Totem Forrest or Vandersteen 3A Sig?

I’ve owned the TOTEM FORESTs and the ARROs in prior systems, so I know their strengths and warts very well.

MY TAKE:

Upgrade your source first before you choose FORESTs as the upgrade path in isolation,

@soix ….+1 on the cdp upgrade recommendation.

Until you do this, I doubt that just a move to the FORESTs alone in isolation will provide you with your required sonic step-up..

DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH AMP “GRUNT” ?

FORESTs are well known to be power hungry pigs…much more so than most other options. It’s all current (amps);…wpc specs are meaningless , and you are in a big room.

I had a high-current 100 wpc integrated amp that needed to be further augmented to get the FORESTs to their max. I added a matched 100 wpc power amp to make the system bi-amped (not biwired) to get them to open up to their best. Intuitively this predicated doubling up on quality build cables.

SPEAKER CABLES:

the FORESTs are wired internally with their own TOTEM TRESS wires, which are silver plated-over-OCC Cu models ( essentially a proxy or clone of CHORD RUMOURs).
If it’s high-end added extension or “brightness” you want, then silver over Cu is what they crave, I experimented with a sh*t load of brands and models, and the upper frequencies were lacking until either a TOTEM TRESS or similar silver plated all-occ proxy (that would expected to be “brighter” ) was inserted for the upper frequency drivers. Van den Hul , especially their hybrids , was the poorest speaker cable performers for me.

Curiously , biamping them with all- OCC CU quality build speaker cables on the woofers was noticeably better in my system, rather than continuing to use silver plated TRESS for the bass drivers. TRESS for the woofers was a noticeable step down than quality build all-Cu options. Much thicker all-Cu was the ticket here.

FWIW …. choose wisely.

I would like greater upper extension and detail than the 2CE's provide 

I’ve heard the 3A Sigs and they’re great speakers but IME they’re not going to give you the upper level detail you’re seeking.  The Forest would be a better option, and yes you definitely need to upgrade the CD player to get the best out of the Forest.  BTW, are you looking to buy new or used?  Best of luck. 

im happy with my forrest signatures,(they  do  everything )  that said  vandersteen company have  sold  80000 pairs of the 2ce!  id  go  with  the  speaker  that  sounds  best  to  your  ears. hopefully  you  can  get  in home  demonstration 

You like the Vandersteens but would like greater upper extension and more detail. With that in mind may I suggest Thiels.

Lodom,
If you will get a chance to visit any CES arround just visit both rooms for Totems and Vandersteens and you'll realize how smaller gets bigger...

Then you'll like the Forest's forward presentation. The 3a is more forward than the 2ce. I can't imagine making a purchase without hearing either speaker. And your amps can make the difference - if you're ever onthe east coast- you can stop in to listen....

Thanks for the repsonses! I am unable to audition either of two speakers in my area, so any purchase is a unheard one. I realize the 2 speakers are vastly different, but I'm thinking I may overall favor a more forward presentation.

Seems like you're at opposite ends of the pole- hard to compare the Forrest/3A sig they are very different form eah other. I have'nt heard the 3A's in a while but thought they sounds like bigger & better 2ce's. I've replaced my 2ce's with the Forrests. At first I was a little dissapointed with the Forests but I've come to love the Forests in my system very much. Very diferent listening experience. More like sushi or noveau cuisine as opposed to meat loaf or beef stew. MAJOR improvement over the 2ce's- Faster, cleaner all around. higher highs, more forward, better imaging , soundstage, etc. If you like the laid back Vandy sound and have the room, the 3A's may be to your liking. Best to hear the Forests - A real departure from the Vandy sound..

Go with the 3A Signature. The 3A is just a little bit better than the 2ce Sigs. The 3A Signature is in another league. It has to be set up correctly but when done and with the right electronics, it is special.

I'm the happy owner of Forrest and I did audition 3A. In fact I like them both but 3A is not great for near-field and requires much larger space than Forrest. Becides Forrest does not compromise in "size" of sound to 3A despite being quite small and deliver it much more dynamic and faster. Vandys at the same time sound more musical and worm.
I would doubt if you'd get larger upper extention than 3A or even maybe 2CE known for very high upper-end resolution upto 26kHz v.s. Forrest's 20kHz, but the bass is definitely more controlled and deep.