VANDERSTEEN 2ce signatures?

The posts by Abstract7, Elgordo and Steve440 clearly point to the widely varing opinions that exist in our hobby! I come down on the same side of the fence as Steve440. Vandersteen represents a GREAT value, you will be hard pressed to exceed their preformance at twice the price at each price point in the Vandie line. Regarding amplification I have always used solid state with my vandies (started with 2CE's, currently 3A Signitures), but Richard Vandersteen uses and demos his speakers with Audio Research tube amps. Check with the guys at Audio Connection for some tube alternatives (VTL and ConradJohnson come to mind)

You will find Vandies to be revealing of upstream equipment, they will not grab you as a Thiel or B&W might, but you will find the long term listenablity to be unbeatable, Vandies make MUSIC.

First, let me say that at this price point there are a number of players worth considering. All of them have their pluses and minuses, so picking one involves choosing what to trade off. While this is somewhat true at other price points, it is a very obvious fact at this one. After lengthy auditions of a number of speakers at this price point I bought none of them. Included were the Thiel 1.5 (also the 2.2), Magnepan 1.6, Vandersteen 2ce/2ce Signatures, as well as various speakers from Martin Logan, B&W, etc.

The Maggies had the best imaging, the Thiels were most accurate and all the others had their positives, too. In this group the Vandies were the overall best for my wants (jazz ensembles, acoustic instruments, some rock; SS amp, tube pre, CD only).

The 'Steens were a bit on the soft, laid back side. Without first hand experience to back it up, that characteristic leads me to suggest driving them with SS or "accurate" sounding tubes. Too tubey an input might not be pleasing in the long term.

In the end, just as I was ready to buy, the Vandersteen dealer pushed the wrong button one time too many. That led to my auditioning yet another speaker. It was a bit more expensive, but was absolute the first (in my price range) that simply did nothing glaringly wrong. I took them home that day and have been happy ever since. Unfortunately, the manufacturer is now out of business or I would steer you to them (though there is a pair of new Twos listed on Audiogon that would be a great buy). I'm still very happy with my purchase which was the Hales Revelation Three. Good luck!

I use rogue audio m-120's with my vandies and it works well.
Rogue amps are on the neutral side vs the lush side of tubes and they have good bass control. I have used SS amps and I find that they give bigger bass but not necessarily better sound overall. This way I kinda get the best of both worlds.

I AGREE,THE ABOVE POSTS GIVE ACCURATE ADVICE.I HAVE OWNED VANDY 3A AND SIGS.AND THEY ARE ONE OF THE BEST VALUES OUT THERE.IN THIS PRICE RANGE I WOULD ALSO LISTEN TO THE ALON LINE WHICH I CURRENTLY OWN AND VERY HAPPY WITH. REGARDS,RICH

Got to put in my 2 cents on this one. I'm a Vandersteen owner since 1988, when I bought a pair of 2Ci's. Eventually moved on to the 3A's, and now have 3A Signatures. My listening room is roughly 12'x17' with 8' ceilings, and my Vandies sound great! Have gotten many positive comments about the system from visitors to my home. The 3A Sig's are driven by a Bryston 4B-ST amp, which is a fine performer with these speakers. I have been a high-end audio salesman at various times in my life (sold B&W, Klipsch, JBL, Martin Logans, etc.), and I still think the Vandersteen line represents one of the best values in audio.