118 posts
 
>>>Rufipennis I'm not knocking the 2Ce Sigs ll

No worries - I was only responding to Adam18 a couple of posts up. Not sure how you got the idea I thought you were "knocking the 2Ce Sigs ll".
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