VANDERSTEEN 2ce signatures?

I've owned two pairs of model 2's and currently own a pair of 3A Sigs. As impartial as I can be, you won't find any speakers that are as well balanced as these for the price. Many others costing much more are not as good. Not the sexiest looking but boy do they sound good!!!! A no brainer if ever there was. I recommend a high current solid state amp with at least 100 wpc. Their balance is fuller sounding than most and a tube amp is not necessary to acheive smooth results. Buy Vandersteens and you'll be hard pressed to buy another brand ever again. All you'll want to do is upgrade within the same line. If you love music, not the HI FI geek of the month club, you've found you speakers. Endulge and Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be really careful with this line of speakers. Avoid any electronics or cables touted as being "smooth". With Vandys a couple of smooth components becomes "blah". They work somewhat better in small, live rooms. I had a pair for several years and hated them the whole time. Tried every amp, preamp and cable known to mankind in an attempt to breathe life into them in a 16 by 26 room.

I agree with the above comments. I have listened to the 2 series and the 3 series in good and bad rooms. I agree they need live rooms and high ceilings--otherwise they sound bland. In the right room with the right electronics--I too think they sound better with SS--they can be very good. Like most things in this industry they have their strengths and weaknesses. These are dynamic speakers that do like to be driven at fairly loud volumes (not concert levels necessarily--but they don't "wake-up" until you get to reasonable volume level). They are best suited for jazz and rock, but do very well on classical symphonies as well. If you like quieter, female vocals, piano solos, chamber music, at quieter listening levels--these are probably not the best speakers for you. If you like big band jazz, rock, and a full orchestra or symphony at reasonably high listening levels I find these speakers to be excellent in their price range.

The posts by Abstract7, Elgordo and Steve440 clearly point to the widely varing opinions that exist in our hobby! I come down on the same side of the fence as Steve440. Vandersteen represents a GREAT value, you will be hard pressed to exceed their preformance at twice the price at each price point in the Vandie line. Regarding amplification I have always used solid state with my vandies (started with 2CE's, currently 3A Signitures), but Richard Vandersteen uses and demos his speakers with Audio Research tube amps. Check with the guys at Audio Connection for some tube alternatives (VTL and ConradJohnson come to mind)

You will find Vandies to be revealing of upstream equipment, they will not grab you as a Thiel or B&W might, but you will find the long term listenablity to be unbeatable, Vandies make MUSIC.

First, let me say that at this price point there are a number of players worth considering. All of them have their pluses and minuses, so picking one involves choosing what to trade off. While this is somewhat true at other price points, it is a very obvious fact at this one. After lengthy auditions of a number of speakers at this price point I bought none of them. Included were the Thiel 1.5 (also the 2.2), Magnepan 1.6, Vandersteen 2ce/2ce Signatures, as well as various speakers from Martin Logan, B&W, etc.

The Maggies had the best imaging, the Thiels were most accurate and all the others had their positives, too. In this group the Vandies were the overall best for my wants (jazz ensembles, acoustic instruments, some rock; SS amp, tube pre, CD only).

The 'Steens were a bit on the soft, laid back side. Without first hand experience to back it up, that characteristic leads me to suggest driving them with SS or "accurate" sounding tubes. Too tubey an input might not be pleasing in the long term.

In the end, just as I was ready to buy, the Vandersteen dealer pushed the wrong button one time too many. That led to my auditioning yet another speaker. It was a bit more expensive, but was absolute the first (in my price range) that simply did nothing glaringly wrong. I took them home that day and have been happy ever since. Unfortunately, the manufacturer is now out of business or I would steer you to them (though there is a pair of new Twos listed on Audiogon that would be a great buy). I'm still very happy with my purchase which was the Hales Revelation Three. Good luck!

I use rogue audio m-120's with my vandies and it works well.
Rogue amps are on the neutral side vs the lush side of tubes and they have good bass control. I have used SS amps and I find that they give bigger bass but not necessarily better sound overall. This way I kinda get the best of both worlds.

I AGREE,THE ABOVE POSTS GIVE ACCURATE ADVICE.I HAVE OWNED VANDY 3A AND SIGS.AND THEY ARE ONE OF THE BEST VALUES OUT THERE.IN THIS PRICE RANGE I WOULD ALSO LISTEN TO THE ALON LINE WHICH I CURRENTLY OWN AND VERY HAPPY WITH. REGARDS,RICH

Got to put in my 2 cents on this one. I'm a Vandersteen owner since 1988, when I bought a pair of 2Ci's. Eventually moved on to the 3A's, and now have 3A Signatures. My listening room is roughly 12'x17' with 8' ceilings, and my Vandies sound great! Have gotten many positive comments about the system from visitors to my home. The 3A Sig's are driven by a Bryston 4B-ST amp, which is a fine performer with these speakers. I have been a high-end audio salesman at various times in my life (sold B&W, Klipsch, JBL, Martin Logans, etc.), and I still think the Vandersteen line represents one of the best values in audio.

The Vandersteen Model 2 may be the most "Honest" product in hi-end audio history. The designer has priced these things at the lowest possible point, with no compromise in sound quality. The speaker is a flat out accurate reproducer from top to bottom. Coherency is comparable to a 2-way point source design. This product will not be embarrased by any loudspeaker. This is the type of company that is doing all it can for you, the end user. Even though I am an electrostat user, I am constantly amazed at how good these things are. A pair of 2Ce speakers is all most people will ever need. You can rest assured that your money was very well spent. The true "benchmark"......Frank

As with most Vandersteen speakers the 2ce is an incredible value that competes with anything in its price range and a bit above. The only thing that keeps me from buying Vandys is the relatively laid back treble response. This is a personal taste thing, but for me music like rock or modern jazz sounds a bit clouded and I feel like I'm missing some information in the upper upper octaves. Otherwise this speaker matches or beats anything it its class, so if you like the laid back sound I'd put these at the top of my list. Otherwise look at Soliloquy 5.3s or Triangle Zephyrs/Antals that exhibit many of the same characteristics of the 2ce but have more extended highs and are also very tube friendly.

Tim