After owning these speakers for nearly 2 years, I can still say that I am thoroughly pleased. I would recomend these to anyone interested in speakers within the $1000 dollar range.

Very open and transparent tremendous soundstage depth full range

dark and somewhat detached tonal charcter bass can appear sluggish and slow at times

Upon getting the "upgrade" bug once again I decided to audition these highly regarded boxless speakers. And I can see why Vandersteen has a loyal following. These were very open and transparent from the get go. On jazz with female vocals they sounded deep,rich,and full...however the bass was a tad slow compared to other comparable models (maggie mg12). In fact, at times vocals sounded too dark...and a bit rolled off for my tastes. Overall these are minor flaws, and although I decided to pass, Vandersteen is a quality product and must audition at this level.

Similar Products Used:

vandy 1c,maggie 12,spendor ls3/5a (awesome mini monitor)

Very listenable, believeable depth and punch to bass, tweeter levels controls quite handy, large soundstage, doesn't get left behind with each equipment upgrade

For this kind of money, only nitpick things: midrange recessed a bit (only two way in model line, 2Ce on up are 3 ways+ with separate midrange), placement critical. Well worth even $870.00 (with must have stands) new, but amazing value used.

I had my equipment locked up for 6 years (been busy), and slowly got them 'out of the closet' in the past 1 1/2 years. Upgraded nearly everything..only my SAE tuner remains now in the system...all for the better. I have always paid more attention to the equipment in front and less towards the back. I have found a dollar spent closer to the front is more cost effective than further down the chain. So it was that everything from the duplex outlet on (now hospital grade) was changed in the system and my speakers were last to get a lookover. I broke down and started listening to speakers. I have a small listening room and don't play loud, so I drifted twards small hi quality speakers. I ended up with Quad 11L's...Quads new dynamic bookshelf. They were nice and easy to listen to...they went surprisingly deep, but hey, there are limits to a small box and 5" woofer. I ran them active biamped (my amps have active crossovers built-in). A happy dude for $700.00 + $200.00 for nice stands. Didn't break the bank and the music now lived. Well, my Dad loves music, but too cheap to pay for it (hehe - a family trait). He has a small apartment, so I began assembling a nice system arond my old equipment with enhancements and attention paid to cables and the like. The finish was so beautiful on the Quads I gave them to him. He loves the look of everything and the sound and...I am a happy son. Happy, but now speakerless. Though I dug the Quads, they were lacking bass. Down to my local dealer to listen to small quality floorstanders under $1000. I listen to everything - and everything is underwhelming. Well, these folks sell some nice used gear and my salesman suggests I listen to a clean Vandersteen 1C pair that came in. We listen, my draw drops! That's music! Small footprint, but quite open and flowing just right. What? $425.00??? How does Vandersteen do it for so little? I haven't found these guys to be 'laid back' (as some have suggested), but 'just right'. I am now a fan of this great little speaker...and if you looking to spend $1000 on speakers soon, go grab a listen to these great value speakers. Equipment: Norh Multiamps (bridged), Dynaco PAS-4 Preamp, Sony DVP-S7700 DVD/CD, MSB Gold Link III and Power Base, Thorens TD-316 TT/Shure V15MxVR, PS Audio P300 Power Plant & Ultimate Outlet, LAT International cables all around

Similar Products Used:

Camber 5.0ti, Quad 11L, Polk's, JM Labs, ATI's, Legacy bookshelf

Textured soundstage. Imaging..

Just wanted to update my prior review with some notes about my experiences trying different amplifiers with these speakers. Opinions in my prior review still stand: The 1Cs are an exceptional value IMHO. This post is mostly for other newbies like me who might still be searching for amplification. One quick bit of advice for other newbies: If you’ve never heard a tube amp with these speakers or elsewhere (I hadn’t), try to audition a few before you make a purchase decision. You might not prefer the sound, but it’s worth experiencing just so you know for sure. Anyhoo, here’s my quick rundown on amps. As usual, just IMHO, YMMV, etc.: Yamaha AX-592 100-watt integrated (Now the AX-596, I believe.) Circa $500. Tonal balance with hefty bottom-end makes the 1Cs sound BIG and powerful. Soundstage positioned more forward than others, though not super deep. Crisp treble that’s somehow more forgiving than others. Probably a good choice for folks whose collections skew towards rock. Though not a slouch with other genres either. NAD C350 50-watt integrated. Circa $400.: Perhaps a bit more “accurate” and detailed than the Yamaha, less bass plumpness. Tonal balance pitched more towards mids/highs than the Yamaha, which makes it less forgiving of crappy recordings. May be a good choice for jazz and/or classical listeners who *occasionally* throw on a cleanly-recorded pop album. Audio Refinement Complete 50-watt integrated. $1,000. Certainly the most liquid, velvety midrange of the SS bunch. Quick, light and bouncy. Stellar female vocal presenation. However, positions the soundstage pretty far back -- and so do the Vandies -- which gives a back-of-the-hall perspective. (Less involving for me.) Also, seemed to undernourish the 1Cs in the bass dept. and altered timbres toward the pinched or whiny side of things. A good amp, just maybe not the best match. JoLida 302B 50-watt tube integrated. $950. Definitely sounds the most “spacious” of all the amps. Sounds reverberate in the hall most realistically. Less attack than solid state, but seems like there's more "body." Rich harmonics and timbres, especially on horns. Killer vocals. The tradeoff: Not much bass slam, though the bass is very tuneful and the tonal balance is pleasant. Mids/highs are smooth. My favorite for jazz/classical and no slouch with rock either. More extensive review in amp section is pendin

Open sound, good detail, great value.

Quite a long break in period. It must have taken a good 6 weeks to really sound great.

I purchased these speakers about 18 months ago as part of an overall upgrade of my sound system. These speakers are wonderful and by far the best money I have spent on any single audio component to date. I originally purchsed them to go with the Rotel 1070 amp and pre amp , a Marantz CD player and an old Rotel turntable .The first thing I notcied about the Vandersteen's was that they filled the whole room with music . The Camber speakers, which the 1C's replaced were good but very centered in their sound.From the next room I noticed the a very open and full sound coming from the 1C's. The 1C's do a wonderful job in bringing out the best in mid fi equipment and hiding some of its flaws .I listened to the Rotel amp and pre amp through Vandersteen 2CE signatures and the 1C's . The 1C's seem to sound better to me.The 2's sounded a bit empty with the Rotel. As I began to update my system further the 1C's just got better and better.First I added a VPI turntable with a Grado Platnum cartridge .The 1C's responded very well. I began to hear things I never heard before on many Lp's. Over the past 8 months I have listened to the 1C's with the Rogue 88 amp,Audio Research D115 amp(used)and the Quicksilver mini mites as I looked to upgrade my electronics . The 1C's sounded wonderful with all 3 of these amps, especially the D115 and mini mites. Both of these amps were paired with the Audio Reaserch SP16 pre amp.To me the 1C's sound wonderful with tubes. I recently upgraded my electronics to the Audio Research SP16 pre amp and the 100.2 power amp.These speakers have once again gone up to a new level. The detail is rich and the imaging is outstanding.I could see and feel Bobby Hutcherson and Richard Davis as if they were in the room with me on Hat and Beard from the Eric Dolphy recording Out To Lunch. For speakers under $1000 I don't think you can go wrong getting a pair of Vandersteen 1C's. They are great for mid priced systems as well as some more expensive systems.I mighty get a pair of 2Ce Signatures in the future. For now the 1C's are great! Current System VPI MK IV turntable JMW 10'tonearm Dynavector 20xh cartridge Rega Planet 2000 CD player Audio Research SP16 pre amp Audio Research 100.2 power amp Vandersteen 1C speakers

Similar Products Used:

Camber Speakers

Good highs and lows, well balance sound when listening at close range(8ft)...not harsh to the ears

none

Beautiful natural sounding speaker... You can listen at low levels and the sound is tremendous. For the price of this one I got a steal. Beats high end speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, Bose,

These comments are based on listening mainly to classical, choral and female voice. The Vandersteen 1C just gets better with time and better gear. Spacious, tender as a new leaf, with the right equipment. I now use an Arcam 8SE CD player, Arcam 9C pre-amp, Arcam 9P power amp, Nordost wire (cheapest model), and a Target stand. As I upgrade, the sound improves each time so I have no urge to change the speakers. For anyone on a rug, especially over a wood floor, I got a dramatic improvement by putting the Vandies on granite tiles, half an inch thick. I did have trouble getting superior results in a small room. In that case, I''d suggest getting a really good bookshelf speaker (eg Spendor 3/5), at least for my kind of music. Also, be patient about break-in time. My 1C was okay almost out of the box but I think it continues to get better after many months. I moved once, with no problems. Keep the boxes if you possibly can. Bottom line, Vandersteen is a safe bet.

Tremendous imaging, warm yet detailed sound, excellent value

low bass

I've waited for about a year to post this review - I find that too often reviewers on this site get a new piece of gear and post a glorious review of his new purchase almost immediately during the initial love-in which motivated him to purchase the item in the first place. I wanted to live with this speaker for a while before reviewing. Now my thoughts:

The Vandersteen 1C is possibly the best speaker at or around $800 (including stands, which are highly recommended). This speaker provides outstanding imaging and soundstaging coupled with a warm, yet detailed sound. In short, these speakers sound very natural. They are somewhat sensitive to placement, but the owners manual is simply outstanding, providing a wealth of information on issues such as placement, lean angle, and others, which helps you find optimal placement locations. I've never seen a better owners manual for a speaker - ever.

I listen to a wide variety of music, including rock, jazz, and classical, and these speakers simply reproduce what they are fed, so they work well with all types of music (and movies, for that matter). The speakers are particularly strong in the midrange. Vocals, even challenging female vocals, are very natural, with no hint of grain likely due to the high quality drivers and first-order crossovers, and aided by Vandersteen's boxless phase-aligned design. The 1C's warm sound encourages you to keep feeding your CD player more and more (remember, eventually you will have to turn everything off and go to bed.)

Compared to other quality speakers, my ears preferred the Vandersteens. I compared them to Monitor Audio, which seemed boxy and stuffy by comparison. Paradigms were much brighter and more forward. NHT's were fatiguing and forward. I thought that the Martin Logan Aerius i's were also outstanding, and even better than the Vandy's in top end detail, but were not quite as full and rich. The M-L's were great, but different, and also more expensive.

The speakers weak point is its low bass abilities. Down into the mid-bass region, the sound remins honest, but rather than stretch the 8" woofer to areas that it can't reproduce, low bass is rolled-off. Combining it with a quality subwoofer, however, solves that problem (I use a Hsu TN-1220HO - I can recommend this sub without qualification).

Vandersteen's design concepts are aligned with my own personal values. By prioritizing speaker design and high quality components ahead of aesthetics, this speaker definitely exhibits "substance over style". There are other speakers that are better looking (the Vandersteen style covers the entire speaker in speaker cloth, except for its caps on either end), but the trade-off in inferior sound quality at a given price. As stated early in this review, I don't think there is a better sounding speaker in this price level.

I hold these speakers in such high regard, that I've subsequently purchased numerous other Vandersteen products, including a second set of 1C's for my secondary system, along with the VCC-1 center channel and VSM-1 on wall surrounds for my home theater. As you can see, I've voted for Vandersteen strongly with my wallet.

Associated Equipment for primary system:

Vandersteen 1C's, VCC-1, & VSM-1
Hsu TN-1220HO w/500 watt Hsu amp
Rotel RB-976 amp
Rotel RTC-965 pre/pro
CAL DX-2 CD
Panasonic A120 DVD
Kimber 4VS (running to 1C's) & 4 PR speaker cable
various interconnects, including Kimber PBJ, DH Labs Silver Sonic, & Radio Shack HT Gold

Similar Products Used:

Monitor Audio, Definitive Tech, Paradigm, NHT, Martin Logan, & others

At this price level, nothing I have heard comes close as far as a complete balance of good sound qualities.

zero.

I first became acquainted with Vandersteen products about 9 years ago when looking for my first set of speakers. The 1B's were their entry-level speaker at the time, and although I thought the speakers sounded smooth and relatively natural, there seemed to be a lack of (insert word here that defines that quality that allows music to, as guitarist Robert Fripp Says, "take you into its confidence"). Fast forward to a few months ago when I began looking for a proper match for my PSE Studio IV amp; I did some calling around, and every person that I spoke to that had any experience with PSE (including the owner of PSE) suggested Vanderseens, any model. So I gave the 1C's an audition, and they were very different than the 1B's I remember from way back. Although I listened to offerings from B&W, PSB, Energy, Paradigm, Magnepan, NHT, and aven the Hales rev 1's, nothing had the balance of qualities offered by the 1C's. I particularly like the smoothness I now hear in both male and female vocalists, as well as the natural 'decay' characteristics in acoustic ainstuments like cymbals, strings, and woodwinds; as far as imaging goes, it takes a while to find that point where it all "comes together", but once it does, you know it. It isn't that laser-guided, pin-point imaging that I was used to with my previous minimonitors, but a (here's that word again) natural size and variation to the images that makes listening to live music so enjoyable.
Other equipment: PSE studioIV amp, Adcom GFP 710 preamp, H/K Citation 23 tuner, JVC XLZ-1050tn cd, Sota Comet/Sumiko Blue Point analog, Mitsubishi HiFi VHS for recording, and Soundstream and AudioQuest cables.

Imaging and tonal balance. Forgiving nature for very bad recordings.

Maybe the bass, but that can be solved with a sub.

Okay,

My prior speakers were Gallo Nucleus Solos. Had to drop these due to extreme equipment sensitivity. A cable change could change tonal balances with Gallos. They would spit up and chew up receivers by exposing inherent flaws. Soundstaging was insane, but I have shifted from soundstaging/imaging preferences to more tonal oriented listening biases. More importantly, I hated being confined to listening to real good recordings of bad artists. I wanted to listen to real bad recordings of great artists.

So into the picture comes the Vandys. They could be generally classified as a warm efficient speaker (90 in sensitivity/6 ohm load). A 40 watt Creek sounds much louder now. (This might indicate that they are a pretty good candidate for mild tube amps too. Not sure about the 6 ohm load though.)

They are floorstanders, but they are not going to get you evicted due to shaking the houses around the block--a minor quibble for those who listen to organ music. Imaging-- pretty good. Soundstaging--not bad. (Almost minimonitor territory here.) Sound--Warm.

I can now listen to some of those nasty Mid-80s CDs that have been absolutely horribly mastered. (Thank the gods some have been recently remastered.) You might know the recording is bad, but your ears will not be torn off in the process.

System is as follows:
Creek 4240SE
Cables--Kimber 8TC and PBJs
Panasonic A110--A DVD player that sounds quite a bit warmer than the former Marantz CD63SE
AR Turntable with Blue Point.
Adcom Tuner
Vandersteen 1C

Note: I have run these speakers for about 100 hours straight using my tuner before submitting this review. Initially they were actually kind of bright. Vandersteen recommends about 300 hours for full break-in and enjoyment.
The dealer indicated to me that Vandys tend to require more break-in than most speakers around. Do not judge the sound immediately.

Also, the back spike is crutial. Read the directions. A small shift in the height of the rear spike can cause some major changes in imaging and tonal balance. Placement is also important to get the best from them. I have them pulled about 1/3 into the room. The directions as many noted are exceptional.

If you have trouble with placement, there is a treble control in the back. You can actually tweek the speaker's tweeter for your room. Have not played with it, but it is a feature to be noted. Don't know of any other speaker with such a feature.

These are a remarkable set of speakers for 800 dollars including stands. You can get a 5 year warranty when you register with Vandersteen too.

Similar Products Used:

Gallo Nucleus Solos.