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View Full Version : Vandersteen replacements?


Reinaldo Valenzuela
August 9th 03, 02:59 PM
I have had Vandersteen 2CE for about 10 years.
I like them a lot, natural, extended base range.

I am looking for another set of speakers.
Is there anything in the market taking their place
in terms of quality at that price range (~U$1K)?

Thanks
Reinaldo

Kurt
August 10th 03, 09:23 AM
I replaced my Vandy 2CE's about 9 months ago. I had owned
Vandersteens for about 13 years, first the 1B's and then I stepped up
to the 2CE's about three years ago. I was absolutely sold on the
Vandy sound, the baffle-less design made them sound so different from
other speakers. All other speakers sounded so "boxy" compared to the
Vandys. Both the 1's and 2's were amazingly balanced top to bottom,
and I really appreciated that the 1's didn't try to reproduce bass
that they weren't capable of reproducing, the roll off was fast and
they produced prodigious amounts of bass for their size. Once room
placement was tweaked they were an amazing speaker.

I then upgraded to the 2CE's and loved the bottom end and the "bigger"
sound. The 2's were rather large in my smallish listening room
however, and they didn't image as well as my 1's which I sold to a
friend. I also found I preferred the midrange, particularly vocals,
on the 1B's. Don't get me wrong, the 2's were a fabulous speaker, but
every time I heard a female voice on my old 1's at my buddys house...

I then had an opportunity to hear a HSU sub and was quite taken by the
power and musicality of it, and the seed was planted to buy a brand
new pair of Vandy 1C's and the HSU sub, selling off the 2CE's to help
finance the cost.

I was out on the web poking around and somehow ended up at the
Magneplanar web site. There were the MMG's staring me in the face at
$550 a pair with a 60 day money back trial. This was about $310 less
than the Vandy 1C's. I had always been intrigued by the Maggies but
had never considered them as I had heard that they were hard to place
in a room. I did a little reading and found that they need 3 feet
behind and 2 feet from sidewalls minimum. I broke out my tape measure
and lo and behold the front of my Vandy 2's was about 2 feet 10 inches
from the back wall and 2 1/2 feet from the side wall!

Seeing as the MMG's had a 60 day money back trial period and the HSU
had a 30 day money back trial, I figured I would give it a go and
ordered the MMG's. Magneplanar is a dream to deal with, by the way.
No web ordering, no email even, but an 800 number and pleasant,
informed folks at the other end. I ordered the HUS VTF-2 as well,
both on a Monday morning. I received the MMG's on Thursday and the
HSU on Friday.

Friday evening I wired everything up and pushed the switch, and WOW!
I was blown away. I have been into audio since I was a teenager (30
years) and have changed speakers many times. Usually it takes a day
or so to truly appreciate the better speaker as your ears are so used
to how the old speakers sound. Not so with the MMG/HSU combo, I was
immediately in love with the sound. I sold my Vandy 2CE's to a buddy
less than 48 hours later! (Worked out well, I can still visit my
friends and hear the Vandy sound any time I like!)

The Maggies really need about a month to reach their full potential.
I have always been somewhat of a skeptic of "burn in", but it is
absolutely true that the Maggies mellow and warm after about 3-4
weeks. It took a couple of days to get the HSU correctly placed in
the room and adjusted. I then built some stands for the MMG's that
place them vertical and 8 inches above the floor. I highly recommend
this for the MMG's, it really opens up the sound stage. The parts for
the stands cost me about $25 at Home Depot.

For the first time in my over 30 year audio habit I am completely
satisfied. It sounds corny, but it is true when I say I no longer
listen to the "stereo" but just listen to the music. The sound stage
is incredible, the HSU integrates so well that you just forget about
it, and the Maggies just open up and play music.

The MMG's are $550, the HSU VTF-2 is $500 (often you can get a
cosmetic blemished one for about $350 if you can live with the
blemish) and you get a home trial, the only real way to evaluate a
speaker system. It doesn't matter how a speaker sounds in a store, it
will sound different in your home. This gives you a chance to live
with the system for a while and decide if it is right for you.

I do not belive that you can find a better sounding setup for around
$1050 anywhere. You do need an amp capable of driving a 4 ohm load to
drive the Maggies, and the more power the better, they love power.
Again, for the first time in my life I find myself listening to the
music, instead of the system. I would urge you strongly to consider
the MMG/HSU combination.

Kurt


On Sat, 09 Aug 2003 09:59:50 -0400, Reinaldo Valenzuela
> wrote:

>I have had Vandersteen 2CE for about 10 years.
>I like them a lot, natural, extended base range.
>
>I am looking for another set of speakers.
>Is there anything in the market taking their place
>in terms of quality at that price range (~U$1K)?
>
>Thanks
>Reinaldo