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Not Thrilled with Vandersteen 2CE Sigs - where is the first place to work on?

Trying to build up the system this year, bought some Vandy 2CE Sigs.  Have the anchors, following instructions for placement, built bass traps and a couple of acoustic panels in my medium-sized but odd-shaped basement listening area - still not thrilled.  Using laptop with Tidal and Dragonfly Red - and some stuff sounds GREAT (Steely Dan, SRV, Beck, Dire Straits, Wilco) - but disappointed in a lot of other stuff.  Some objective opinions on where my issues might lie?  Expectations too high? Hearing the truth of production variations?  Running an NAD C272 at 150WPC and an original 1979 APT Holman Pre Amp.  Not MAC, Bryston, etc - but was expecting more.  Thoughts? Rebuild/recap the APT?  Amp upgrade?  Where might the low-hanging fruit be?
gjinwi

Showing 4 responses by audionoobie

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audionoobie
374 posts
 
@helomech I am one of them. Just surprised to hear that others agree. 
audionoobie's avatar
audionoobie
374 posts
 
@gjinwi I completely agree with douglas_schroeder. I struggled with the 2ce for a long time. It is a very laid back speaker. Wooly is a good adjective. Colored and veiled are others I would use. 

I tried different amps, cables, high-pass filters, changed rooms, and worked on speaker placement until I was blue in the face, but ultimately I decided that I couldn't live with them any longer. 

I also agree with your sentiment that they sounded stellar with only the very best audio recordings. I would dump them and seek out opinions on speakers that are more aligned with your listening preferences. 
audionoobie's avatar
audionoobie
374 posts
 
Incidentally, I currently own the Vandy 1ci's with a 2wq sub and am far happier than I ever was with the 2's. YMMV 
audionoobie's avatar
audionoobie
374 posts
 
@helomech I’m surprised to hear you say that. I’m not sure the 1ci’s are necessarily better, but I’ve found they work better in my house with small rooms than the 2. 
There is something magical about the 1’s though isn’t there?

I was enchanted by them from my first listen in Johnny R’s back room. He really has them dialed in there.  
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