For Vandersteen owners & lovers: Which other brands do you like?


If you didn’t own Vandersteens, what would you own instead and why? Or, if you switched to another brand what did you choose?

First, let me say that I am a Vandersteen owner for 20+ years, now on my 2nd pair of the 2CE, the Signature III. I have owned other brands, and heard many others and even liked some. 😀 I don’t change gear frequently once I settle on something. Lazy & frugal = me.

I am on the verge of being on the verge of getting the Vandy Treo CT. I have auditioned them at length. I have also heard the Quatro CT and if budget allowed (including upgrading my front end) I would get them for sure. I’m not a fanboy—there is a reason why Vandersteen has sold something like 100K pairs of the 2CE. They sound very good and all of their models are a real bargain/value in their category, imo.

I have heard and liked, for different reasons, Maggies, Magicos, Harbeths, Focals, Linkwitz-Riley, and other brands. Others that I have not heard intrigue me too. I keep circling back to Vandys—maybe it’s what I have known the longest. I have flirted with the Larsen 8 or 9, which is a totally different design (AbSound has reviewed them well), and also the MBL 120 and 126 (omnidirectionals).

I know I could be happy for life with Vandersteens (Treo, Quatro, or dreaming—the Kento or 7). I am interested in detailed opinions of alternatives in the $10K range though. Thanks!

patrickdowns

Showing 3 responses by raindog911

Top tip for the Vandy lovers with external subs (2WQ or Sub3), I recently upgraded my M5-HP filters to M5-HP TEF filters. This is the same high pass filter circuit and capacitors used in RV’s M7-HP filters in a more modest enclosure. The difference is SIGNIFICANT. The bass is so much tighter and punchier (traits often at odds with each other). The mids are more airy and expressive. Accuracy of all musical details notched up a level. I use them with 3A Sigs with two 2Wq subs. Highly recommended and a modest investment compared to the sonic returns.

RE: VLR-CTs. I used these in my room with a Sub3 at AXPONA this year. I received many positive comments about the sound in my room from attendees that spent days listening to systems 10x to 25x the cost of my room equipment. They like backwall so placement is friendly. They are great by themselves in a small room. Add a sub and they continue to perform in medium to medium-large sized rooms. At AXPONA, I was asked repeatedly if the sub was “on” or “connected”. This wasn’t due to limited low frequency representation, rather, how seamlessly the VLR-CTs and Sub3 worked together.

@tomic601 I too called them mKento-hp filters but Vandersteen’s website currently calls them M5-HP TEF filters. I went with the website nomenclature in case someone was motivated to look into them further. My ***-HP TEF XLR filters have the Audioquest Fire pigtail on them which is great since I have 27’ Fire XLR interconnects between my pre amp and the filters.