Fair price for used Vandersteen 3a Signatures

Check this link:

https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=vandersteen+3a

Thank you Kota1.

I'm trying to decide between a new pair of 2CE Signature III's and a 10-year-old pair of well taken care of 3A signatures.  Looking through the listing it seems the 3a signature sold market ranges from $1800 - $3000 depending on age.

I used to have a pair of 2Ce Signature's so I'm familiar with the sound.

 2Ce sigs are more popular speakers and you can have luck of getting those from the estate sales for around $300...500. Harder to get 3a's, but the link provided by kota1 shows non-sig model and they've been listed for nearly half-year at bellow $1k so offering around $750...850 for'm will probably get you settled and after that you can get Sig mod kit to upgrade x-over. 

I hit estate sales more than once on both of these models, but since I'm not real fan of those Vandys I only purchased those to flip.

Vandersteen started making 3a Sigs 20 years ago.  I have a 19 year old pair that I bought for 1200 used last year.  They are in very good condition and work perfectly.  Even though they look the same as new ones, Vandersteen continues to make improvements so there might be something different between new ones, 10 year olds, and my 19 year old version.  So I would expect to pay more for the one you’re looking to buy — maybe $2.5K to $3K. One thing I’d recommend is that you need at least a medium size room for the 3a Sigs.  They produce a bigger sound with more bass than 2ce, so getting the right speaker for the room is important.   They are excellent speakers. Good luck. 

Looking through the listing it seems the 3a signature sold market ranges from $1800 - $3000 depending on age.

this sounds about right to me

i would say that the 3a sig is a better speaker all around than the 2ce ... especially in a decent sized room, both benefit from a strong good sounding solid state amp

Many moons ago I was a happy Vandersteen owner ( 10 years). I owned the 2CE and the 2CEi. When I upgraded to the larger 3A I found it to be a big mistake and I sold them within a year. Vandersteen placement is very critical and I could never get the 3As to sing! IMO, you should go with the new 2CE signatures!!

Thank you for the advice on room size, positioning, and placement.  I did some research last night and think I'm going to hold off for now.  I used to have a pair of 2Ce signatures that were lost in a divorce settlement.  Here is a bit of advice.  Get your significant other to accept your hobby, not join in on it 😃

My current home probably isn't a good fit for Vandersteen's.   I have an older pair of Paradigm Studio 100 V2 that I use in the living room.  I'll probably stay with those for now until I get a new place.  I also have a pair of Triangle Celius 202's I could try, but I would need to augment them with a subwoofer.  I like my low end which is how I was justifying picking up a pair of 3a's.  (why spend $2K on a sub when I can just get a full range speaker that does the job).

The pricing (sub $1k) referred earlier is for 3A, which was in production ’95-’01. A used pair of a 3A Signature (in production after ’01) I have seen is around $1500 with the stand. Compared to how crazy the new one charges, it is a no brainer IF you like the sound, i.e., laidback/relaxed mid/treble and powerful bass IF well controlled. However, if you like more articulated high with more focused image, think twice. These speakers including 2Ce do like big juice though to reveal the potential of its bass based on what I have auditioned before.  Richard also suggests that in an email.

@mustangjeff ,

If I were you, I would look into getting the Treo or Quatro (non-CT) used.

You'll get a more refined speaker that will work in almost any space. The key to Vandy's is the set up. You have to follow the directions in the manual in order to get them to sound right. 

Bass isn't an issue on the Treo unless you want/need thumping bass. And, you can always add a Vandy sub later, which has the added benefit of reducing the load on your amp, allowing it to perform better, too.

I owned the 3 a sigs, but got the Treo's and I can attest to the increased refinement of sound. 

PM me if interested, I know a pair for sale.

Bob

$2500 is the number - condition is everything and for a good clean one owner set, that's the price. Worth every penny of that too... just my opinion. 

The 3a was introduced in 1996, making it a 25y/o design.  It cost $2795 at that time, which is $5008 in April, 2023 inflated price.  According to the used equipment pricing model I have developed over the years (based on 100's of buy/sells of gear,) it should have a price somewhere in the $750-1250 range as of today.  Perhaps a little more if it is 5 years less old and in great shape.

Hope this helps.