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Set-Up Advice for Vandersteen 1Cs

I'm beginning to piece together a system and having previously owned a pair of Vendersteen 1Bs back in the late 90's before I sold all my equipment I purchased a pair used 1Cs for $299 and $80 shipping... hopefully this was a good price.

I have a small apartment and these will be in the living room with the TV and I would like the sound from my TV, Cable, Apple TV or Roku 3, Blu-Ray, a DAC connected to my ipad/iphone/macbook pro, and eventually a turntable to be able to play through this system. I plan I have zero interest in a surround sound system, so multichannel is not a concern.

My understanding is that I should probably get an HDMI switch with audio out since things like the Apple TV and Roku 3 don't have audio out and I'll want the audio from those to play through the system. This area is new to me so any advice here would be greatly appreciated.

To complicate things I would LIKE to have a tube amp if possible. I am willing to go solid state, but I would much much prefer tube.

My budget is somewhere in the $500-$750 range. I am planning on buying used equipment to get the most bang for my buck. Something with a phono input would be best, but obviously I can't have everything.

I've been completely out of the loop and this was totally a spur of the moment purchase for me but I don't have a tremendous amount of time or disposable income so I'm looking to greater minds than my own for assistance.
greatwhitebat
elevick
2,439 posts
 
check out peachtree idecco. Hybrid tube pre/power/dac.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
If the speakers are in good shape and came with the bases, you got a very good deal. I sold mine a few years ago and got over $500 plus shipping. Just follow the setup instructions in the manual and you should have no problems getting great sound.

For the rest of it, I would keep it simple. Keep the audio and video separate. Any gear that is designed for more than 2 channels would be a waste. Starting with video, if your TV has enough HDMI inputs for all of your sources, you're done. If not, just buy a switcher.

For audio, I'll recommend something a little different. I would start off with a good quality solid state integrated. In your price range, I like NAD because they give you a lot of options. Even though its not tube, it will still sound very good. What makes NAD somewhat unique is that the amp and preamp sections are connected externally with rca jumpers. This allows you to use it just as an amp, or just as a preamp. So when you go to upgrade, you can just by one piece at a time. The NAD also has phono, remote, dac options.... and other features you may need.
ctsooner
2,104 posts
 
I have 2 British made and highly respected Onix integrateds that sounded awesome with the Vandy 1 that you have. that's how I heard them originally at Ocean State Audio where I bought them. they are a bit lower than you want to go, lol. Their mids are really nice. Typical British sound at a fraction of the Naim costs. I'm a tube guy (also selling my full function Quicksilver preamp as well as the Silver Mono's) and I loved the Onix integrateds and that's why I have two to sell. Let me know if interested. Google the Onix integrateds and you'll see what I'm talking about. Models: OA22 and OA32.
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