Imaging and relatively large soundstage. Very well balanced. Very efficient.

Lowest Octive

Associated Equipment:
Cambridge Audio A3i Integrated Amp
Music Hall MMF-2 Turntable
Room Size: 14' x 30'
Listening Preferences: Alternative, Jazz, Rock, limited Classical

I've had these speakers about 6 months. I took about a month to audition various speakers. The closest I got in quality to the were the Paradigms and the NHT. Opted for the 1C for better suiting to my room size. While liking both the NHT and Paradigms, I needed something suited toward my amp. Neither of these designs were well matched to my Cambridge. The NHT offered the better speaker overall, but at a significant cost. It would have required more power and in itself is significantly more expensive.

The Paradigms Refs were very good, but they lacked the balance that the 1Cs have. The 1C's have an airy and open quality that the Paradigms just didn't have. The Paradigms did offer good bass response, but, they lacked the overall in the midrange and the treble. The presentation of these areas for the 1C by contrast offered excellent imaging and the timbre of cybals was much better.

In looking at the Vandersteens, I checked in to the 1c and the 2ce. While the 2ce did offer the bass depth that the 1C lacked. Still, the 1C was deep, they just didn't try to overcompensate for this shortcoming. They presented what was there just not deep. For me this wasn't a great shortcoming. I didn't really want the deep bass, because I live in an apartment with smaller surrounding than a house.

In living with them for 6 months, the speakers have bloomed. Imaging is spectacular. Vocal and instrument separation is very keen. The bass is still not deep, but, what is offered is very precise. For a budget speaker $800 with the necessary stands, these speakers offer excellent value.

As far as musical suiting goes. I would suggest these to anyone who listens to Jazz and non-mainstream Alternative music. By non-mainstream, I mean stuff that isn't on the radio. Alternative may be the most diverse genre ranging from country to hardcore punk metal. The non-mainstream stuff tend to be a bit more liberal with using odd instruments, arrangements and musical phrasings. The samse can be said of Jazz. Whereas, mainstream stuff is really nothing more than power pop bands. These speaker are very good at representing the time changes and offbeat fills. For classical, these speakers do a very adequate job, but, I really feel you have to step up to a high price range to hear full orchestration. For true Rockers, the Paradigm may be the better speaker with deeper bass. However, in going there the bass will be nowhere near as precise.

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned: NHT 2.5i, Paradigm Reference Studio /60, Vandersteen 2ce

Coherence, tonal balance, imaging & dynamics

Very bottom end absent

Auditioned both the 1C and the 2Ce and wound up buying the smaller speaker. It better suits my living situation. Excellent musicality, dynamics, and a naturalness often missing in other speakers. I also have them about 28" from the rear wall, but unlike the first reviewer, I have found that some toe in serves to prevent that Left-Middle-Right only imaging, instead presenting a nice spread between the speakers. Top end is clear and airy, without being hard or harsh in any way. Bass is ample for an 8" driver, and very tuneful.

In the sub - $1000 category, this speaker is hard to beat for overall correctness and pure listening pleasure. While there are some things it obivously cannot due, all flaws are subtractive - what the 1C can do it does very well.


Associated gear:

Amber 50B integrated amp
Cambriadge Audio CD4
Kimber cables

Similar Products Used:

DCM Time Windows, many other speakers

I absolutely love them and need advice on purchasing the Vandersteen 1c's regarding room size and components to put with the speakers...anyone willing to engage in some discussion, I would greatly appreciate it...I can be reached at ted@shutterfly.com.

I am completely revamping my whole system, with the 1C's being the backbone of my decision.

great stereo image for the price, ability to play very well with cheap electronics, easy to listen to, smooth, plays well at low volume

none --- given the price

These speakers are FANTASTIC at what they do. First, these speakers are NOT audiophile speakers. I have a reference system (ca. $10,000) set up in a room designated for music listening alone --- and it is a great system. It is however, your classic audiophile system with huge obtrusive speakers that need be placed 4 feet from the back wall, the system has a severe sweetspot so you must sit to appreciate the music, the system only plays well when the volume is at a realistic (live music) volume, and the recording better be excellent or else the recordings limitations are brutally revealed. Hence you need a dedicated listening room and you need to do nothing but listen (you cannot move). Also, when you listen to audiophile systems you tend (or at least i do) to be hypercritiacl of how "real' the system sounds.

The Vandersteen 1c's are not designed for such a setting. Instead, these are smaller speakers that can be played well when placed one foot from the wall so they unobtrusively fit into any room. Mine are in a living room that has an adjoining dining room with an open view of the kitchen. Also, the 1c's image well whether you are in the "sweetspot" or not --- so you can move all around and the music stills sounds great. Further, they sound rich, full, and natural at low volume levels. I have a cheep reciever and a cheaper CD player hooked up to the 1c's and they still sound great. Even poor recordings are enjoyable sounding on the 'Steens. As such, the 1c's are the ULTIMATE "incidental music" speakers. That is, if you want a pair of speakers that are cheap, run with cheap electronics and fit in any room so that you can enjoy hours of music as you read, as you eat, as you play games with the kids or talk to the wife, as you entertain guests --- your typical everyday background listening --- and you want really remarkably musical performance in such a setting --- buy the 1c's. If you are looking for a pair of inexpensive speakers for placement in a living environment for background music, these are the ones to purchase. And do not think that these babies cannot stack up to critical listening --- they can better than anything that costs under $1000.

I should note that prior to the ic's I had several hundred (literally) CD's that i had purchased because I loved the music but as it turned out, the recording quality was not good enough to play on my reference system --- so those CD's and all that music collected dust. In addition, when i listen on the reference syetem i tend only to go after the "sound" and not the music so that i would only listen to segments of any CD and largely only those cuts that were sonically superior. Since the Vandersteen 1c's, all those CD's have been dusted off and are enjoyed and now I listen to music. In fact, I have my reference system un-plugged 90% of the time. No need for that system really, the Vandersteens are music machines. What better testimony can I give?

Nice detail and depth without being bright or harsh

Not for rowdy, rough and tumble listeners or environments

These speakers are working very well for me. I live in a condo building, so I wanted something that would present all the music at relatively low volume levels. I have them hooked up to a budget 45-watt Yamama receiver, and I rarely have to turn the volume up much past 9 o'clock to hear everything in a recording. They have a satisfying amount of bass and a very smooth but detailed high-end.

These speakers tend to give my music collection a thrilling immediacy and "live" quality I never really thought was possible. I used to skip around a lot on CDs, but I find myself lingering and enjoying music a lot more. Never clinical or dry, these speakers seem to be engineered by human beings, for human beings. Unlike my previous speakers, which tended to punish poor recordings by sounding harsh or bright, these seem to bring out the *good* parts of a recording rather than the weaknesses.

All the instruments in an orchestra seem to have just the right timbre. Strings, especially, sound lush and beautiful. More intimate recordings sound like they're right in my living room.

The only potential weakness might be for folks who want to play music loudly for extended periods. I'd consider something with higher power handling for those types of listeners. These sound very nice with my rock and pop music (heck, even OutKast sounds cool on these), but as I mentioned, I almost never turn them up very loud. Also, the wraparound grilles and open, boxless design makes them a tad more delicate than most...probably not a good idea for households with cats or small children.

Also of note: most dealers will let you take these home for an audition. I tried mine for a long weekend and was sold after a few hours with my music on my equipment. And -- you might as well consider the "optional" speaker stands part of the purchase price. You can't get by without them.

Depending on the music you listen to Bass. These with a good sub will knock your socks off.

I have owned the 1B's for over 10 years. They are awesome. I was very impressed with Vandersteen's friendly, and helpful customer service when I blew out my tweeter--Treble knob on the receiver was accidently turned all the way up at a bad time. I actually talked to Richard Vandersteen himself.

Honestly, I don't own the 1C's and have never heard them, but I understand that they are improved over the 1B's which are phenominal for the price. Here is a link that you may be interested in, if your considering the 1C's.

http://www.sstage.com/revequip/vandersteen_1c.htm

Note: When I first brought the 1B's home I was majorly dissappointed--they didn't sound nearly as good as they did in the sound room. I was assured by the dealer that they just needed to be broken in--Boy was I learly about that one. But he was right. In the 1st several months of ownership they got better and better. When you audition these, make sure and ask the dealer if they have been properly broken in.

Similar Products Used:

1B's

Wonderful soundstage, openess, and smooth tonal balance.

None at this price
None, considering the price.

I owned a pair of modified Dahlquist DQ-10's back in the late 70's and early 80's and have not been all that satisfied with the speakers I've owned since, that is until the Vandersteen 1C's. These are such a super speaker in this inexpensive price range, at least for a high-end speaker line. They offer a open, balanced, sweet sounding and natural presentation which is just crazy at this price range. ( Granted, I got mine used and in mint condition for $480, but would gladly fork over the cash for their new cost of around $800 w/ stands. And speaking of stands, make sure you get the optional stands for these- it will improve both the set-up and sound quality.
It has been pointed out in other reviews on this site that they will grow on you and keep sounding better and better. VERY TRUE! I do most of my listening between two pair of high-end headphones and a headphone amp, and would usually come running to my "cans" after a few hours with various other speakers. Not the vandy's. That smooth, rich, open sound never wears on me and if you take the time to set them up properly, as per the excellent owners manual, you will be rewarded!!!

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm, Polk, KEF, Dahlquist, JBL, many many more.

No coloration, espacialy unique stereophonique image, cheap. Fit to any kinds of music. Soud realy better than my poor english.

Cats love to rub their fur on the fabric.

I own a very modest audio equipment. A Denon PM 320 integrated amplifier, a 10 years old technics SLP 150 CD, a good Panasonic A300 DVD player and a realy good NAD 6340 cassette deck. A Few months before Chrismast my good old Paisley Loudspeakers faded away. So I had shopped at least during one mounth to find the best loudspeakers available for 1000$can.

When I first heard about Vandersteen concept I was realy skeptic. But when I heard them, I was enthusiast.

I was looking to a phase-aling design to approach my old Paisley. I realy appreciate the natural stereophonic image those kinds of loudspeakers render. But, on the other hand, I was a bit tired of hearing colorfull sound cheap boxes produces trying to mask their weakness with midrange or bass. The IC produce exactly the sounstage I was loking for and this whitout any coloration. With the 1C, saxophone, brass, scandaly boost female-nice-voice pitch like Celine Dion never agress your ears. In fact, all kinds of sounds source sound naturaly. Your music taste range becomes wider, because, you are able to listen music style that agress you before longer.

Vandersteen's loudspeakers seems to disapear, giving the illusion that all voices and instruments are standing at their real place, from left to right, even outside the speakers positions.

Vandersteen model 1C, are according my listening experiment (about 30 years), the best things you can buy for the price they are sold.

Similar Products Used:

According my knowledge, no one in this range of price. They can beat B&W, Polk Audio or any other product sold to 1000US$

Great value, don't need to pay thousands of dollars for quality sound

pets and/or small children may cause damage (boxless design)

I was originally in the market to purchase the Polk RT 800s and was referred to this site from my brother-in-law. I wanted a match for my center Polk cs-400. As I read the reviews on the Polks, I came upon a review written by Ken(the married guy with 3 cars) who reviewed both Polk RT 800 and the Vandersteen 1cs. Not hearing of the 1cs prior to this I decided to do some further research. As I read over the reviews on the Vandy 1cs and after visiting the Vandersteen web site, I finally auditioned the Vandersteens (with my brother-in-law, Mr. Audiophile). He wanted to compare the 1cs with the 12 thousand dollar Wilson Audio Watt-puppys. The Wilson's were quite impressive, however, perhaps due to my inexperience or un-trained ears I could not hear an 11 thousand dollar difference(neither could he). If you're someone like me who loves music and wants the most for their money, do yourself a favor and listen to the Vandersteen 1c. Finally, I'd like to thank all who submitted a review on the 1cs for their honest and knowledgeable advice. I have read other reviews (perhaps you have also) that were merely full of BS.

The 1Cs provide great sound for a reasonable price. This price range is very competitive with great speakers from B&W, Paradigm, Magnepan, PSB, and NHT. These speakers provide a natural sound on instruments and vocals. I seriously considered the Vandersteens against the more expensive B&W speakers(603) and couldn't see any reason for the extra expense. Take a listen to Tori Amos' first album and also Dire Straits' first album. You will swear Tori and Mark are singing(Tori) and playing guitar(Mark) in your listening room. These speakers also can put out an adequate amount of bass for typical stereo reproduction. You will require a sub for home theater use. The slightly less expensive B&W speakers(B&W 602 + $125 stands) could not provide the same bass extension and did not provide a pleasant listening experience. The vocals on the 602s sounded great at first, but quickly became fatiguing. The 1Cs mated with a nice integrated amp and cd player will provide a nice sound system for <1,500.