I wanted to update my earlier review of the Vandys. I have had the speakers in my system for roughly 2 1/2 years. I have completed the process of upgrading my system components to include the following Adcom and Kimber Kable components: GCD 750 CD, GFP 750 pre-amp, GFA 5400 amp, Silver streak and 8TC interconnects and cable. These excellent and revealing components further demonstrate that the Vandy's are excellent sounding speakers and a great value. I would highly recommend listening to them, even though speaker tastes are quite subjective. Howevever, I will say, that unless your speaker budget is unlimited, you should give them a try.

Wonderful for all types of music.

I can't get any work done.

Well, it should be obvious from all the previous reviews that the Vandy 1C is a great speaker. So I'm not sure I could add anything that hasn't already been stated regarding this terrific loudspeaker. But I'll try. Let me put it this way. It has taken me about thirteen years to realize that I should never own anything but Vandersteen loudspeakers. I first became involved in quality audio back in 1990 when I purchased a pair of Vandersteen 2ci's. They were great speakers but after a couple of years I convinced myself (with help from many audio reviews) that I could get great sound by spending more money. Since that time I have owned many fine loudspeakers including Apogee Centaurs, Paradigm Eclipses, Alon II's, and even Martin Logan SL-3's. But I always ended up selling them because I would become discouraged with some aspect of their sound (too bright, too thin sounding, not good for rock, etc.) or in the case of the Alon's, their looks. And all the time thinking I should have just stuck with the 2ci's. I auditioned the 1c's thinking that after owning the 2ci's, i would not be able to "settle" for the 1c's. I could not be more wrong. There has been plenty of information given on this site regarding their sound, but I will add that in my opinion it's the rich, full, yet very transparent and uncolored sound that sets the 1c, and other Vandersteens, at the head of the pack. The phase-alligned baffle-less drivers makes all the difference in the world. Too many audiophile-approved speakers do the detail, resolution, transparency thing to the hilt, yet end up sounding wimpy, thin, or dynamically compressed. Case in point, the Martin-Logan SL-3. Yes, it's true, I prefer the humble $800 1c's to the $3200 ML SL-3's. So much for the "you have to spend more to get great sound" way of thinking..

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Too many.

Look great, sound great, can't be beat at this price

Slow response, lacking bass

I've owned these speakers for almost 4 years now, and just now fell like I'm getting to know them. For the first two years I powered them with a NAD low end amp (314) and since then have used a Luxman to drive them. There aren't enough good things that I can say about these speakers. I've moved many times in the past 4 years and be it a small nook or a sprawling room, they sound phenomenal. The sound staging is by far away their best attribute. After years of listening to them, I'll admit that they sound lazy, not as crisp as some speakers, especially in regards to video, but that's not a pitfall, more a characteristic. The bass is the most sluggish, but I imagine a sub would fix that...how I drool over the Vandy subs. But I digress. If you're looking for a speaker that you can live with day to day, both in music and video settings, this is for you. Don't hesitate on these speakers, Vandersteen knows what he's doing.

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See my review from April/May 2000

See below

This is a follow up post. In the 18+ months that I have owned these speakers, I've somewhat changed my impression of them. On the downside, I have noticed that at high volume, they seem a bit compressed dynamically. Although I don't run them full range, and use a subwoofer with them (Def Tech PF-15), this may be due to my receiver's modest power output (Pioneer Elite VSX-24TX, also reviewed on this site).
On the upside, I recently added the (sand-filled) stands to these speakers and wow! I now get more of what I like about these speakers - smoother highs, more detailed highs, greater imaging, and an incredible sound stage - depth, width and hieght. The stands are an absolute must for these speakers. Even with the stands, they still cost under $900. This makes them, IMHO, one of the true bargains in audio available. Kudos to Richard Vandersteen for enabling even poor guys like me to own time and phase coherent speakers that sound so wonderful.

I am thinking seriously of adding a separate power amp for the front channels. If any Vandersteen owners have done this upgrade, I'd appreciate hearing details via email. Thanks.

(See April/May 2000 review for associated equipment list.)

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See previous review

Beautiful reproduction of well recorded music, with amazing quality at an affordable price.

None that my ears can perceive.

I just came up from my basement listening room, after spending a few hours with "Pet Sounds', "Deja Vu", and "American Beauty", and I feel compelled to update my original review of the Vandy 1C's from March, 1999. After four years with these speakers, I am still wonderfully amazed by their pure musical qualities. I have almost 700 CD's and about 300 vinyl LP's, in a full range of genres; everything from Mahler and Beethoven, to Miles and Trane, Sinatra and Basie, Ella and Vaughan, and Led Zep and the Grateful Dead. With all types of music, the Vandy 1C's continue to sing the sweetest notes and play the purest chords. These speakers are still the backbone of my musical appreciation and the basis of my daily desire to continually pull albums and discs off of the shelf.
If you are into this audiophile hobby for the main purpose of enjoying the beauty of your favorite tunes, as I am, then you owe it to yourself to give the 1C's a serious audition. You'll need some modestly priced, good quality amplification and front end components ( the 60 - 75 watt British integrated amps match really well ), and you'll be a happy listener of music for a long, long time.

Music

Diminished Very Deep Base

Well, I've owned these speakers now for over a year now, and they aren't going to be replaced by anything but Vandersteens. They have been no-fuss music-speakers that just keep singing once you set them up. I don't spend nearly as much time gawking over my speakers and sound system as when I owned ProAcs which were exciting products that demanded attention and were great for showing off. They were good musically but you became some kind of nut who spent too many hours fussing over screwing wood-screws into your carpet, filling massive steel stands full of lead shot and repositioning them every other hour to get that perfect, exciting holographic imaging with your head locked into place exactly between your exotic little stars. I don't find myself paying any attention to these speakers at all, and I just enjoy alot of great music through them. Everything just sounds great and one just taps the toes. I don't think I'm even going to bother with a surround setup for watching DVD's because I can sit out to the left of the left speaker and I don't notice the speakers then either. I find myself immersed in the movie as though the excellent stereo imaging directs my attention to the film, with voice reproduction sounding very natural and not drawing attention to itself; I worry that sorround speakers might make themselves noticable. I can't imagine being able to afford anything that I would trade these speakers in for; maybe Vandersteen 1D's when they come out. The music is clear and transparent, but also sounds like music. There is no hot treble here, only musically revealing high frequency music reproduction that very rarely draws your attention away from the music (you can notice that the treble drivers are alloy dome units if you want to, but won't if you are not trying to listen to the drivers). They are dynamic even when driven by my 33 watt-per-channel Majik Amp from Linn, and music is still emmersive at surprisingly low volume, so small apartment living doesn't have to be musically boring. The speakers just draw you into the music. I still have no complaints about thes speakers after one year.

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Natural, balanced, and involving sound. Attractive in black cloth and light oak. Solidly built.

Not a lot of output below 40 Hz.

These speakers have intensified and deepened my interest in music. I listen to and enjoy a broad range of music, but my passion is mostly for musics that are usually categorized as jazz.

These modestly-sized floorstanders sit on Vandersteen sand-filled bases with spikes. I am driving them with a NAD 3300PE 60-watt integrated ampm, connected by a single run of DH Labs T-14 speaker cable.

Various heat ducts, windows, doorways, a staircase, and my wife's aesthetics have severely limited my speaker placement options. My Vandersteens are located about 2 ft. to the left and to the right of a corner stereo cabinet/TV stand on a plane that is about 1 foot in front of that cabinet. With this very non-optimal placement, bass extension and, to a lesser extent, imaging are compromised, compared to a friend's more orthodox Vandersteen 1b setup. But my Vandersteens still present the music nicely with more than adequate imaging and superior tonal balance.

Drums, cymbals, pianos, saxophones, trumpets, guitars, basses,... all sound natural and are easily separable in ensembles. Voices are not burdened by sibbilance or holowness. Though many people call the Vandersteen 1Cs a "forgiving" or "musical" speaker, differences in recordings, masterings, and (with Lps) pressings are quite noticeable with these speakers. So while these speakers have brought me closer to the music, they also make any flaws in its production more apparent.

A good subwoofer takes this fine speaker to another level, giving a much fuller presentation of the lowest octave. Not every recording requires it, but enough do to make it a worthwhile purchase for me (My friend with the other Vandersteen has other musical priorities). I just got an A.C.I. Titan II LE subwoofer a few days ago and I already am thrilled with it. Another friend has a Vandersteen 2WQ subwoofer in his much higher-end system. That also sounds excellent, but my placement requires a steeper crossover than the Vandersteen subwoofer provides, and I think the Titan II LE may prove to be a better subwoofer overall when it is fully broken in. (I also liked almost as much the more expensive RELs that I heard.)

I think that the Vandersteen 1C is a great audio bargain and a wonderful window into music.

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Worth every penny; no real weaknesses at the price.

Botton register of the piano doesn't quite register, but I've only noticed this on the Eyes Wide Shut soundtrack.

I just have to update my previous review in light of the fact that my speakers are now broken in. The tweeters on these speakers are very impressive at the price. Any metalic taint is now gone and voices and cymbals are now very natural and real with no metalic artifacts called attention to themselves. Listen to Getz/Gilberto (Verve Records V6-8545, 1997 20 bit remaster) to hear what I am talking about. This album puts a nice test on any stereo. The voices are very real and present, even when I am sitting at my computer between the speakers. The album tests a system's "boogie factor" also, and the 1C's are excellent in this regard with the LINN Majik IL; this is a synergistic combination that is proving to be well worth the money. I will upgrade my Rotel CD player to a Linn and keep the amp/spkr I have now for a long time. My speakers are toed in with the inside corners 15 inches from the wall behind and the outside corners 16 inches out. Bass is satisfyingly realistic and doesn't boom; and can display some impact, even with the LINN Majik Amp. These speakers present all music as music and strike me as being good entry-level high-end speakers for those that feel a need to hear everything. The imaging is very impressive with the male and female voices on the above-mentioned album being presented with realism and natural balance; the sax on that album sounds very real and impressive and sounds like it is just behind my computer monitor. The Beatles' Rubber Soul is very musical despite being mixed rather strangely, so these are good art-rock speakers for those that don't pay any attention to imaging and the like.

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I got mine hooked upto Bryston B60, Cal DX2, and Sonic Frontiers Assemblage DAC2. Sounds good. Wonderfully open and clear highs, satisfying bass, and excellent imaging and soundstaging. And the sound is wonderfully sweet for a solid state system. I know of no other speakers in this price range which can match versatility and quality of these vandersteen 1cs. Audition these speakers for an extended period of time. Its laid back nature may not impress right away, but they are wonderful speakers. Highly recommended.

Detailed and rich sound with good imaging and credible soundstaging. These speakers do every thing pretty well, although they do not excel in any one area. But what can you expect for $800? You can do far worse with $2000. These speakers match up extremely well with tube gear as well as stuff from McCormack. Good speakers. Five stars.