Vandersteen 2CE Signature II: Is it worth the price of $2700? Why are so many for sale?

sunnyjim sorry to hear of your injury !!!! hope you get a speedy and full recovery!,,,,

small pair of Magneplanar might be easy to move and provide a very musical package, they will also ship a few models direct as i recall...

in a bookshelf i love both the small Kef, the Vandersteen VLR and Sonus Faber for musicality...

Cool
Cats out the bag now
my guess is IF you want one of the old ones you get on the phone and call dealers
hope they have your wood, etc....
orgerwise wait a few months as many owners will upgrade.....

i have had a conversation w RV about Music Direct..here is my recollection....

i believe they only offer up to 3a-signature, so setup IF  follow the hyper detailed manual is not difficult...and may not require deler physical visit help to get the most out of the speaker....yes this is a trade off maybe....

( although i would add hard won dealer knowlege is hard to beat )

Music Direct is a large operation that can reach many many markets totally unserved by a brick and morter dealer with financial muscle to have a return policy ( on $4.5 K pair speakers ) and stocking a wide variety of colors, finish, etc....

i think it was a prudent, well thought out deliberation on his part, by no means perfect but probably necessary in the evolutionary market for hi-fi.....

just my $$$1.5

to the OP

are we helping at all ? God i hope so, this is after all supposed to be fun

re Emminent, not my first comment to this effect, magic in right room with 5’ ish behind the....heard a pair at appointment only place in Chicago.....

aint it great to have choices...

as for an imaging anomoly with Vandersteens....yes that sounds odd...they are known for a deep deep soundstage - why great pains are taken to preserve time, phase and a unified wave launch....

quick call to factory with serial # will give you approximate age
Richard answers the phone
There is also a section on website called “ ask Richard “ sort of a streaming FAQ, many questions answered there....

you are welcome sunnyjim

any 5 under ten $ k would be used and yes The Music Room in Colorado - a dealer here on Audiogon has a used pair of 5a for like $6k right now....model 5 would be less.
there was recently a pair of fabric original cloth  Quattro on Agon for $3,500 ... 
i know of a nice pair of 2 in oak/ black in Orange County, good dude moving to Magnepans...
message me if you want his contact info...
best to you in your search wherever it leads...

sunnyjim
yes the well regarded and reviewer lauded Treo CT
no powered sub and no EQ
nicer and more expensive cabinet than the 2 or 3 series
they also came in a version without the carbon tweeter

i have the CT version on order for our Carlsbad place, you are welcome to stop by for a listen

The 5a are quite formidable 
much better cabinet, crossover, subs and sub amp, 11 bands of analog EQ ( an innovation unmatched to this day to my knowledge by any other designer )
and they went for North of $15 K when finally phased out ( although still available as 5a Carbon at $35 K w filters...
not really a fair fight comparing them to 3a Sig .... imo

( yes I have owned both )

there are several West Coat dealers who carry Magnepan and Vandersteen: San Diego and Tacoma...

no
it competes technically with $5 k stuff for a lot of reasons
$ in the drivers not fancy veneer
way down the learning / improvement curce, economies of scale, frugal dutchman running the company...engineers engineer no part makes it way on the speaker if it does not earn its way aboard...
refined design, drivers and crossovers have all changed but not the basic design principles: time, phase accurate, minimum baffle, low resonance cabinet, hand tuning of speaker in anechoeic chamber
with hundreds of thousands sold of course there are speakers for sale used...duh
Factory / dealers just ran a $500 trade in on and C towards Treo or better, so yes older 2’s out on market for sure....
they are also perennial favorites on the Absolute Sound / Stereophile ratings....

company does not chase tail, most if not all the basic design principles in place 30 years because the underlying physics never changed....

go listen

i did

have 3 pair now....

dig the music..