wet blankets, CSNY and what a difference a DAC makes

About a year ago I purchased a pair of VanderSteen 1ci ’ s.

I’m not so sophisticated that I can go into a store and buy "what sounds good" - I need the reviews too.


One comment that reviewers said was that Vandersteens sound like a speaker with a wet - blanket thrown over them.

I’ve never understood the comment and still don’t.

If it is a reference to the high end, it is the exact opposite of my experience. I found the the 1ci shrill at first, actually hurting my ears on the high end. I’m not sure what changed - placement, break - in, or fiddling with the tweeter adjustment, but that’s better now.

It can’t be a reference to volume. My teenage son, who I swear has bionic hearing, tells me my music is "really loud".

And - since the purchase of a second-hand Teac DAC - I’ve found the bass UNBELIEVABLE. I mean, I had no idea a dac could do so much. I’m talking feeling the bass even at low volume levels.

Even a CSNY CD I purchased some 25 years ago was somewhat redeemed (although I’m still convinced the engineer accidentally pushed the sliders to "off" for all frequencies above 2k).

What next? I don’t know if you, dear reader of my post, experience this, but I find the more I improve the sound of my system, the more I want to continue to improve it.

I guess first off a set of improved tubes for my amp.

Then ... Vandersteen 3? Harbeths?

Ahh well.