accuacy, bass

placement and set up

It took quite a while to unpack and set up the large speakers and about 6 weeks for them to sound their best in my large den. Also they need good speaker wire, the best you can afford, not like some other speakers. Be sure and bi-wire if possible. But after the trial of setting up and wearing in, the speakers sounded wonderful and accurate especially on the mid-to lower bass. Turntable music was incredible and cd/dvd was something also-try one of dave matthews cd for a treat.

Similar Products Used:

2ce's(old)

Full range, coherence

86 dB sensitivity

This speaker is one of the best values out there. Its full range and you don't need a subwoofer unless you like to shake your house down. The treble and midrange are very refined, It does not exaggerate the highs unlike most speaker brands. It presents a slightly warm yet detailed sound. Instruments and voices sound natural as it should be, maybe its because its time-coherent.

Its design is very good, that's why so many of them have been sold. Being "boxless" it presents a very neutral and transparent sound. However, it does need space around them or it'll negate the "boxless" design. Sounds best without any toeing in unless the speaker is too close to a corner.
I recommend people to listen to these speakers before making any purchase.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan, KEF

Excellent sounding full-range, floor standing speaker. Throws wide soundstage, musical, relaxed sound - no harsh or etched treble.

Fairly large, as a floor standing speaker this may not be
suitable for small rooms.

I purchased these speakers for a two channel system in a new dedicated sound room constructed in my basement. I have Vandersteen 2ce's in an HT system as well, so can also offer these for some comparison.

The Vandersteen 2ce signatures are a great all around speaker and offer a tremendous value in the below $2k price range. I have listened to the speakers in a number of different system set ups and always draw me into the music. I don't have what might be considered a high end system, but the Vandy's always produce lifelike sound,
particularly in the mid-range and treble.

Bass response is good, but I am currently driving the speakers with a small Arcam integrated amplifier, bi-wired
with Kimber 4tc speaker cable. I expect that a more powerful SS amp would result in a tighter more articulate base response.

These speakers are definitely worth a listen for HT and two channel systems. They do much right and very little wrong.

Current System

Arcam 6 Integrated Amp
Rotel 951 CD Player
Thorens 318 mkII Turntable w/ Sumiko Blue Point Special
Vandersteen 2ce Signature Speakers
Kimber 4tc speaker cables (biwired)
Kimber PBJ interconnects

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan 1.6, Proac, B&W

Sweet and entirely musical

None.

I didn't mean to mislead but one is required to fill out the blanks above. I don't own these and in fact I've not yet heard them. If those who have, say that they are a small improvement on the non-Signature 2Ces, that's fine. I just want to say, to those who love "classical" music and opera, as I do---as well as the likes of Emmylou Harris, Lois Armstrong, and on and on---that the Vandersteen 2Ce is a truly marvellous speaker AND, at the price, a truly astonishing value. I first heard them about 6 years ago at a dealership which seemed to be trying to hide them, as it was selling very expensive speakers as well. (It has since dropped the Vandys; must be frustrating trying to sell Martin-Logans et al. with these things getting in the way....) I had to DEMAND to audition the 2Ces, once I saw a brochure on them and realized what Richard Vandersteen was trying to do vis a vis edge defraction. I am extremely skeptical about speakers, most of which are in my opinion pretty bad, never mind the price. I auditioned these at first with the Karl Boehm recording of "The Magic Flute." It was astonishing. I was "on stage" with Roberta Peters, Kurt Moll, etc. I dragged two friends down there to hear these things. Same reaction. I suspect that those few who have written about these things being "bass shy" are addicted to exaggerated bass. I also played the great Bach organ pieces on these; ALL the bass is there, but tight and defined. Not a trace of "edge" on the human voice. Pianos sound like pianos. And so forth. GREAT speakers and a steal to boot!

As for related equipment, perhaps this would be a good time for me to "plug" the B & K monoblock amps and their gprgeous preamp I have and love.... These things too are a "steal" compared with most of the other stuff "out there," and wonderful. As for wire and interconnects, Doc Greiner [former chairman, University of Wisconsin Electrical Engineering Dept.] has tried vainly for years to put most of that nonsense to rest and so I see no point in my trying again. Oh, well: Wire is just wire; save your money for the important stuff!

Similar Products Used:

Too may to list

The new 2Ce Signatures are great! They have a new tweeter (the one from the 3A) and a updated crossover. I think the new tweeter solved the rolloff problem that some were concerned with in the past. Without getting into too much detail I will say that of all the speakers in this price range these are the most real sounding by far. Some have a little more impact but the Vandys still come out on top. You need to listen to them in your home to really appreciate them. I was using Adcom amplification with fine results but I just purchased a Krell KVA-300i and now, WOW! 5stars and then some!

I just got back from spending a few hours with these "little" marvels..... ...while a few hours in a dealers dedicated listening room does not a complete review make, I hope that I can at least shed some light on what you might expect from these speakers....I brought my own source equipment along to perform the listening test, so I can at least remove those elements from the mix...the only thing different was the room (and I dare say that the dealers room was a LOT better than my own with fewer room problems)...I listened both far field and near field with these and preferred to listen near field. The first thing that you can say about these speakers is that they are utterly revealing...they are the finest speaker I have yet encountered at this price point for reproducing what is fed to them....if you have problems upstream in your source components, you are very quickly going to find out when listening to these....they showed the neutrality but very slight hardness in the mid and treble that the Bryston is known for...they didn't hide it or mask that it was there, just let everything come through....
Good soundstage (although not quite as large, deep, or defined as others I have had in my system..but then again, those speakers cost 3-5 times as much as these)....accurate reproduction that wasn't sweet or too bright...they simply made music....especially good on vocals from Sarah Mclachlin, Diana Krall, Holly Cole, Jewel, Fiona Apple, Tracey Chapman, Paula Cole, etc....good with rock and acoustic as well...there isn't a whole lot of bass there, but what is present is accurate and definitely not one-notey (is that an actual word???)...they also did a pretty decent job of making piano sound real, a task many other speakers I have listened to failed miserably at....overall, an excellent choice at this price point.....

Associated equipment:

Bryston 4BST amp
Sony CDP-790 CD player (heavily modded with all new analog section)
Custom design single-ended open loop FET preamp (very similar but BETTER than top Conrad Johnson preamps.....IMO of course!!)
Transparent cables

I auditioned the 2Ce Sig's at great length. Since then, I have listened and researched many other speakers in this price range, including NHT, B&W, and several mini-monitor/sub combos. Many have initially sounded better than the Vandy's, but only on first impression...the problem with buying speakers is you need to judge how they will sound to you over several years, and not how they sound the first time you hear them. Some units were brighter in the high end (NHT's), some where more powerful (B&W)...in the end, however, I see that in time the faults with these other units will grow on me...the Vandy's are an all-around speaker that seems incapable of displeasing a listener. I've become convinced that if I can't afford the new signatures, I'll purchase a pair of used 2's...

What a delicious sound! A very appealing sound. Treble is just right. Midrange is slightly forward, bass if full. Yet these speakers don't kick enough for me. But they are great for the money. If you want a full-range speaker for $1500, these must be on your list. So listenable. An opposite of Thiels.

I've owned the Vandersteen 2Ce Signature speakers for about two months and they sound better each time I listen to them. Jazz, rock,folk, blues and symphonic - the Vandys do justice to it all. I've got them paired with an Acurus A200 amp, RL11 pre-amp and ACD-11 cd player. Kudos to Harry at Audio Dimensions in Royal Oak

I am buying these speakers this month. Summertime seems to be a good time to buy audio equipment, because even the high-end stores in town are having sales.My impression of the Vandersteens is that they are absolutely the best speakers for the money. I listened to Paradigm, Alon and others, but found these to be the most enjoyable and listenable speakers of the bunch. The Alons were a bit more accurate, but didn't have the impact the Vandersteens did. I listened to Chamber music, symphonic, choral and jazz vocals on these speakers, and couldn't be more pleased. They fulfill my need for clean and accurate sound for classical music, but also have the guts to do rock right as well.
My only hesitation is that there doesn't seem to be a huge difference between the quality of sound of speakers in the $5-800 range and these speakers which are on sale for $1495, including speaker stands. By the way, buy the 2CE Signatures, rather than the 2CE's...they incorporate feautures from the bigger #3 series that the plain 2CE's do not.