Vandersteen speakers have matched pair drivers. They also match them to the crossovers. You’d be better off sending in the pair to have matched and updated drivers installed. |
I did in fact anticipate needing to do both drivers and said as much in my email to Vandersteen support. This is the reply I received which surprised me in a few ways... "We rebuild the drivers reusing their cores so yes, you can send that unit back to us. We don’t need the other to make sure it matches. A rebuild on the woofer in a Model 1 runs around $180. Best regards, Jaclyn" |
I received a similar response when I inquired about the woofer in my model 2. They know their speakers better than folks on the forums. |
" Part of me feels like being daring and looking for a pair of drivers to use that may equal or possibly improve performance "
Why not, after all, adventures can have happy endings (albeit, woofers can be expensive off the shelf!). The only drawback is you don’t know the TS parametres of the original woofers. Do you have a friend who can measure the remaining woofer, so you know what you’re looking for? If not, you might as well take Van up on their offer. |
Yeah. That’s part of why I am posting. ;)
I’m hoping someone has some data laying around and know what parameters the replacements will need to play well in this application.
Knowing the design theory of the speakers and crossovers gives me some good ideas as to what I am looking for but it’s always smart to consult the hive of smart folks before you take the jump.
Sometimes you wander into a really smart person who drops extra good information on you. |
Why not talk to Richard directly and ask if he will sell you a pair of drop in, replacement woofers that you can install yourself? Wouldn't that be the most logical approach? |
While you are at it you should probably replace the tweeters as well.
Maybe Madison’s has a kit, you can create something new and unique using the enclosures |
Stevecham. It would seem logical to me that they would keep a few drivers in stock and simply charge core to get rebuildable pieces back.
Jperry. I may still switch it up a little but I do in fact like the design and ideology behind these speakers. 1st order crossovers and time aligned drivers is just solid design. |
If you don’t use the Vandersteen woofers, you will dramatically alter the sound of your speakers. You would be opening a huge can of worms. 180 is quite reasonable for a pair of speakers that cost 1200 or more. |
I own a pair of 1ci, lots of changes over the years but big cast frame is I believe a constant.
look at Vandersteen prices over time and in many cases you will see they are under inflation ( I found this to be the fact for model 1 and 2
a new pair of 1 ci are $1300 and change
the design is hyper unique and yes the filter driver combo are tuned to a reference
a really good two way and I can assure you a model one is such an animal, requires great engineering....without blowing stuff up and providing natural sound in the critical midrange...
i would suggest stock factory replacement, or trade for newer 1ci
my three cents....
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Jaclyn is RV daughter, worked there for years, runs business side but knows !!!! model 1, 1b, 1c, ......thru 1ci.....so you might be able to see whay a frugal small business might not be able to stock every driver they have ever used... ( many model 4 drivers are unobtainable)
i probably should disclose fanboy status, i have three pair of Vandersteen.... |
$180 seems to be the 1 woofer cost. If that was for both I would likely have them out and in route for repair already. |
Madisound responded to email and inform me that they think there is a Seas driver that should be pretty much an exact replacement.
The initial numbers look good as the impedance, efficiency and range look spot on... Should know more soon enough.
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Dsycks......just let Vandersteen do the repair....how could you question them.....
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@dsycks The new 1ci speakers are remarkable! I heard them at Audio Connection the day I arrived to pick up my Treo CTs and was totally stunned how clean, clear and musical they sounded. How sound like that is available at just over a grand is a crazy amount of value. One of my biggest jaw drop moments in over 4 decades as an audiophile.
So...if you can, call Vandersteen and see if they would be able to give you anything in trade for your damaged older model 1s. |
Trade value on the new version is not the worst idea ever.
I'll be running a Benchmark DAC1 and upgraded BelCanto Evo 200.2 with them so it may make for a damn nice combination. |
Stringreen. I don't question them. Looking at options is simply wise imo.
Doing so led me to Vandersteen in the first place. |
Madisound responded to email and inform me that they think there is a
Seas driver that should be pretty much an exact replacement.
Can you say which SEAS driver? (Writing Madisound was the right thing to do, of course!). I'm guessing matching up Qms and Rms may be tricky (& I expect the original woof has a different VAS)—but, most importantly, the end result will be tuned to your tastes! |
mixed feelings about this. I'm in Arkansas and I can certainly measure the current driver if you'd like to send it...
Its a tough call. You can't simply replace a 4 ohm or 8 ohm driver with the same and get away with it. You have to run impedance curves and get a driver that has a very close impedance to the original driver at the crossover frequency unless you plan on changing the crossover... You need a driver that has a very close qts & vas as the stock driver and you need a driver that has similar frequency curves if you expect it to be very close to the same sound.
I'm happy to help, I can usually get the job done, but this isn't a no brainer. Good Luck, Tim
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Another Vandy fanboy here. Currently own the 2Cs. Another vote for stick w Vandy drivers. No mistakes that way.
Tom |
