Replacing/Upgrading My System: Speakers (1 Viewer)

[Aaron E. Smith]

Okeedokee, I tried this before without much in the way of replies. So I'll alter my approach here and take one segment at a time.

I will be moving in about 6-8 months and will be selling off most of my system and replacing it after we move. For now I'm looking for ideas on how to rebuild the system and I would like to start with the speakers and mentally rebuild my HT from the speakers inward--so to speak.

As it stands, my system is currently as follows:

Sony KP-53HS10

Monster Cable HTS3000

Panasonic DVD-RV80

Pioneer CLD-D606

Lexicon DC-1 v4.0

Adcom GFA-555s (200x2 WPC - Four amps total)

Vandersteen VCC-1

Vandersteen 3's (one pair)

Vandersteen 2ci's (two pairs)

SVS 16-46CS

Radio Shack Gold interconnects (audio and video)

Monster Cable speaker wiring (I don't have the model type in front of me, but it is a mid-level variety that--mostly it has four individual sets of strands for bi-wiring my Vandy 3's and 2ci's).

I have considered simply replacing the Vandersteens with the newer equivelents: a VCC-5, a pair of 3A Sigs, and two pairs of 2CE Sigs.

I have also considered using another pair of 2CE Sigs in place of the 3A Sigs and attaching a Vandersteen sub for the front stereo pair. Additionally, if I went this route, I would consider replacing the SVS with the Vandersteen HT sub and then I could stack the two Vandersteen subs in a corner.

Which would way do you think would be better? What other speaker options should I consider? I'm open to suggestions. My maximum budget would be $10,000, but most likely much less (I'd expect to be able to find the Vandy's at a good discount because I would be making a large purchase, but that would apply to most speakers I would think).

Thanks so much for any replies!

 

[Aaron E. Smith]

Anyone?

 

[Miles_W]

Aaron,

Nice system! do you have any ,major complaints with the Vandis... I have heard that they make great speakers and the wait for new ones can sometimes be substantial. Have you had a chance to listen to the new Vandi's? Otherwise you could perhaps save the bulk of your upgrade money and put it into the pre/pro, amplification,video portion.

Is the 10K budget for the entire upgrade or speakers only? I have not had the opportunity to listen to the 2w or 2wq but both intrigue me since I am a planer owner and they are said to integrate well... sorry for a non-type answer but hopefully it will provoke more discussion...

 

[Aaron E. Smith]

Hey Miles, thank for the reply. My only complaint about the Vandy's is the the sound levels they can reproduce. They are excellent speakers, but I get nervous about raising the volume to anywhere near reference level. (I wrote another topic on this some time ago). Nowadays, I keep them at around -10db or less for anything except very quiety soundtracks, and then I rarely go above -8db.

The money I was talking about (assuming I can get that much) is strictly for the speakers. I figure that should give me nearly carte blanche to decided what my wife and I want in the way of speakers. I've tended to favor going back with Vandy's because they are just about the best in their given price point, but I still want to get ideas--both for other speaker systems and for the two configs. I mentioned above.

BTW, thanks for the compliment and no problem on the 'non-answer.' The thread needed some action to spur discussion!

 

[Aaron E. Smith]

C'mon folks, help me out! There must be other speakers and opinions out there. I've been using the Vandy's for so long I'd really like to get some feedback on what other combinations I might try.