Need advice/opinion in choosing Vandy 2ci or Thiel 1.5

I have 2Cs, and rate them as a great value new, and especially used.

The Theils are in “the list of 5” along with Vandersteens as being time&phase correct, so I am not seeing any big problem with either as they start out technically accurate.

I would say:

1. Get him the Vandys (if you already have heard the Theils and you get a different perspective).
   
2. Or Let him choose.
   
3. Or get both, and later move on the loosing pair?

The “Son is in his 20s” comment, suggests that he may not be in that room forever.

While this might not be his forever room, this might not be his forever system either.

But it could be.
There are some owners of the 2C that have not upgraded their speakers, and they seem to be content with them.

I generally have not bought a speaker to use, knowing it is going to be discarded soon. I buy what I think will be lasting me for a long while.

What would one replace it with?

Plus the fellow already gets access to live music, much more so than many other people… so it is not like he needs a speaker and system “as his sole access to musical experience”.

Thanks for all the great advices and all seems to steer me to the Vandys' direction which I don't think we can go wrong.

You are sort of getting a confirmation bias group… where all the Vandy owners say that the Vandys are great…  one should be mindful that the group has a high degree of bias, irregardless of the fact that they are probably right.

@jjss49 My 2C have not been overly sensitive to amplifiers. They sound, and have sounded, good with most amplifiers that drove them (PSE, VTL, NAD, PrimaLuna). I only wish that some of that amps lasted longer.

I’m sure that the newer Vandys are better.

so while i may fit into the theory of confirmation bias in favor of vandy’s, i would say that my preference for vandy’s and the sound they present is not developed without ample experience to thiels as an alternative

The Thiels were also speakers that were time and phase correct. So one is comparing speakers that are more technically closer to each other than two wildly different different speakers. Hence tjhe comment:

“One cannot go too wrong with either”

My confirmation bias point was that people that like Vandys are also people that may not like Klipsch or other bright and hard to listen to speakers. If the OP had suggested Klipsch, then the comments would be filled with Klipsch fanbois (or fans of some other speaker brand),


As I mentioned at the end:

… one should be mindful that the group has a high degree of bias, irregardless of the fact that they are probably right.

it was some 20 years ago, but my one very notable point of recall on the thiel 1.5’s was their lack of height… seemed to have the soundstage rather low (waist height)

I think that those speakers were noted to be romantic. ;)

(I would have been spinning the Barry White discs.)

@holmz — STOP, just stop with the confirmation bias crap. You’ve no idea what “confirmation bias” is so don’t bring it here. And yeah, I took decision making theory at Cornell from a well-respected professor in the field, so just STOP trying to fly your crap here. Or we can have a more in-depth debate about what confirmation bias actually is and you’ll come out as a fool spouting crap you don’t know about. Keep your buzz words and your ignorance to yourself. You’ll be the better for it. Or, bring it and let me feed it to you.

 
@soix 
Can we just take a middle ground where you just explain to me what is wrong with my use of the term?
(Without a slap down?)