Avalon, Vandersteen... which to move to?

I love the ProAc sound; if you like it too, why don't you audition one of the new D-20 or D38 (or whatever they are called) models?

The Avalons require megawatts of power -- and they are way overpriced compared to other speakers that are just flat out better. The Avalons also don't have the best dynamics. I think a lot of people buy them for their cabinet work and their looks in general.

If you're after cost-effective performance, the Vandersteens are hard to beat. And while they may be forgiving, they're also highly capable of revealing differences in upstream components. Also, the Vandersteens are phase- and time-coherent. The Avalons (and ProAcs) are not. This may not be a big deal to some people, but it's been my experience that phase- and time-coherent speakers do a better job of imaging and recreating the illusion of a live event. They just sound more natural.

But, hey, there are lots of great speakers out there. Listen to as many as you can. IMHO.

Having owned both original model 3 and 2C I can safely say the 3A Sigs are far better than the 2C. I can't imagine a subwoofer making that big of a difference as the 3A is simply better at everything. Vandersteens have their own sound, very mellow compared to many other speakers. I recently changed to Aerial after listening to Vandersteens, Coincident (a close second), Sonus Faber, ProAc and a few others (but not Avalon). All were in the $3500-$5000 range. What do you like and dislike about your ProAcs?

Thank you all for your responses (& don't stop just because I'm writing this!)- it is helpful to lean on your collective experience.

Sc53 and Scb6, I'm looking to move away from ProAc if I change, which is why I'm not auditioning other ProAcs (also, this is my 2nd set of ProAcs, so I feel I have some sense of their general sound). What I like about them is ease of listening & naturalness of voices... but there seems to be something funky about the bass- not as balanced as I'd like, maybe too heavy or something- which upgrades to other components has revealed. Male voices, e.g., don't sound as "natural" (whatever that is in a playback system) to me as female, and I think it's due to the bass issue. Also, I wouldn't mind more bass extension & detail. But most of all, I think there may be more "there" to be had with the right upgrade (as other component upgrades have in the past provided)... and Vandersteen & Avalon have made the cut to final consideration, the former because I've heard the 2CEs & was impressed (less so with the 3Asig, which was odd), & Avalon due to reccommendations.

Nas--

My experience with the 3A Sig has been the same as yours. I have auditioned it and was not impressed. In fact, based on that experience, I would take the 1C over the 3A Sig. I know it can sound better, but I haven't heard it yet. That's why I'm saving my pennies for a pair of 2CE Sigs instead of the 3A Sig.