Vandy Owner needs help


Hi, I own a pair of Vandersteen 2Ce speakers that I love very much. Unfortunatly, I am moving into a smaller place and don't have the room for floorstanders. I was wondering what bookshelf speakers are at least close to the Vandersteen sound. I have listen to a few speakers so far, and am leaning towards the ProAc Tablette 2000. My budget is $1200 and I am willing to buy used. The rest of the system consists of a Rotel 951 cd player, Lexicon CP1+ preamp, Adcom 545 II amp, DH Labs interconnects and MIT Terminator 4 biwire. I'm relatively new to this, so any help you can give is greatly apprecieated.
petrtyl1
This may seem lowball but have you listened to the sound dynamics RTS-3, $200 from audio advisor.By the way I own the 2ce myself. These things suprised me. Several of my friends now have them and if you hate em they will be easy to sell. Don't let the price scare you off they are worth a serious audition. I listened to them against a pair of $3000 pro ac units. A friend of mine had both pairs and altought the pro ac did some things better, I honestly would prefer to listen to the $200 jobs , go figure.
I would go to a Paradigm dealer and ask to listen to the Active20's. They don't need an amplifier because it is already built into the speaker. That is also very beneficial to the sound. You can sell your amp and also put that towards the purchase of the speakers. I think they retail for about $1600. You can probably get a deal and get them cheaper. But with the money you get for selling your amp that should put you up to the $1600 you'll need. Go to www.paradigm.com and read the reviews. I think you'll love these speakers. I have owned and loved Vandy's also so I know where you're coming from. Good Luck
Try the Alon Petite. It fits all your criteria, and has that same sweet rightness that the 2ce has, but with better resolution and a more extended top end. The Petite will have less bass warmth but better articulation and phenominal imaging. I owned them both, and drove them both with the same amp for a while.
I would look into some of the offerings from Castle Acoustics. Very pleasant sounding and somewhat rich ala the Vandersteen sound. I was pretty impressed with the full but not bloated bottom end on these, especially given the size. Specifically, i listened to a set of the Richmonds, but i'd assume that some of their other models sound similar. I think that the Richmonds list for about $500, but i've seen brand new ones ( possibly store demo's ) go for about $400. Sean
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You've got to listen to the Spendor 3/5's. In a small room they will make you forget you ever had the vandy's. Magical midrange. Used price is $600-750.
I agree with Sean on the Castle Richmonds. You may also want to take a look @ their Pembroke model wich is a slim floor stander with a small foot print. This will give you more bass and a cleaner look (sans stands).
I also have the Sound Dynamics RTS-3'S..........
These are one of the best small speakers I have ever heard!!