These speakers are time and phase linear (a vandersteen standard for all models) which allows for breathtaking imaging. Very strong bass for a two way that will suprise most listeners at this price point. An almost complete lack of any kind of box colorations will make other offerings seem well, boxy as an old table radio! Addictive sounding, these will satisfy someone looking to get a taste of the high end without going overboard on the price. I can't wait to hear a pair of the larger 2ce signatures in my room. I'm never going back to the mass market dreck again.

The biggest "weakness" if it really is one is the size. These are large somewhat heavy speakers that aren't going to help win any awards for interior design. They also require carefull setup and should really be in a dedicated room for best results. These are most definetly "not for the kids". Excellent response usable in a smaller room down to about 35hz, but may require a sub in a larger room for the lowest bass. Probably not ideal for large rooms or if you have to comprimise for looks or size. If you have a small to medium room and are a serious listener than these are for you.

A wicked speaker for a smaller room. Performance far beyond what most people are accustomed to in this price range; when properly set up mass market competetors from the big box stores such as infinity or bose are left in the dust.

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compared to speakers from B&W, KEF, Paradigm, JBL, Infinity, Bose, Magnepan. All fell short in comparison. Either not enough low end response or too much cabinet coloration plagued competition at this price.

See review.

Spikes are killing my floors.

Bought second hand from the dealer. It already has 2 years on it and was in mint condition. Tried hard to pair them up with the right system and after many tries, it now sounds great with a Cambridge Audio 640C, Creek 5350SE, Belden 1505F interconnects and Belden 5000UP speaker cables. Open sounding, natural, not harsh, enough bass for my medium sized room, great soundstage and clarity.

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Triangle Zephyr XS - very good soundstaging but a little too forward sounding for my liking. Totem Arros - Excellent soundstaging and disappears into the room. But bass is a little limited, which is to be expected for this sized drivers. Vandersteens 2CE Signature - Too large for my room, and beyond my budget.

Best I've heard for in the price class (under $1,000.00). Blew away others I compared them to. The Dealer, Audio Connection in Verona, NJ was very helpful. John and Katie made it an excellent buying experience.

None yet, still very new

I am very pleased with the 1Cs. They sound beautiful at low and moderately high volumes. Tight bass with comfortable midrange and highs. Play well with the Rotel RA-1062. Seems as though the musicians are in my living room.

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B&W, Epos, KEF

Great sound for a low price. The bass it good down to the lowest notes of a bass guitar, so it is good for rock music.

A single 8" woofer means it's not for a big room. Not good for organ music or heavy metal with 5-string bass guitars or bottom heavy synth music unless teamed with a subwoofer.

I actually bought the Model 2, but I listened to the Model 1 quite a bit afterwards whenever I went to the store over the years. I was always impressed how good they sounded for such an inexpensive speaker. They were being driven by Counterpoint, Parasound, or Rogue amplification over the years and sounded good with all of them. If I was buying for a bedroom or smaller listening room, I would prefer these over the Vandersteen Model 2ce, as it can get overdone in the bass in a small room. Also, if you have mediocre and low powered amplification, the Model 1c will work better than the Model 2ce that needs rather high current amolification to get the best bass. The price may seem a bit steep for those coming out of mass market speakers, but this is one of the true bargains in a high end entry level speaker. Easy to find used and on eBay at a steep discount from the new price. The 1c and a VMPS passive subwoofer can be had for less than the cost of the 2ce and will go lower. These are way better than little 2-way monitor speakers if decent bass is a priority. The reason I give 4 stars instead of 5 is that the bass isn't quite extended enough for me.

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Vandersteen 2Ci, JMLab Daline 3, Polk monitors

Imaging and deliniation of instuments and vocals within soundstage.

Absolutely none at price.

I traded my pair of Von Swheikert VR-1s for the Vandersteens and a small amount of cash a while ago and took some time to listen to these. After finding the proper set up they are wonderful, especially for the money. The instruction manual is good for setting the Vandersteens up as it seems to be a little more critical than normal. With the bookshelf speakers I'b been using it seemed that I could simply set them on the stands in the same general location and things were good. Not so with the 1Cs. The manual has an elaborate calculting proceedure for setting the proper tilt angle which I found to be critical. It was better for me to just experiment to find the proper tilt. Once I found it though, the sound was stiking. Voices and instruments seemed to be precisely located within the wide soundstage the speakers displayed. My listening room is small but the soundstage, especially with lights out, seemed to reach past the walls. They are also, as others have said, very smooth and easy to listen to with no harshness in higher frequencies. Female vocals, which is what I listen to alot, come across as very believable. If there was one area that might be weak it is in the lower bass extension. But what can you expect from a small speaker in this price category that does so much right? I remember hearing Vandersteens a few years back and being impressed but not able to afford them. If my room were bigger I would be watching out for a pair of the larger 2-CEs.

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Paradigm Studio 60 V.2, NHT SB-3 VonSweikert VR-1.

High quality components, excellent sound, musical and forgiving.

None.

I am not an audiophile and before I bought these speakers, I had my share of getting confused by salesreps/magazine reviews/technobabble on the right speakers in the sub 1K category to buy. There are a lot of choices and eventually it all boiled down to my expectations on the performance of a speaker. I bought the 1Cs since I wanted a speaker that would be easy on the ears and would work well with mass market electronics as well with high end products. I also wanted a speaker that would be able to perform reasonably well in home theater applications. I have been using these speakers for my front channels for the past three years and there is no denying the fact that these speakers are definitely a must have. They work incredibly with my Pioneer Elite VSX 43TX. They are also a delight while watching movies. The clarity is exceptional and the bass is just right. They sound laid back and reproduce the sound the way it was recorded. Hence, if you are looking for speakers that convert your rooms to techno clubs then this speaker is not for you. Initially I thought that the bass was a little lacking at times, however, I purchased KEF Q5s for my rear channels and while switching back and forth between these pairs, I realized that the bass handling was superior with the 1Cs. There is not cabinet vibration/discoloration of sound and due to the 8 inch woofer, you get a pretty sweet kick on the bass. The crossovers on the speaker transition quite well and the midrange is also quite open and balanced. The only problem is that these speakers are position sensitive and positioning these speakers can get a little frustrating due to their weight and the lack of cabinetry that makes it a little difficult to move them. These speakers definitely deserve an audition and if they are stacked against other speakers (regardless of the price), one has to have a pretty strong reason to not buy them. Audition these speakers with any Dave Matthews, Sting or Dave Brubeck cds.

My review of June 14 incorrectly gives the 1C only three stars. It should actually be five stars. I'm not sure how this happened but I have e-mailed Audio Review twice to correct this, but they haven't.

easy listening

If you have other speakers for surround, they will want to crawl up and die. `

These speakers are what stereo is all about. Very smooth and easy listening without any low treble strain. The sound is just so comfortable like a nice big easy chair, you just want to listen for hours. As I'm writing this Ottmar Liebert is playing on the 1cs and its pure relaxation kinda of like a nice air mattress on the pool. If you are looking for speakers check these out, if your in the Sacramento Ca. area you can't get better than Chris at the Audio Gallery. He's a straight up guy that will treat you right. I really like these speakers, a lot.

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`Listened to Maggies, B&w, Monitor audio, and psb's before deciding on Vandersteen.

Rich, full range, natural, electrostatic-like sound.

You can't impress you're audio buddies on how much you spent on speakers.

One of the great all-time bargains in audio. If you can get by their rather unconventional looks, you'll be rewarded with a full range, time-aligned, very natural, easy on the ears sound that works fantastic on all types of music. I also have to recommend what may be the best sounding "budget system" one could put together: a pair of Vandy 1c's, the new NAD 320Bee integrated amplifiew (an amazing bargain at $400, but can be had for less), the NAD 521i cd player at $299, IXOS 603 Superstrand speaker cables(available from Accessories4Less.com for 54 cents a foot!) and a pair of Acoustic Research HT-130 interconnects which will set you back a whopping 20 bucks. Total cost around $1500. The sound from this system will have you scratching your head as to why some audio nuts spend more on cables alone.

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Alon, Paradigm, Martin-Logan, Triangle, Dahlquist, etc.

Soundstage, Detail, Integration, Coherence, Balance...A true jack of all trades

Lack of truly deep bass (below 40hz), oh so slightly recessed midrange, need room to breath...Stands are a must

Vandersteen 1C's represent an almost silly bargain in the used market. While most tend to sell for $400 - 500, I picked mine up for $350 including stands, manual and orig. boxes...and they're mint. I challenge anyone to find a speaker that can compete with the 1C in this price range. Can't be done. The sound is smooth, detailed and well integrated. They need some space around them for best effect, but boy is it worth it. Classical, jazz and vocal music are lovely. They can also rock out when need be. A well integrated sub blended in around 50hz seems to really lift these speakers into another realm. Also, this is a product you can grow with...they just get better and better as your electronics upgrade. Bravo Richard Vandersteen!