I love my Vandersteen's but . . . . . . . .

Mdhoover ,, Thanks for your kind words. Its been 10 days since I moved the Paradigm’s in my listening room and I’m just loving it ! They are interacting fantastic with my room/equipment.

Kt_88 , , Every one of your questions can be answered by going to “My System” here on Audiogon . Also read my follow up post here in this thread dated 4-8-06 ,, It will also help you understand. Believe me ,, Its not my amp..

Stevecham , , A McIntosh MC-402 is not enough horse power for Vandersteen 2ce sig’s ???

Thanks again everyone for your input . Some of the speakers that have been suggested will be tried in the future ..

Tom

Kt_88 said :

Also the recommened wattage is between 40 and 160. So to have them hooked to a 40 watt amp ( and then cranking the volume ) is not going to give much in the way of music.
And ,
40 watts is 40 watts. That's all I have to say.

Kt_88 ,

My amp is 400 watts a side. NOT 40 . Not sure why you think its only 40 w ?????
Tom

Eagleman6722 ,

Thanks for the input.Very helpful and interesting story. I most certainly agree with you,, Getting equipment to work with each other can drive one crazy! This hobby can drive you crazy! , , But I love it .:)

Kt_88 ,

LOL ! Don’t worry . I won’t be giving up my Vandersteen’s . My wife likes them in the home theater system and wants them to stay there. So far so do I …

Thanks again for all the input . This IS a fantastic web site . .

I think some people have the impression I listen at extremely high volumes all the time. I don’t . I will have to take the blame for this. When I started this thread I stated something wrong. What I should have said is; “ Most of the time when I listen the Meters on the McIntosh amp are bouncing around the 4 watt area with peaks around 40 w ”…When I had the Vandersteen’s in the room most of the time the slp meter would never peak past 94 db . Normal listening is high 80 to low 90 db range. When a system is working right and the music stays behind the speakers and gives you a big soundstage this is not that loud to me .

Ok .. Some songs can play bigger (notice i said bigger ) than others. Let me name a few ,, 1. Dire Straits , “Fade To Black” and “You And Your Friend”. 2. Chris Isaak , “Can't Do A Thing To Stop Me ” and “Waiting”. 3. dada , “ Moon” . 4. Lyle Lovett , “ She's Already Made Up Her Mind” and “ North Dakota“. 5. Olu Dara , “Bluebird”. . . I could name many more but I will stop there. These songs can hit the 101 to 104 db peaks and have a huge sound stage . I’m not talking “In your face blowing your hair back volumes" . IF a system is working right these songs will knock your walls down , speakers disappear and the sound stage will extend outside the speakers. The ambiance in these kind of songs can wrap all the way around behind you! The Vandersteen’s fell apart on these kind of songs. I don’t blame the Vandersteen’s . . Why ?? Because I use to have a pair Many years ago (2ci’s) with different equipment and most important a different room ( much bigger 25x17 ) that could play that “BIG” . . .

I hope this helps everyone understand what I’m trying to achieve with this system in my small room. Since I put the Paradigm’s in the room I can play song’s like I described above and I feel like I’m back in my old 25x17 room. If any of you live close to me you are welcome to stop by and have a listen . . .

Darkmoebius ,
Room treatment and pictures are coming soon to my room …: )

02pete ,
Thanks for the info but that’s not really what I’m after. I do like all those old groups. I just played “Toys in the attic” in its entirety. It sounded great. Slp meter was bouncing in the high 80’s with peaks of an casual 91 db .. When one can put in Aerosmith ,,, have the speakers disappear and be able to pick out all the instruments in the soundstage something is going right . . .

Shadorne said:

As far as I am concerned, it is all music and a good speaker should do it all well ...as softly as you want and as loudly as you want...whatever type music you like....and all with accuracy and low distortion.

Shadorne , , I couldn’t agree with you more . . . .

Thanks everyone , , All your comments are very much appreciated . .

Tom . .

Wow , Thanks for the responses so far . Very much appreciated .

Bignerd100 I was wrong about where my normal listening level is . The McIntosh meters are bouncing around the 4 watt area with peaks around 50 watts. I just listened to Amos Lee “Arms of a Women” and the slp meter was bouncing around the 90 db area with peaks of 95 db . I confused the 40W with the 4W . Opps .

Jgiacalo which Mac amp do you have ??

Uppermidfi My room is 10 1/2 X 14 .. Im about 8 feet away from the speakers now .

I just played Jamie Cullum’s “All at sea” .. If I try to turn this song up where it sounds live the sound gets compressed and thin sounding . I’m I asking to much ? ..

I Have an update . I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before …

Back in July of 2001 I put together a 5.1 surround sound system in the family room. Anthem AVM-2 , Bryston amp ,, All Paradigm reference speakers . The two front speakers are reference studio 100’s v2 … This system is for movies / TV only ..

I just switched the Vandersteen’s into the surround system and the Paradigm’s in the two channel listening room . I’m amazed !! .. This is a big step in the right direction . More open and transparent , It’s like I lifted a curtain up that was in front of the soundstage. I listened for three hours last night and was amazed. This is going to be hard to believe but the Paradigm’s knocked the side wall’s down. The sound stage was much wider , higher , and deeper. I noticed the volume was down a notch from when the Vandersteen’s were in the system. The McIntosh meter’s were hanging around the 4 to 10 watt area with peaks in the 40 to 80 watt area. The SLP meter was bouncing around the 90 to 95 db area with a few peaks up to 103 db !!!! I couldn’t believe the dynamic’s !! There was absolutely no stress in the sound. I felt like I had plenty of “headroom” at all times. I know I could have turned it up more but I didn’t need to. Some of the CD’s I listened to was Jack Johnson’s “on and on” .. Norah Jones “come away with me” … Lyle Lovett “and his large band” also “Joshua judges Ruth” … Jenna Mammina “Meant to be” .. I have never heard these cd’s sound so good in my system ! The Paradigm’s flat disappear in the room ! The bass is so much better also ,, and goes way deeper ! The tonal balance is seamless from top to bottom ….Right now I have no negative thoughts at all (give me a month or two and im sure that will change) …

I do want to say this ,,,, I’m in no way trying to trash Vandersteen speakers . Many years ago I had a pair of 2ci’s with different equipment and most important a different room ( much bigger 25x17 ).. I had those Vandy’s singing !! Huge sound ! That is why I bought this pair unheard. I just can’t get this pair to “open up” with my current room / equipment.

This really makes me wonder what some of the above suggested speakers would sound like in my system ..

Another update !! …

I started this “post” last night but got to tired to finish it.. This morning I did finish it ( I thought ) and tried to post it but my ISP was down . So I went in to have another listen .... I put in Jenna Mannimina “Inner Smile” .. All I can say is I’m in audio heaven ! At this point I don’t think I will make any changes. I don’t know how many times I filled up with Goosebumps … I have NEVER had a system perform this good ….

Thanks again ,, Tom