Anyone care to share their opinion of the Vandersteen 2ce sig mkII?

I should clarify, I am NOT a dealer, Just like people making a fair run at various approaches to better sound….

Since 1977 they have not been everyone’s “ cup of tea “… it’s OK.

I do have a set of 8’ Shotgun external biwire cables terminated w low mass Vandy sized spades that have about 100 k miles on them as evaluation loaners so Vandy owners can properly biwire. I believe many take a cursory unfortunate run at it w an internal bi wire cable which defeats much of the benefits…

enjoy the music !!!

@gdnrbob 

Not engaging might be a good way to put it.  To my ears at least.  I do have the Vandy stands and tried various tilt angles as I moved them. In my past experience I've not heard much difference with bi-wiring.  Granted, that could be different with the 2ce, but I don't have any bi-wire cables right now and I'm not about to run out and plunk down significant change on a set in hopes that they will magically make me fall in love with the 2ce.  Maybe if they don't sell fairly quickly I'll try it, maybe not. 

Equipment pairing is Hegel H360 int. and Rogue Atlas Magnum KT120 tube amp with rogue Perseus tube pre.   Both options pretty smooth and on the warm side IMO.

Thanks for your reply

@holmz 

I failed to mention that I did try them with my REL t9x for a while.  It did help fill out the bottom end but, honestly, the bass wasn't an issue with the 2ce and I found the REL wasn't really necessary with most music. 

I did mess with the treble/mid pots a bit and in the end I had the mids almost all the way down and the treble boosted a bit. 

First reflection points are 1" fiberglass panels on side walls and ceiling.  They work well for highs and to just knock reverb time down a bit.  I definitely would not call my room overdamped.  As I moved the 2ce back closer to the front wall the first reflection points actually became less in play.  I think it added a bit of air and extension but did not help the mids unfortunately.

Thanks very much for your help and suggestions!

It did good things for the bass of course but I didn't like what that did to the imaging. I am somewhat limited with width getting them max of 7' on center. The room has some treatments with fairly thick floor to ceiling corner traps and first reflection points.

I've moved them around quite a bit as well as my seating position. After app. 6 weeks of listening and experimenting I find that the issue is in the midrange. It is always a little dry and lacking of warmth or sufficient tone. At times even being a bit shouty to my ears. In the end, I think they just are not my cup o tea. Maybe it's my room, not sure. I doubt it's my Hegel or Rogue amps. Could be just be my ears getting older!

I would be looking for a used Vandy 2W (subwoofer) and then you can keep them away from the wall, and still have the sub on the corner for bass.

Maybe dialing the pots on the back of the speakers to find some tone control?

Is it possible that the room was treated with wider dispersion speakers, and now appears to be over damped with the tighter dispersion? And do the treatments do the midrange, or mostly the high freqs?

Not bi-wiring, and not adding the correct tilt will make them sound less than ideal.

And, you haven't mentioned what equipment you are using.

That, I believe, might be part of the reason you aren't finding them more engaging.

I just ran an audition of Ralph Karsten's Atmasphere Class D amps at Audioconnection. All of us found the amps to be quite good, but just didn't have the upper mid/high frequency openness that the Belles amps we were comparing them to had. The Vandy's sounded good, but not involving.- Which seems to be what you are saying, I think.

Bob

Thanks to all for their suggestions.  It is appreciated!  Below is my reply to JohnnyR over at Audioconnection who was kind enough to contact me directly.  It pretty much sums everything up. 

Unfortunately, no bi-wire cables in house at the moment so I couldn't test that out.

Johnny, thanks for reaching out, it is appreciated. I tried your advice and backed them up closer to the wall. It did good things for the bass of course but I didn't like what that did to the imaging. I am somewhat limited with width getting them max of 7' on center. The room has some treatments with fairly thick floor to ceiling corner traps and first reflection points.

I've moved them around quite a bit as well as my seating position. After app. 6 weeks of listening and experimenting I find that the issue is in the midrange. It is always a little dry and lacking of warmth or sufficient tone. At times even being a bit shouty to my ears. In the end, I think they just are not my cup o tea. Maybe it's my room, not sure. I doubt it's my Hegel or Rogue amps. Could be just be my ears getting older!

Final thoughts: Overall imaging and soundstage very good to excellent. Substantial and well defined bass, smooth highs. Lack of cabinet resonance easily apparent and lending to the speakers neutrality. Impressive disappearing act especially considering their size. Great speakers and great value to be sure. Just a little more tone and texture and they might not be for sale right now.

Do they sound better than my old Snells, VA Bach Grands, or LRS?  In some ways yes, in some ways no.  Overall, not enough to add them to my stable.  YMMV of course.

Thanks again!

pkatsuleas

Excellent advice as above per tomcarr.

Happy Listening!

But, there is something bugging me about them that I am trying to nail down. 

When on a trip 20 years we were discussing wines that we had tasted earlier. And our favourite one of the day was a Super Tuscan style, which I described as “there is nothing wrong with it”.
The others had super jammy, or this or that, which made them stand out.

If you had some particular songs that give you the bugging feeling, then it could help.
But it is possible that the the bugging feeling is a lack of something overly sharp and exciting?

I would make sure you use Audioquest bi wire

same gauge on top and bottom 

make sure your wires are not dissimilar that would be a sorry mistake

as the mid crossover is at 600 hz and needs identical conductors 

please confirm it’s the same.

JohnnyR 

I have to agree with with most of the replies here that the Vandersteen sound great to what you throw at it. I currently have the 2ci powered by a B&K ST2140 bi wired in a pretty small room with the right tilt make it magic.  Their are who mention that they are soft in the high end response but to me they just sound right. 

Agree with @holmz

I have Vandy 1C’s, 2CE Sig’s (first series), and now Treo’s.

Yes, a big Vandy fan, but they all can sound great. But, speaker placement, and the required tilt per the manual, is vitally important to sounding their best. You also need the anchors for the 2CE’s to sound best…..and biwire.

Worth the effort, as Vandy’s, to me, are very ‘musical’, and a speaker you can listen to for hours on end.

Also, they are designed to placed close to the front wall (within 12")  so the rear-facing acoustic coupler can actually work.

^maybe for a party^.

Setup starts on page 5.
https://www.vandersteen.com//media/files/Manuals/2cesignatureiiimanualprintcopy121121.pdf

They image and soundstage really well and are very easy to listen to for hours, and are very good for their price.

I had the 2Ci and the 2Ce sig II. For me they sounded their best in an equilateral triangle and your  ear level MUST be below the level of the tweeters. Also, I preferred enough toe-in so that the faces were facing my shoulders. Any other setup other than that yielded a significant loss of treble octaves. Also, they are designed to placed close to the front wall (within 12")  so the rear-facing acoustic coupler can actually work.

I have an older model, and they are sensitive to placement in the room.

They are pretty easy to drive though, and I have been through 5 different amps, with 1 failing after 10+ years, and 2 other temporary jobs, and a couple of tube amps.

I would review the set up instructions on the web site, and/or hit the Vandy forum.

If you can try an intimate what is bugging you, that could possibly help to ameliorate the cause.