Vandersteen or Klipsch

two vastly different speakers...the Klipsch a more forward,aggressive sound...the Vandies a more relaxed,polite, old school Hi-fi SOund...very open midrange...rolled off highs...somewhat slow,plodding bass...they are by know means "quick" or "tight" in this regard(which is pretty much what the above poster was getting at)...however the are full range...which means they dont sound thin...as far as the Klipsch...never been a fan of the horns...and they do sound very "boxy" but in a fun rock n roll way...I would audition the Vandies...but have a feeling you will be going with something else or staying put...there really is nothing else out there at $800 with any decent bass worth getting excited about...

Thanks for all the info!

Night and day my friend. The 1-cs are going to be a lot more laid back than the Klipsh, more natural but with less bass, very open sounding non-box speaker that provide quite a lot of detail. If you take the time to set them up the soundstage is very nice. I went from mid 70's Heresey's to Cornwalls and then to vanderseen 1b's when i needed to down size my system. Word of warning(?) the vandersteens are NOT a rock speaker at all. The vandies are good speakers when you want to listen actively or when you just want background music.

I agree with Sek, These are two very different flavors. Gthrush1 is also onto something with the ARC CA 50, a member told me the other day that his is going to go on the market soon and would be a great combo with your CD player and whichever of the two speakers you go with. The Klipsch would be great if you are going into pea sized single ended tube amps.
The Vandersteens are going to give you a much more coherent and natural sound, with a more accurate sound stage. The reason being is that the Klipsch are no where near as pahse and time correct as the Vandies. Use your ear and your own taste, but I think that the 1c is a terrific buy and my favorite of all time in that price range.

Vandersteens don't like to be too close to a back wall, so you should make sure that they will fit into the room arrangement. The Klipsch speakers may be less fussy about placement

Vandersteen and Klipsch sound very different from eachother. A brief audition should answer your question.

Vandersteen. Forget the Pathos and Unison, though. They are crap. You'd do well with an ARC CA-50. While you're at it, go for the Vandy 2's.