Great bass and imaging for a speaker in this price range.

Grille difficult to replace if cosmetically damaged.

These are without a doubt the best pair of sub $1,000 speakers that I have heard. The imaging is clear and open and the bass extension is fantastic. They do require some break-in time so be patient if you buy a pair - after about 60 hours these babies really open up and sing. Room placement is critical too. Another poster here mentioned that his speakers are 28" (front panel) from the wall. After much experimentation, I settled on 29", which is close enough to validate that this must be something of a sweetspot.

I've had these speakers since 1997 and I look forward to many more years of use.

My 1C's are currently fed by:
NAD 3240PE
NAD 4130
Marantz CD-63 MKII
Nakamichi BX-125
Thorens TD-280 MKII/Sumiko Blue Point

I had my 1Cs for a little over three years now and they still sound great. I got them right after I graduated from college as my first entry piece of equipment into hi-fi territory. I remember doing a lot of research and the 1Bs, replaced by the 1Cs, were the only speakers under the 1K range that received consistent rave reviews.
After hunting down a place that sold them in NYC, I auditioned them for an hour, purchased them, and have been happy ever since.

I have listened to other speakers in the same price range by Phase and B&W and found them lacking in bass and imaging when compared to the 1Cs. I have listened to speakers that cost twice as much like ProAcs and the 1Cs come close and gave them a run for their money.

I consider the 1Cs a bargain for price vs. performance, and they may be the best speakers under 1K that you can buy. I may upgrade them in a few years, possibly to the 3As, but for now they just put a smile on my face every time I listen to them.

Completely natural sound, no coloration, no graininess, incredible soundstage, great imaging left-to-right, smooth silky highs, clean, controlled bass, sweet as hell! very forgiving of cheap electronics and poor source material.

most will want a subwoofer with these speakers, placement requires some effort. WAF is not high.

Like the beer commercial says: "when it's right, you'll know it." That's how I approached my search for new mains and a center. I auditioned as many speakers as I could locally (see my reviews of the others on this site). I heard the Vandersteens early on, and was very impressed, but I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything better in my price range ($1000 - $1300 for L/C/R). True the Vandersteens don't put out gobs of bass, but what's there is deep, controlled and clean. If you have a sub (and Mr. Vandersteen personally recommended a sub with the 1Cs for HT), then you'll love these speakers. I've got them positioned well, which takes some time, upgraded my cable (KimberCable) and these speakers are incredible, even with my mid-fi receiver. Vocals and instruments are clearly identifiable, cymbol decay is delicious, and the sound is perfectly balanced. Now that they're broken in, I look forward to listening every chance I get. There is no fatigue factor with these speakers. Some professional reviewers have commented on their lack of "grain." I never understood this until I heard them for myself. There is a smooth, rich quality to the sound that is hard to describe in words - you've got to hear them yourself. I'm sure sound this good is common with high-end speakers that are out of reach for me and many visitors to this site, but in this price range, the 1C is the speaker to beat. I had a very pleasant experience listening to these speakers at Audio Nexus in Summit, NJ. I bought them there as well. You won't find these speakers at discount outlets, so be prepared to pay retail. I hate paying MSRP too, but sometimes you get your money's worth even at retail prices, and this is one of those times. Check out Vandersteen Audio's website for uncut reviews of their speakers. If you have questions, you can call Richard Vandersteen. I had a 20 minute conversation with him. He is very passionate about his design philosophy. After living with these speakers for about 3 months now, I share his enthusiasm and would recommend anyone looking for speakers in this price range to audition the 1C. WAF is so-so; they are plain looking columns.

Associated Equipment:
Pioneer Elite 24TX
Toshiba SD-2109 DVD Player
Teac CD player
Onkyo TA-2600 Cassette Deck
Toshiba HiFi VCR
GE HiFi VCR
JVC 3600U HiFi S-VHS ET VCR
Vandersteen VCC Center Channel
Vintage JBL Radiance 133 Towers (rear channels)
Definitive Technology PF 15 Sub
KimberCable for the L/C/R channels

Similar Products Used:

B&W 603, Mission 703, Polk RT55i, Tannoy M5, NHT Super2, Paradigm Monitor 7, PSB Image 4T, Mirage frx7

Clear, concise, very tight, very real

Not crazy about the grills.

I have done much shopping for new main speakers for a new home and the Vandersteens were by far the best I listened to for under $1000. I also found some surprisingly good speakers for the $400-500 range, namely the Paradigm and Boston, but the Vandersteens were far superior and justified spending the extra money. If you are looking for faithful reproduction of your music these are the best. If you are looking to shake the house to heavy metal or rap, you may be better off with the Klipsch or others. Otherwise buy these.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch, Boston, Infinity, Polk, Paradigm

Very musical, natural sounding; takes the equipment out of way of the music.

None that can spot.

I am not an audiophile in any sense of the word (but I live with one), nor do I know very much about high-end equipment. But I will say that the 1C's have made me want to listen to my music collection all over again, and to consider upgrading my components. I hear things from these speakers I'd never heard before.

My review is based solely on what I think of the 1C's, and does not benefit from having listend to a lot of other speakers in the process of buying these. However, I have had the benefit of a friend and room mate who owns a high-end tube system complete with Vandersteen 3A Signature speakers, so my choice of 1C's for myself was based, in part, on already having some Vandersteens in my house to listen to.

In contrast to our living room system, I am running the 1C's with a Pioneer Syscom component system (yes, really!), vintage 1986. The integrated amp is capable of cleanly delivering up to 70 watts peak/channel and if specifications can be the measurement of a good system, then this would likely qualify as one (both back then and now) although I'm sure it wouldn't pass muster with audiophiles. But to me it has always sounded really good, and it seems to be a good match for the 1C's. I have read other reviewers of the 1C's stress that they are great sounding with almost any equipment of appropriate power they have to work with, and I guess my experience backs this up.

I can now hear all the nuances of a performance, not to mention all of the instruments (not true of my former speakers). Others have commented on a perceived lack of bass in the 1C's, but my integrated amp and 1Cs deliver more than adequate bass response that is clean and tight but never booming. It's the difference between hearing the bass and feeling it.

Midrange and treble are also naturally reproduced. I used to need to use my system's graphic equilizer to make up for the deficiencies of the marginal speaker that came with it. Now, with the 1C's, the equilizer is no longer in the circuit, and my bass and treble controls remain at neutral. The music sounds GREAT!!! The 1C's deliver as close to what the music is supposed to sound like as is possible, in my opinion.

These speakers have dramatically improved my stereo system and my listening enjoyment. I tend to believe in the "80/20 Rule" as it applies to cost vs. benefits and relative value for money. The Vandersteen 1C's exemplify this approach. As far as "bang for the buck", if you are on a budget, you will get more of an overall improvement by simply adding these speakers to even a mediocre system than by spending a huge amount on upgrading components. These speakers are a tremendous value for the money!

Oh yeah: Did I mentioned that I really like these speakers?

Natural reproduction of music; good, stable imaging; good base control and liveliness; consistantly revealing of musical detail; make excellent computer speakers too.

Diminished Deep Base

I can recommend these speakers as a basically safe buy without hesitation. They make a balanced and natural sound down to the midbase. They image very well, even though I have mine thirteen inches from the wall behind. Mine lean back quit a bit, as my room (studio apartment) is small and I am always less than six feet away from them. The base stays tight even though placement in my room accentuates it some. I'm not an imaging freak as much as a timing freak, and these speaker keep time well and don't compromise imaging (stable). Female vocals are both naturally sharp and sweet; no chestiness in male vocals. Movies on my computer sound great though sound cards don't sound quit as good as they need to. I get good sound sitting right between them at my computer even though they fire straight forward. The midrange is clean and smooth even though they are a two way design. The high frequencies are the only area that attracts attention; the metal dome tweeter needs to break in so it isn't noticable. Symbols and female voices sound just a little too matalic, though not enough to sound bright. These are not bright or annoying speakers, but they are $800.00 speakers though very well designed. The treble shouldn't bother even sensitive people but the breakin period is mildly disconcerning at times. the treble is very clean otherwise and natural in its revelation of musical detail. The fit and finish of the speakers is basically pleasing and the stands are cast instead of stamped. Mine are an attractive walnut finish with black fabric that I think looks way better than the oak. I plan on getting one Vandersteen subwoofer to hook up to my surface mount Linn Majik Amp. My Rotel RCD-971 CD player is basically solid with this amp/speaker combo, but will be upgraded to a Linn front end eventually. I use Linn K-20 Speaker cable and Linn Analogue Interconnects.

Similar Products Used:

ProAc Super Tablets (1988 - loved 'em)