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Vandersteen 3a vs Boston A400

OctalSocket

OctalSocket

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
In our never-ending quest for better playback, budget-minded in my case, I'm considering replacing my A400s with a pair of 3As, not the Sig, just the 3A.

My concerns are:
a) Will it have a much more narrow sweet spot, horizontally and vertically?
b) Will its bass be that much lower and fuller?
c) Will the mids and treble be too laid back for my Mc MX110Z/MC2120?
d) Must its placement requirements be very intrusive in the room?

Greatly appreciate any advice!
 
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Is this even a fair comparison?

If you're implying you can get Vandee 3a's for around the same cost as A400's you should capitalize on that opportunity without hesitation.

To answer all your questions accurately is tricky since very little is known about your listening environment....but given the electronics you mentioned having the Vandersteens are more the caliber of the Mac gear than the BA's. The 3a's are a very highly regarded design by many. Not that the A400's are anything to scoff at, but you're talking about two different tiers of loudspeaker performance between the two...particularly if you feed the Vandees properly and give them a good room to play in.
 
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Thanks for the input. You're right about the investment, the Vandersteens are about 3 times the market value of the Bostons. So does that make them 3 times better?
Sounds like it does, especially considering the upstream electronics.
I have been wondering for awhile if the Bostons are holding back my Mc kit.
 
It is not so much a question of whether the A400s are "holding back" your McIntosh equipment; the question is whether the Vandersteens are a superior loudspeaker to the Boston Acoustics speakers you have now.

The truthful answer is that they could sound better, worse or about the same - to your ears and only you can judge if any improvement - which hopefully there will be - is worth the cost.

*At some point I would also like to upgrade the BA speakers in my vintage system but I must say I am pretty satisfied with them at present.
 
Not much experience other than a couple listens in the shop with the 3s but for the better part of 15 years I've offered that the 2Cis and the 2Ces were among the best overall values for an all around speaker that works relatively well with decent electronics (that is to say, doesn't demand higher end stuff) whereas back in the day, I found the Boston A series to be pretty decent but unexceptional.

To my ears, there is no comparison. Having said that, I've never heard Vandersteens tucked right next to the front wall. I've heard them maybe 1.5 feet from the front wall and angled in a bit on either side of an tube TV. Not quite ideal, but very decent. I wouldn't say they have a particularly small sweet spot on either axis.

I might throw out a suggestion for a pair of NHT 2.5is. They work perfectly somewhere between 10 and 15 inches from the front wall and are designed to be perpendicular to the front wall as their baffles are angled. This presents a couple limitations as they look a bit odd then the speakers themselves are angled and they require a somewhat specific ration between the speakers and the distance from the speakers, but I never had them in a room where that was difficult to facilitate.

The NHTs are a bit brighter than Bostons or Vandersteens but I'm a big fan of the NHTs and before I bought them, I was this close to buying a set of 2Cis.
 
Further, I'm really surprised to hear that a set of 3as is only worth three times what a pair of A400s is worth. I would have guessed five or six or seven times as much.
 
I have both of these. I hadn't heard of Boston A400 when I got them, and the crossover work needed to be done (a separate thread here). At the time I only had Vandersteen model 1C, but by the time I finished with the recap, I had purchased some used Vandersteen 2Ci speakers. When I hooked up the BA speakers, I was surprised by how good they sounded, but after a short time I went back to the Vandersteen speakers in my listening room and the Bostons went to the living room home theater area, where they still reside.

Not that long ago I bought the Vandersteen 3A speakers and really like those over the 2Ci -- while I haven't had compared the two in the same room.

I'm hard pressed to make a description of what I hear in my head.... the Vandersteens just make the music sound more defined with greater clarity. The Bostons sound a little tubbier, but by no means in a way I'd like to leave them behind. At this point, they're also definitely keepers.

It took a year of watching and searching to find the 3As and even then it was an 8 hour drive one way. I'd always pick them first over the Bostons but the Boston A400 is still a great speaker and better than many many others.

You don't say where you're located and probably 99% of members are no where near hear, but you'd be welcome to a listen.
 
Simple answer: The Vandys are better than the Bostons. Three times better? Probably not; the A400 is a nice speaker.

You'll probably find the 3As are pickier about placement than the Bostons; just a consequence of their design. However, find them a spot they're happy in and your sound will be:

1. More integrated

2. More "natural" sounding, whatever that is.

Less bass? Probably; but what's there will be more accurate.

To me there's no contest. The Vandys in a heartbeat. As always, just my opinion, YMMV. And boy, is that ever true when it comes to speakers.:yes:

Happy trails,
Larry B.
 
Wonderful feedback, thanks! I live 30 min west of St. Louis now, so Montgomery would be quite a trek. Thanks for the offer, though.

I've only heard 2ce Sigs, and that was a few years back in a dealer's listening room, crowded with many pairs of speakers. Not ideal by any means. With that in mind, I wasn't overly impressed with any particular part of the frequency range. I'm sure it's because those 2ce Sigs were forced to sit too far out into the room and too far apart to create a proper soundstage.

My biggest concern is from the experience I had with some Vandy 1b's I owned a while back. In that particular nearfield setup (about 7 feet back), if I stood up from the listening position, the "you are thereness" just collapsed. Probably way too close, looking back on it.
 
When I was searching for a set of speakers there are that I know of 3/4 high end audio dealers in central Jersey. All were Vandersteen dealers and I almost jumped on a set of used walnut 2ci. At the time he wanted about $800 and I just couldn't do that. I did get a chance to hear 3s and I hate to sound like an ad but these speakers do everything right. Are they the best in the world no, what is. I don't think it's even a fair comparison between the 2. I wound up 1st getting DMC tf 350s and then my Polk SDA 2Bs.
 
The Vandies are very particular about proper setup. Not only in relation to back and side walls, but more importantly as to tilt and to some degree toe-in. When set up correctly they are a very natural sounding transducer. I have owned 3A's in the past and just recently bought Treo's to go with the 2CE Sigs I already had. They all require the same care in setup and all three are different as to tilt in relation to seating height based on the heights of each units tweeter. The instructions for each individual model is detailed in it's own instruction manual. If the chance ever arises I will move up to 5A Carbon's.
 
I have not owned any Vandy series 1 speakers ...
they're basically the entry level line, 2s are well up-stream, 3s are higher still.
I have owned 2 different pairs of 2CIs, a pair of 2CEs, and I just bought a pair of 3As (6 hour round trip to go get them Saturday).
I've been very happy with the 2 CIs and 2CEs - heard a pair of 2CE SigIIs at a dealer and while they really sounded good,
I'm not sure I wanted to go $2500 for a pair ... my non-sig 2CEs are awful nice for under $600 the pair.

The 3As are really nice - they play a bit lower and a bit higher than the 2CEs - and have a crisper definition,
from what I've heard in the day and a half I've had them here! But they are keepers and aren't going anywhere!

Can't speak to the Boston speakers - I have no personal experience with them. I've had various JBL (small and large/pro models),
DCM TimeFrames, Dahlquist 10s, KEF 105.4 and the Vandys. My custom JBL 3 ways and the Vandys are the keepers -
and I'm undecided about the KEF (its a keeper so far) ...
 
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A400's are very good speakers.
I had Vandersteen 1's and A400's beat them easily.

3A's are higher up in line so could be better than A400's.
A400's have come ahead of few pairs of Polk SDA's, Klipsch Forte's, Genesis 3+ and quite a few vintage JBL's so far.
If you do get them, let us know as I can also look out for next upgrade.
 
Frankly I'm astounded.
Owned BA speakers once..Very Briefly.
Rubbish is the honest descriptor.
Harsh and unpleasant is another.
Vandy's ,Like 'em Or not are in an entire different sound quality League.
Their complex driver array/crossover network Does demand a decent quality Amp with Backbone though.

You guys need to get out of the house and hear a few more equipment examples... now and then
 
The Vandersteen 3a is a superior speaker without a doubt. Even the 2Ci/2Ce would be a better choice over the A400.

I have fond memories of the A400 along with others in the A series, having owned a few during the 80's, but the Vandersteens play in a different league.
 
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Frankly I'm astounded.
Owned BA speakers once..Very Briefly.
Rubbish is the honest descriptor.
Harsh and unpleasant is another.
Vandy's ,Like 'em Or not are in an entire different sound quality League.
Their complex driver array/crossover network Does demand a decent quality Amp with Backbone though.

You guys need to get out of the house and hear a few more equipment examples... now and then
Click to expand...

You omitted the all-important "in my opinion" from your assertion.

Furthermore, for whatever it may be worth, this is the first I have ever heard the term "harsh" used to describe a Boston Acoustics loudspeaker - ever.

I think there may have been something defective with the speaker(s) you owned, chemistry with the electronics or heaven knows what else.

Again, all is relative: I would certainly expect a device selling for several times the price of another, to be in a different league.
 
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No doubt I need to get out and hear more options, but I feel guilty just "window shopping" when I don't have the disposable cash at that particular moment. Moreover, like the example I gave before, most hi fi boutiques I've visited had less than optimal room setups/placement. Best option would be a home audition (if they'd even allow it), but not worth the effort if I wasn't prepared to buy.

I had some older Shahinian Arcs a while back. Pretty bright, somewhat recessed mids, short soundstage, but great bass.

Replaced them with Harbeth SuperHL5s. Wonderfully smooth, realistic and highly enjoyable from midbass on up, but no bottom end. Only speakers I've ever owned where I subconsciously turned to acknowledge and just drink in the beauty of a recorded voice. May sound corny, but that's the effect the Harbeths had on me. And no, there's absolutely no way I can afford M40.1s.

So yes, I've gone backwards with the Bostons (due to finances), but I'm clawing my way back up, hoping to find the best attributes of both of the aforementioned in the Vandy 3As.
 
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