I have started shopping for a stereo system recently. After listening to seveal system setup, I have nailed down to the following candidates.
Main Speakers : B&W CDM 7NT vs Vandersteen 1C surrounds/Sub : heavily depends on main speakers Receiver : Arcam DVR200 vs NAD T762 vs Marantz SR7400
My main struggle is on the main speaker selection. Before yesterday, I have never heard of the brand Vandersteen, so I was skeptical when they showed me the speaker. But after listening to it, it really impresses me. It is really open. On the other hand, the B&W is comfortable and "sound" good. The main problem is that those two are with different dealer and their demo room is totally different. The B&W dealer uses either a NAD or ARCAM to demo the system which I like, but the Vandersteen dealer uses a high-end tube amp with an "apparently" better sound room. As a result, I can't really tell the difference between the two.
On the receiver, the choice is comparatively easier. I prefer NAD because of its balance between A/V and music.
Any help is greatly appreciated!!!
timn8ter
Posted on
Don't get too thrown off by the tube amp. Solid state and tube amps reproduce signals exactly the same way in a non-clipping mode. The big difference occurs when the amps are pushed to clipping. A tube amp will produce even-order harmonics in this state which give it a "warmer" sound. I use both depending on what I'm doing. Have them play a piece of music you are intimately familiar with and one that is challenging to systems, i.e., lots of dynamics, lots of different instruments, vocals, like Beethoven's Fifth. Don't concentrate so much on the equipment, but focus on the music. Which system draws you in? Which system is less fatiquing to your ears? Can you sense the mood of the performers? Good luck.
Funny you should mention those two. I purchased Vandersteen 2cI (predecessor of 2cE) speakers around 1989 or 1990. Love them and don't want to part with them. For the price I haven't found anything better for it's imaging; not only left to right, but front to back. A couple of weeks ago I retired my 25 year old Yamaha receiver and got a new Yamaha A/V receiver, so I'm now shopping for the rest of the home theater system. I couldn't find Vandersteens locally so I went on a hunt for a center channel speaker and purchased a B&W LCR600 on Saturday. So far it's a wonderful match to my Vandersteens. To make a long story short I've been in love with my Vandersteens for a long time, but the B&W matches very well with them, which tells me that they're sonically similar.
One other driving factor could be customer service. Shortly after getting my Vandersteens I had a question about biamping vs. biwiring, so I called Vandersteen. I waited on hold about a minute and expected to speak to a technician. Instead the person picked up and said "Richard Vandersteen here, how can I help you?" You don't see service like that very often.