Vandersteen or Axiom?

[stunaramore]

Is there anybody out there who has experience with both Vandersteen and Axiom speakers? I own a pair of Axiom M22ti speakers and I love them. But I have been offered a great deal on a pair of Vandersteen 1C speakers. I think that my money will buy me significantly better sound, but I am not completely certain. Can someone offer sound advice? Thanks.

[RGA]

Is there anybody out there who has experience with both Vandersteen and Axiom speakers? I own a pair of Axiom M22ti speakers and I love them. But I have been offered a great deal on a pair of Vandersteen 1C speakers. I think that my money will buy me significantly better sound, but I am not completely certain. Can someone offer sound advice? Thanks.

I would never buy a speaker I could not listen to first. You got lucky that you love the Axioms and Vandersteen from what i have heard will sound nothig like the Axioms(based on how they're reviewed and described). Vandersteen is typically laid back but a smooth treble. But have not heard the specific Vanderstten model.

I would go out and listen - lots of speakers have great deals - deals are not rare. My AN K Spe has a retail of $2250.00US but you can get them from soundhounds for $1500.00Cdn or ~$1150US. While I was there they had deals on other speakers as well and some amplifiers.

You have to "like" the speaker though...just because it's expensive and has some good reviews(what doesn't) doesn't mean you will like it.

[Mr Peabody]

I have not heard Axiom but I have heard a few pair of Vande's. Enough to know they are not for me. They were tolerable on classical but on other music I found them to be muddy on the bass and highs dull. Vifa did make their midrange drivers which were pretty good sounding but did color the music. They have a very distinct sound quality and I highly recommend a close listen before buying them. Apparently some one must like Vandersteens but I thought they were horrible. Their sound is like listening to a speaker with a quilt draped in front of it. I have listened to a few different models and they all have the same characteristics I described.

[topspeed]

Their sound is like listening to a speaker with a quilt draped in front of it.

And so correct! I should like Vandy, if for no other reason just to root for the home team (Richard Vandersteen lives 20 minutes up the road). Alas, I cannot. Vandys are interesting in that people either swear by them or can't stand them. Obviously, I fall into the latter group. They are the epitome of laid back and while smooth, they simply don't bring enough dynamics or energy to the music. Even my wife hated them and she could care less about this stuff. There are many however that think they are greatest thing since Pamela Anderson so definitely give them a listen and form your own conclusions.

Good luck.

[RGA]

Greatest thing since Pamela Anderson ---- Now that is funny in a horrifying sorta way.

Pam is from my town - she just became a US citizen - thank God get her the hell outa here.

Vandersteen is certainly different - I only heard one model several years ago - and if it's true that they have not changed then I'm in the far from being a fan camp.

[sware]

You really need to listen. I have heard many speakes and picked a pair of 2ce vandersteens.
They are accurate for the price. As far as "blanket over them", I disagree. The treble is accurate. It does not "shout at you". Wonderful integration between the drivers. "full". Above average spread of sound, outstanding in the sweet spot. Disappear well for the size. Warm but stilll articulate. Give them a try. (I have heard a few models of Vandersteens and ,like good brands, have a similar sound.)

[sware]

You really need to listen. I have heard many speakes and picked a pair ov 2ce vandersteens.
They are accurate for the price. As far as "blanket over them", I disagree. The treble is accurate. It does not "shout at you". Wonderful integration between the drivers. "full". Above average spread of sound, outstanding in the sweet spot. Disappear well for the size. Warm but stilll articulate. Give them a try.

[Woochifer]

From the descriptions of the Axioms that I've read, you're really looking at two very different types of sounds. I've also tried out the Vandy 1c and 2ce models, and they're about as baffling a set of speakers as I've ever heard. They do several things remarkably well -- their imaging is superlative for a dynamic driver speaker. In a 5.1 configuration, it's about as complete a 360 degree envelopment as I've ever heard, and Vandy's coaxial center speaker is as good a timbre match as there is with any horizontal center speaker I've tried out.

Yet, with all these great traits, they also have some occasionally bizarre tonal characteristics. Percussion instruments can sound hollow, and some other sounds just seem to get lost. The Vandys are too good at several things to just dismiss them, but some of the other things that they do just puzzle me.

However, keep in mind that Vandersteen has about as dedicated a following as you will see in audio. I knew one person who bought his first Vandys about 20 years ago, and every upgrade since then has been to another set of Vandys. Vandy devotees include some reviewers whose opinions I find very credible. These guys don't just wax poetic about the Vandys (like audio reviewers tend to do with most of what they review), they use them as their reference speakers. To the Vandy backers, the speakers' time and phase correct design makes the sound more natural and accurate, and that this type of design will make for a smoother sound than other speakers with similar frequency responses, because the time domain errors on other speakers create a more smeared sound that subjectively makes the speakers sound brighter even if they measure almost identically in their frequency response. This is akin to how a speaker sounds brighter in an echoey room where the reflected sound creates more audible time domain problems. One net effect of the Vandy design is obviously the imaging, and the other effect is that the sound will be subjectively more laid back. Whether or not this is what you prefer, you'll only know after giving them a listen. As topspeed pointed out, the Vandys are pretty polarizing -- people either love 'em or hate 'em. I personally can't see myself owning them, but a lot of other people who really know their stuff in the audio rhelm swear by them.

[Sondek]

The axiom are decent midfi speakers. They do a lot of things well. They are NOT in the league of vandersteen.

Vandies are more musical, measure flatter, and sound completely, utterly boxless and transparent. They are even, timbrally accurate, and one can listen all day without fatigue.

Nothing Axiom makes comes close to the 2Ce signatures.

[WmAx]

To the Vandy backers, the speakers' time and phase correct design makes the sound more natural and accurate, and that this type of design will make for a smoother sound than other speakers with similar frequency responses, because the time domain errors on other speakers create a more smeared sound that subjectively makes the speakers sound brighter even if they measure almost identically in their frequency response. This is akin to how a speaker sounds brighter in an echoey room where the reflected sound creates more audible time domain problems.

Careful. No one, too my knowledge, non one has demonstrated in controlled audiblity tests such claims of audibility on 'phase and time' correct, as a specific function of that trait as you are describing. ABX trials of such time/phase modified signals agasint controls, in a single dimension(headphones), of music and specific transient signals is very interesting, if you are interested in the actual effect on the sound.

Given a static room, the average room/on-axis balance is exclusively a byproduct of a speaker's polar amplitude response.

-Chris

[topspeed]

Careful. No one, too my knowledge, non one has demonstrated in controlled audiblity tests such claims of audibility on 'phase and time' correct, as a specific function of that trait as you are describing. ABX trials of such time/phase modified signals agasint controls, in a single dimension(headphones), of music and specific transient signals is very interesting, if you are interested in the actual effect on the sound.

Given a static room, the average room/on-axis balance is exclusively a byproduct of a speaker's polar amplitude response.

-Chris

So what you're really saying is that it tastes like chicken.

[elances]

I haven't heard Axiom, but I am familiar with Vandersteen.

I owned a pair of Vandersteen 2Ci's for 6 years, and also auditioned the 1's and 3's before I purchased the 2's. I could listen to the Vandersteens for hours on end with no fatigue, but they are a bit dull dynamically, even with the right amplification. I would definitely categorize the sound as "warm." I enjoyed my time with them, but I doubt that I would purchase another set. To me, they seemed fairly well-suited to orchestral music, but the relative reticence with dynamics can be disappointing with big climaxes (I used a pair of NAD 2400THX's in bridged mono to power my 2Ci's, and they seemed to require the power to give any real sense of dynamics to my music). They did sound great with chamber music, if that's your cup of tea. Also with my Tallis Scholars recordings of the Palestrina masses. They did sound accurate tonally on the voices of every singer I had heard live without amplification (various opera singers).

I guess you have to decide which trade-offs are acceptable to you considering your budget and music preferences. However, I would never recommend that anyone buy a speaker without being able to audition it, unless you are very familiar with the manufacturer and trust their ability to produce the sound you enjoy.

Regards,
Erick

[jrflanne]

You really need to listen. I have heard many speakes and picked a pair ov 2ce vandersteens.
They are accurate for the price. As far as "blanket over them", I disagree. The treble is accurate. It does not "shout at you". Wonderful integration between the drivers. "full". Above average spread of sound, outstanding in the sweet spot. Disappear well for the size. Warm but stilll articulate. Give them a try.

I went about speaker shopping last year and gave the Vandersteen 2ce's a listen and really liked them. I wound up purchasing PSB's because I was getting into HT. However, when I go to a 2 channel system the Vandies will require a serious listen.