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Music in the Round #9 Records in the Round

Sidebar: Records in the Round

SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartets 2 & 8
Rosalyra Quartet
Artegra ART1002 (SACD)

I've mentioned this recording before, because I've been enjoying an advance copy for months. The official release is equally superb, with powerful and dramatic performances, and is one of the two or three most transparent and vibrant chamber recordings yet. All the details of the sound of each instrument are available to the attentive ear.

CONCERTO KÖLN, SARBAND: Dream of the Orient
Archiv 474 992-2 (SACD)

This is an unusual combination of…

Vandersteen Audio 2Ce loudspeaker

Eighty thousand pairs. According to Vandersteen Audio, that's the number of Vandersteen 2s of various generations which have been sold since the loudspeaker—and company—first saw the light of day in 1977. The 2 has been continually refined along the way—a new driver here, a new crossover change there, heavy-duty stands—more changes, in fact, than the occasional changes in model designation would indicate. The 2's main calling card has always been a high perceived value for money. If anything, this calling card has only been enhanced over the years as its price remained remarkably stable…

Vandersteen Audio 2Ce loudspeaker Page 2

Sitting atop the bass enclosure is a separate, smaller cabinet holding the 4.5" midrange. This driver uses the same cone as the midrange driver in Vandersteen's more expensive Model 3, but not the same basket or magnetic structure. Another baffle on top of the midrange enclosure holds the 1" metal-dome tweeter—a different version of the tweeter used in the Model 3. The cabinet itself is constructed of MDF and critically braced—attested to by its net weight of 60 lbs.

In their promotional material, Vandersteen makes a special point of their time-coherent design. It begins with proper…

Vandersteen Audio 2Ce loudspeaker Page 3

The delay was a fortunate one. While it's always risky comparing listening impressions separated by weeks or even months—with other changes to the reference system also occurring in the interim—it is my definite feeling that the modifications have made the 2Ce a much better loudspeaker. All of the listening impressions which follow relate to the latest design.

"Hey, these are good," is the first line in my listening notes—a conclusion which never changed. If anything, the sound of the Vandersteens grew on me as I logged more and more time with them. Unlike the early 2Ce, I found the…

Vandersteen Audio 2Ce loudspeaker Page 4

It's in the midrange, of course, where a loudspeaker earns its rights to house room. I listened for all the usual suspects with the Vandersteens—boxiness, nasality or vowel-like colorations, glare, and grain. I had a hard time pinning any of them down in the Vandersteens. Glare? Yes, if you push them too hard, but any loudspeaker can be made to misbehave in this way. I found the 2Ces' performance in the upper midrange more naturally restrained than that of the 2Cis when I last spent time with the latter. Boxiness and nasality? Very hard to spot. The 2Ces may not have been as open through the…

Vandersteen Audio 2Ce loudspeaker Page 5

Comparison #1
It's no secret that at least two of our reviewers are big fans of the Spica Angelus, a loudspeaker which, in price, is a very close competitor of the Vandersteen 2Ce. I had the opportunity to compare the two in the course of this review, and formed a few impressions of my own. Leaving aside the matter of appearance—the "Ming the Merciless" look of the Angelus inspires more extreme reactions than the more conventional appearance of the 2Ce—there are significant sonic differences between the two loudspeakers.

The Spica is far leaner—almost anemic—in the low end compared…

Vandersteen Audio 2Ce loudspeaker Page 6

Comparison #2
And what of the 2Ce's big brother, the Vandersteen 3? After JA finished his review for last month's issue (March 1993), I moved them into my listening room for some head-to-head comparisons with the 2Ces. The 3s are larger, but do not look very different (the only obvious functional change is the 3's use of much more convenient—to me—screw terminals in place of the 2Ce's banana jacks).

Changing over to the 3s did not result in a dramatic shift in my impressions. They were clearly cut from the same cloth as the 2Ces. They appeared to have a bit more overall bloom and a…

Vandersteen Audio 2Ce loudspeaker Page 7

Listening to Flamenco, the 3s proved superior at reproducing the subtle low-frequency room rumble generated by the footstomps, while the 2Ce definitely excelled at relating the high-frequency reverberation reflecting off the back wall of the recording site.

So it went, recording after recording. Ultimately I preferred the 3s for their greater effortlessness and bottom-end weight, but not by much. And in some ways the 2Ce boogied in a way that the 3 did not, the smaller loudspeaker's punchier, tighter midbass moving rock selections along at a more rhythmic clip. If nothing else, the…

Vandersteen Audio 2Ce loudspeaker Sidebar 1: Specifications

Sidebar 1

Specifications: Three-way, floor-standing, dynamic loudspeaker. Drivers: 8" woofer with polycone, 10" Active Acoustic Coupler, 4.5" polycone midrange, 1" metal-dome tweeter. Frequency response: 29Hz-29kHz ±3dB. Nominal impedance: 7 ohms (4 ohms minimum). Sensitivity: 88dB/W/m.

Dimensions: 39.75" H by 16" W by 10.25" D. Net weight: 60 lbs each.

Serial numbers of samples tested: 58620Ce/58621Ce.

Price: $1295 (optional stands, $125).

Approximate number of dealers: 119.

Manufacturer: Vandersteen Audio, 116 West Fourth St., Hanford, CA 93230.…

Vandersteen Audio 2Ce loudspeaker Sidebar 2: System du jour

Sidebar 2: System du jour

Associated equipment used with the 2Ce included the Rowland Consummate preamp, C.E.C. CD transport and PS Audio Ultralink D/A processor, and Aragon 4004 power amplifier. The Hafler 9500 power amplifier was also used extensively. The loudspeaker cables were Symo (bi-wiring was used exclusively). The preamp-to-power-amp interconnect was Cardas Hexlink, the processor-to-preamp interconnect was TARA Labs RSC Master. The source material was primarily CD.