davestef Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 in my searches through craigslist to find some used audiophile quality speakers ive been limiting my self to the heresy, so i looked and i saw a pair of vandersteen 2ce's for sale for $400. any idea how they compare to the heresy/fortes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tblake10 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Can't comment on the 2ce's but I picked up a pair of 1ce's local a while back cheap. Had always been curious about them. I have heresies and fortes as well. Fort what it is worth, my take based on the 1ce's: stick with Klipsch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryO Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I picked up a pair of the 2CE about 10 months ago. I sold them March 14th on Ebay for $599 to a local buyer on pick up. Mine had boxes, manuals, the metal stands, all packing and original bags with them. I restored them cosmetically. Not a bad speaker. Weird build with the wooden column cage around the cabinet. The lady that bought them new had cats and I had to replace the grill cloth on them, repair the front columns on both speakers, and repaint the columns. I also had to repair the top and bottom caps on them. Bottom caps are held on with screws to access the cloth. Tops are secured with black rubber and have to be pryed off. Hundreds of staples to remove and the black rubber has to be scraped. Not an easy task. IF they need new socks on them just be prepared to put in some elbow grease and time. They like power with the smaller rear passive in them. Not a bass monster by any means. Placement is very critical on them and they don't like a larger room. They sound more like a vintage Polk Monitor 7 raised up off the floor about 18" than anything else I can think of. Maybe a little brighter on top. Very similar I played them out on a pair of 50wpc tube monoblocks and a Sansui 9090DB so I know I gave them plenty of power. I was always waiting for the speaker to "stand up and get my attention" but it always left me wanting more out of it. There's links on the factory site about placement you might want to check out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom b. 57 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I have a pair of Vandersteen 2C's that I like quite a bit. I have them in my front room with my Cornwalls. They can't do everything that the Cornwalls can do, but, I don't expect that from them. I won't compare them to a Klipsch Heritage product because that is the old apples and oranges thing. They are a good sounding speaker, but, I don't think I would pay $400.00 for them. I got mine for $225.00 with stands and they are in very good condition. Where mine are placed I get plenty of bass, but, the highs tend to be rolled off a bit. All in all they are a pretty well balanced speaker, in my opinion anyway. The overall sound is in my opinion too different from the sound of Klipsch Heritage speakers that I have owned to try to do any meaningful comparison. I have owned Heresy's, Lascala's, Belle's,and I still own my Cornwalls. There are things I like about the Vandersteen's that compel me to keep them hanging around. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiser SET say Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 So true Tom, can't compare the 2C's to Heritage first of all they are not horn loaded! I picked up a nice pair several years back and just recently gave them to my sons for their first syetm in their bedroom, driving them with an HK 670 twin and they are very nice in that room, just have an old Nak 5 disc changer and iPod dock for them. Not bad for 8 and 10 years old though. Got to give them the sickness early on[] LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom b. 57 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 "Not bad for 8 and 10 years old though. Got to give them the sickness early on LOL " I agree, my 5 year old Granddaughter has had a pretty decent system for a year now. She loves it. Parents, well, thats another story. Sometimes they don't appreciate Grandpa burning cds for her. I love it. LOL! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikerodrig27 Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 I know this is an old post but I want to add to it. I don't have the 2ce but I just bought the 2ci and am testing them against the Forte I's in my living room. The Vandersteens are so much less fatiguing. I have been listening for about an hour. They don't have the imaging and sound slightly veiled compared to the Fortes. If you want a rock speaker with detail, soundstage etc... forte. if you want a speaker for simple slower music, jazz etc choose the vandersteens. you cant go wrong with either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blvdre Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 I have a pair, and hadn't listened to them in a while, until recently. I would describe them as very polite. Personally, they leave me flat. If you like the dynamics and low distortion of horns, buy horns. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loudogp250 Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 At one time I owned a pair of 2ce and found them polite also. Not a bad sounding speaker they just lacked the excitement that my Forte's produced, IMHO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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