• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

vandersteen VCC-5 Review (Center Speaker)

Rate this speaker:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 109 48.7%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 102 45.5%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 11 4.9%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 2 0.9%

  • Total voters
    224

alex-z

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Feb 19, 2021
Messages
910
Likes
1,685
Location
Canada
Voted headless on the basis that with such a big and expensive cabinet they should manage smoother and less distorted bass response. The other flaws are unfortunate, but more a result of design philosophy rather than poor engineering.
 

DSJR

Major Contributor
Joined
Jan 27, 2020
Messages
3,314
Likes
4,427
Location
Suffolk Coastal, UK
Does anyone have a 'matching' front L-R model they could send in?

Not sure this brand ever found its way over here, but I can see how a gently 'tailored Batman' response may aid vocals a bit - centre channel speaker in a rack or cabinet under? the screen so emphasising the lower hundred Hz region a touch? A little lift to upper mids to bring vocals forward a little and a gentle hump in the mid kHz region to slightly bring sibilance forward a touch? I do agree that these days, the directivity changes as tweeter takes over are very easy to see and maybe a smaller 'mid driver' might have been better? Just summising here obviously. Would a totally flat response have been worse bearing in mind how many place their centre channels badly? I do accept that those of you with nice large 'cinema style' rooms may just place the centre speaker under the screen in free space?
 

Holmz

Major Contributor
Joined
Oct 3, 2021
Messages
2,018
Likes
1,241
Location
Australia
Sure, if one has already invested in a brand and a "sound", they can stay with that.

I suspect that much of that "Thiel step response" sound colouration goes away once you apply a capable DRC doing both FR and phase/timing optimisation, such as DIRAC or one of the other DRC paths...

Are you saying that something like the Q350 (and others) could be made to have the time/phase step response correct, and then have a Thiel/Spika/Vandersteen sound?

... That is only good for those who believe in DRC, of course, there are still plenty of people who see DRC as "unnecessary distortion in the signal path that prevents them from hearing the music the way that the artist and engineer had intended". o_O

I guess the emoticon is where you put it, to assume that the artist/engineer, did not intend them to sound like it was in my room or your room? ;)

Ta M8
 

Vict0r

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Nov 6, 2020
Messages
647
Likes
1,581
Location
The Netherlands
You pay through the nose but you end up with a booger. Too bad. It looks nice, though, in a grandpa-hifi-esque way.

Still looking for that best bang-for-buck, <$500 horizontal center speaker! It seems all of them are inherently flawed, one way or another.
 

SwampYankee

Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2021
Messages
41
Likes
53
You pay through the nose but you end up with a booger. Too bad. It looks nice, though, in a grandpa-hifi-esque way.

Still looking for that best bang-for-buck, <$500 horizontal center speaker! It seems all of them are inherently flawed, one way or another.
Nothing wrong with wanting or needing a horizontal center speaker, but from a performance perspective it's like looking for the best inexpensive amphibious car.
 

poopy

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2020
Messages
365
Likes
293
Wow. 70 lbs!

Don't think it's heavy for a centre speaker. Mine for example is 94 lbs.
But clearly, heavy centre speaker doesn't mean it is well-designed as showed by Amir.
 

bobfriedman

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2021
Messages
5
Likes
6
All I can say is that I purchased a VCC-1 on eBay inexpensively and now it is sitting in a closet.
 

Rottmannash

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 11, 2020
Messages
2,969
Likes
2,606
Location
Nashville

Ata

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
May 6, 2021
Messages
388
Likes
333
Location
Adelaide, Australia
Are you saying that something like the Q350 (and others) could be made to have the time/phase step response correct, and then have a Thiel/Spika/Vandersteen sound?

Well, DRC would correct both the Thiel/Spika/Vandersteen and the KEF Q350 to sound as close as possible with an as close as possible impulse response, given the same location in the same room...

I guess the emoticon is where you put it, to assume that the artist/engineer, did not intend them to sound like it was in my room or your room? ;)

Ta M8

No, the emoticon is an expression of disbelief at a statement like what I quoted. Clearly artists and sound engineers have no idea how a particular room sounds, and assumed a perfect (zero) interaction between room and speaker when they mastered the recording, hence, DRC is all about making your sound system reproduce music as close as possible to the artist/engineer intent!
 

Vict0r

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Nov 6, 2020
Messages
647
Likes
1,581
Location
The Netherlands
Nothing wrong with wanting or needing a horizontal center speaker, but from a performance perspective it's like looking for the best inexpensive amphibious car.

Can't fit another tower under my TV, alas.
 

617

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 18, 2019
Messages
2,404
Likes
5,296
Location
Somerville, MA
Our first Vandersteen and it's a damn center speaker. Who buys Vandersteen center speakers?

The irony with center speakers is that they have exactly one job, and they are all worse at it than almost any non-center speaker.

I don't think this is a headless panther. Not great, poor value, but it gets points for made-in-usa. As a speaker design guy I like the complex enclosure. I respect the effort.
 

Zedly

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 9, 2020
Messages
191
Likes
351
Are we not going to talk about that thing in the background that is looking at us?
face.png
 

sarumbear

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 15, 2020
Messages
7,604
Likes
7,314
Location
UK
Here's what's inside; which explains why it's so deep:

View attachment 162889

And behind the grill:

View attachment 162895
It looks like there are two woofers, mounted on a single enclosure firing each into a separate cavity. Some call this configuration slot loading, some call it a short horn but it is neither. It is also not a band-pass. In short it is a wishful configuration.

It is also completely silly to use a 1st order filter on a driver which is a 2nd order device. It simply can't be done.

Richard Small published his Ph. D. thesis in 1972 and presented his seminal papers to AES a year later. He analysed every aspect of an electro-magnetic speakers. Since then many came up with silly ideas like this to do something which he has not analysed. If you read his thesis (I have a signed copy) he says that he discarded various edge designs because they either do not work or they bring no benefit. This is one of those.
 

Dmitri

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jul 25, 2020
Messages
433
Likes
1,061
Oh my. My entire center channel world view has come to a screeching, brutal carnage strewn halt.

I’d been a Vandersteen fanboy for years now...caught up in the plethora of flowery language and that well honed Richard Vandersteen marketing brand- the relentless pursuit of perfection with just the right touch of arrogance. Then I found ASR. So yeah. I kind of knew this was gonna happen some day. :facepalm:

So...Thank you Amirm for this review. I’ve coveted the VCC5 for years but refused to pay the buy in price... and I never managed to find a used one in the matching finish to my current setup. I’m glad I didn’t!

In general, I like Vandy’s because they are not flashy or shrill or overemphasized in any particular spectrum...soft highs, warm, somewhat tubby lows in my system, with pretty good impact when called upon. Nice broad sound stage. Comfort food speakers, after some finagling to match that rigid 6” vertical window that comprises my signature sofa listening slouch. Probably would test like shite, but my older ears are happy enough...except for the want of a better center channel.

Think it’s time I start, or perhaps search here for an already existing thread for advice on an appropriate replacement for my VCC 1...
 

DoctorRobert

Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2020
Messages
18
Likes
26
I currently have a KEF Q200c (center) in my home cinema set. This is a 3-way design, augmented by one passive radiator. As Amir mentioned somewhere that he is trying to find a smallish 3-way center with coaxial speakers, a secondhand Q200 might be an interesting option. If he is not happy with it, he can sell it after measuring, and I have my speaker tested ;-) Interesting enough, the Q200c has been replaced by the similar looking Q250c which is however a 2-way design with 2 passive radiators.

For what it's worth, I am happy with my center, but I am a bad predictor of Amir's appreciation and the room is smallish (16 sqm).
 

P_M

Active Member
Joined
May 31, 2019
Messages
131
Likes
51
Location
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
In my opinion, it is unfair to judge or compare a location-specific or purpose-specific speaker (center, surround, ,...) on things like frequency response, directivity and music, in a standalone setting by itself.
These speakers are designed specifically to tweak response and directivity for their intended purpose/design goal, so music on a standalone speaker or even in stereo is going to sound awful.
The only fair way to do a listening test on these type of speakers is to substitute them into an existing surround sound system. Swap out the existing reference center/surround and place the one you want to test and then play the tracks you want to audition in full surround.
 

thunderchicken

Active Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2019
Messages
146
Likes
120
Location
Seattle
Fascinating! I lusted after Vandersteens 15 years ago and checked used prices regularly for the 2C(x). Gave up on that when I started building my own speakers. Funny how measurements can topple cult classics so quickly.

From the measurements, they didn't seem that bad. I went with the postman because I never spent that $2700 on one. If I had, I'd have gone postal.
 

SwampYankee

Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2021
Messages
41
Likes
53
Can't fit another tower under my TV, alas.
I'm in a similar situation and settled on a 2-way Kef UniQ center that just barely fit in our cabinet below the TV. I have the high pass filter set at 100hz to mitigate the limited bass capability and reduce distortion at high volumes. It's definitely a compromise. I previously used a cheap Cambridge Audio center (SX70) that suffered noticeable tonality changes depending on your seating position. That was more annoying than the limited output and more gradual roll-off of treble with the Kef.
 

pseudoid

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 23, 2021
Messages
5,125
Likes
3,439
Location
33.58 -117.88
...Since I could not see the drivers, I only took a shot of measuring the central two-way driver in near-field:...
I had not thought of this trick until I read/saw it somewhere:
Pointing a narrow-beam, hi-lumen flashlight thru the grill of a speaker allows a peek to the inside. Especially, if it is a Vandersteen cloth/sock.
 
Top Bottom