Vincents and Vintage Vandersteens

[house_of_abernathy]

My first post here! I'm the second owner of these (guessing) 40 year old 2C's which I absolutely adore. I replaced both rear-facing woofers with Vandesteen supplied drivers about a year ago, and they just sound fantastic. I'm thinking maybe in a year or two I'll try to take them to a dealer and upgrade to the new 3A Signatures if I'm financially fortunate enough to do so. I have no idea what kind of difference to expect, but I can't imagine my current 2Cs have too much time left. I'm staying in the Vandersteen family tho, as I've based my whole system from headphones to outlets around the Vandy color palette. Thanks for having me!

[MNSki]

Thanks for sharing and cool system!  I like the turntable mount. I went from the 2ce to 3a Sig. They have the same footprint but are a few inches higher. I was hoping my wife wouldn’t notice the switch, but she did... Most obvious difference to me was in the bass. You may not find yourself using your sub if you make the change.  Enjoy!

[bkeske]

Very nice clean set-up. I have 2CE Sig I's (probably from the early-mid 2000's) and love them. Also have 1C's, which were my first Vandersteen's, and I've been smitten since, and quickly upgrading to the 2's.

Enjoy the music.

 

[GdnrBob]

It's always nice to see Vintage Vandersteen speakers still doing what they do best.

A testament to great design.

In fact, the Model 2's were what got me interested in Vandersteen in the first place 40 years ago.

 Bob 

Edited May 4, 2021 by GdnrBob

[ctsooner]

I’d audition the newest signature 2’s bs the 3’s. You may be surprised. The big step up is the Treo for my ear. 

[house_of_abernathy]

That's very helpful to hear, as the new 2A Sig III's were my first thought. I have to imagine there's been many improvements since my 2Cs were built, but assumed if I were to make the jump, the new 3a's would be the most significant. The 3's definitely stretch my budget though, so maybe I try the new 2's first. 

[house_of_abernathy]

1 hour ago, ctsooner said:

I’d audition the newest signature 2’s bs the 3’s. You may be surprised. The big step up is the Treo for my ear. 

That's very helpful to hear, as the new 2A Sig III's were my first thought. I have to imagine there's been many improvements since my 2Cs were built, but assumed if I were to make the jump, the new 3a's would be the most significant. The 3's definitely stretch my budget though, so maybe I try the new 2's first. 

[Drew769]

Love the look of the system!  I especially like those earlier stands.  Very cool.   I also started with Model 2’s.  They are terrific speakers!  If you like what you have now, the new ones will blow your mind.

I think the Treo/Quatro series has a very different vibe to it.  Model 2’s have always sounded more ethereal to me, with the sound emerging from somewhere inside or behind the speakers and extending in a 3D space into the room.  I had the Treos next, and found them to be exceptional low level listening speakers at night.  I would get oodles of detail at any volume level, and the sound was very much “on the nose,” out ahead of the speakers.  I didn’t enjoy them quite as much at louder volumes, although for short periods they could certainly create those “wow” moments.  I find my current 5As to be a perfect blend of the two designs - smooth and three dimensional, yet articulated and with plenty of punch when  called upon.  I also love the Model 7 and those are my end game speakers (someday).

Edited May 5, 2021 by Drew769

[Bill]

I had the sig-3a's for about 20yrs.  You'll definitely get more deep bass, but the mid bass lacks some punch IMO.  I'm now running the quartos which is a huge improvement all around.

[ctsooner]

The Treo on up is a different animal and needs to be for the price. 

[Huang]

I like the look. The adjective clean comes to mind. It looks like every thing belongs there.

[GdnrBob]

I owned a pair of 3a sigs, but bought @ctsooner's Treo's.

A definite upgrade in refinement over the 3a sig's. I have a pair of Sub 3's to add the low notes.

Though the Quatro's aren't much larger, the Treo's fit my space better, and I can hide the subs easily. I should post a pic but I think Mr. V. would have a conniption. I wish I had more room to give my Treo's the best space, but they have to fit in an area for living.

 

[Richard Vandersteen]

If you are happy with the performance, show it as it will be a tribute to their flexability!  Lord knows we get enough coments on how dificult they are to get set up.

RV

[John Gallup]

Nice looking system. Wondering how you get current in and sound out of the turntable without any visible wires 😀.

[house_of_abernathy]

13 minutes ago, John Gallup said:

Nice looking system. Wondering how you get current in and sound out of the turntable without any visible wires 😀.

Thank you!! Was  simple since I have dry wall (not plaster).  Just made a small hole in the wall behind the TT and another behind the amp. I run the interconnects through the wall, so it's all wired as normal.  I just upgraded my phono cart last week so my old 2Cs have a whole new sound to them. A pretty incredible speaker for their age.

[John Gallup]

14 minutes ago, house_of_abernathy said:

Was  simple since I have dry wall (not plaster).  Just made a small hole in the wall behind the TT and another behind the amp. I run the interconnects through the wall, so it's all wired as normal. 

I have a Rega RP-3 turntable that I've tweaked in every possible way. I bought it early on in my latest audiophile addiction phase, and was surprised to read in the manual for the mounting shelf that you should mount it to an exterior wall. Since Rega's an English company an "exterior" wall would most likely be masonry, unlike the 2 x 6 studs in this house (and many others in the US).

So when I moved the whole audio system to a different wall in my listening room a few years ago, I cut a hole in the gypboard where the TT was to go, and added some bridging between the studs, then patched back the drywall and mounted the shelf so it was screwed into either a stud or the bridging. Can't say I heard a radical difference in sound quality, but then I hardly ever do systematic testing when I make these changes. This one certainly didn't cost much. As I'm often fiddling with the TT interconnects and  power supply wiring, I haven't hidden them in the nice way you have.

[house_of_abernathy]

Yes, I had the same issue since I was dealing with cheap/weak drywall. The studs were slightly too wide, so I had to aim just right and use super heavy duty drywall anchors. I still hold the bottom edge when I need to press and hold the power button to counter the pressure out of paranoia of it all crashing down. I should have added a bridge for support like you've done. 

[ctsooner]

It's amazing ho easily and inexpensively you can make positive changes.  Racks matter and the best I've ever heard are the HRS platforms and stands, but it's not easy to just set up racks and try to 'listen' to them back and forth.