What cable for Vandersteen 2WQ subs

I am using some Tara prism, but it is primarily for cosmetics--took a piece of leftover cable, covered it in black techflex weave and heatshrank the ends to keep it neat. It matches my PS Audio Biwire Supremes (in looks, not in heft), but no change in sound.

Here's my real reason for responding. . .I have used the same transducer combo (Maggie 1.6QRs and a Vandersteen 2Wq) in four homes in the last six years, and there have been significant affects on bass performance. My current listening room just absolutely defies me getting the right bass, regardless of trying levels, Q settings, etc. I've moved that sub a combined distance of three miles in the room, and have had the Maggies all over the place as well.

Conversely, in the last home I had, I just plopped the speakers and sub where I thought they'd work best. . .and magic! Never touched a level, Q setting, or moved the thing once it was spiked. Miss that room. . .!

At least from my experience, the wire has been the least of the influences. Not sure if this is what you wanted to hear, but hope it helps eliminate it as a meaningful variable.

I'm using Kimber 8TC wire for my pair of Vandy 2Wq's -- works great. For the main speakers (3A Sig's), I'm using Alpha-Core Goertz MI2.

Thanks for the response guys. Kjweisner, I think you are right about it being the room. I do have a pretty big dip at 125 hz. Dont get me wrong, the bass is just slightly lean. I dont perceive it as a huge problem. Also this is something new that just became more prevelent yesterday as I switched to brand new Cheetah interconnects. I demoed the Cheetahs before I bought them and I didnt remember them being leaner than what were my current Cardas Golden Cross cables. Now that they have been running in for about 40 hrs the bass is coming up and becoming much better defined. Funny I didnt think the DBS cables required burn in. Sdcampbel, did you ever try the included wires? If so are you getting better performance with the Kimber?
Thanks again.

I have found that the Cardas wire is a little "Fat" compared to the more neutral sounding Cheetah. In a comparison, yes, the Cheetah would sound a little leaner.
As for the wire to the subs, about the only thing Vandersteen has ever said about this is that in absolute terms of matching, use the same wire as you run to the speakers. I found no wire to change the overall levels.
I used the 3a Sigs and 2Wq's for a number of years. I would try a "Q" setting of .7 which matches the 3a's pretty much spot on (their overall Q is .7.) You also might want to try reversing the phase to the subs. Be surprised what it will do. Experimentation is the key with these. It took me 6 months to get them seemless and with proper bass weight. Using 2 subs helps with the room issue but you've got to experiment some. You can really make some music with the combination. However, I found setting the 3a's up alone took a while and then the subs.
BTW, I experienced no real change in the Cheetah other than they seemed to smooth out a touch after a week or so. I'm using the optional 72v DBS on XLR's.

Braro:

I did try the included Vandy cables, but was not terribly impressed with them. When I changed my main speaker cables from 8TC to Alpha-Core MI2, I had plenty of 8TC on hand and used it for the 2Wq's. The difference between the Vandy wires and the 8TC was not dramatic, but the frequency spectrum handled by the subs is pretty limited.

Bigtee is right that it often takes a lot of time to get the 2Wq's "dialed in" just right. I have a sub in each front corner of my listening room, and I found that a "Q" setting of 3.0 on the subs produces the most balanced sound IN MY ROOM. The "efficiency" setting is set to 90db.

I am also using the Model 5 X-overs, and have them set to 50k ohms to directly match the input impedance of my main 2-channel amp (I tried the next lower and next higher settings, and didn't care for either of them.)

Braro, over the past 15 years I have owned three pairs of the Vandy subs, and I am currently using a pair with my Maggie 3.6r's. I highly recommend upgrading the wire. My first pair I switched from stock wire to Kimber 8TC, and noticed a pretty significant improvement. I don't think you need to go real esoteric or expensive, but a couple hundred on some wire is well worth the expense. I just bought my current pair a few months ago and have not upgraded the wire yet, however I plan on buying some Purist Musaeus for the application. I think alot of different manufacturers lower cost wire would help out.

I agree with a previous post which recommends that you work on placement of the subwoofers to solve your sonic issues first. The 2Wq subs tend to work best very close to the corners of the room. Also, because your main speakers are Vandersteen 3A Sigs (and go deep enough to meet the sub properly), you shouldn't have to deviate from the recommended crossover setting for your amplifier's input impedance.

Start by getting the subs as close to the corners of the room as possible, make sure they are hooked up in positive phase with the speakers and each other, and then set the level to 90db and the "q" control to about 7. From there you can begin to adjust the level contol higher (one db at a time) until you have enough bass output.

As for better cable feeding the sub, you might try a high quality solid-core copper or silver cable for some improvement in sound. Remember, whatever cable you use on the sub is hanging off of the outputs of your amplifier all of the time, in parallel with your main speakers, which will affect the sound of your main speakers. Because the Vandersteen 2Wq sub is powered, the signal you are feeding it is only a voltage reference and does not require a very big or heavy gauge cable. I have used Audioquest Type 4 and CV-4 with good success. Good luck.

Dave
Ultra Fidelis Inc.