Components for Vandersteen 1C's


My brother is looking to upgrade his stereo system (Marantz CC 48, HK AVI 200, KEF Q15's). He's already purchased (at my recommendation) a pair of Vandersteen 1C's. I have a Jolida 302B (with Mullard small tubes and Sovtec big tubes) that I think would be a fairly decent match for the Vandies (and I'd give him a 'family' price). So my first question is whether the Jolida would indeed be a good fit or whether he should look into other options.

Secondly, I've been leaning towards telling him to spend his money on a good (MSB?) DAC and use the Marantz as a transport rather than buy a new CD player. Is this good advice? He's got about $1250 left on his original budget to buy electronics, a digital source, and wires. I'd let go of the Jolida for ~$500, but he'd have to pay to get it to him. Any advice is appreciated.

Oh, his tatses lean towards rootsy rock and small band jazz (not much large ensemble stuff). He says he wants more bass than his previous bookshelf system. Musicality seems to be more important than detail and he really isn't obsessed about things like soundstaging.
raguirre
get the vandersteen stands for the speakers and fill them with lead shot. big difference.

i would suggest the following:

pse studio v stereo amp - $300
audible illusions L1- $600
marantz 6400 (new) - $400

total - $1300

this is a killer setup and musical and will image if you get some decent cable and the stands.

good luck,

mike
Thanks for the response. He purchased the stands with the speaker. I'll let him know about lead weighing them.

Is the Marantz 6400 that much of a step up from the CC 44?
Raguirre, I directed a family friend to the Jolida 302 B as first choice for Vandy 3's. Great tonality that encourages you to sit and enjoy all kinds of music.

He's had his about a year and plays it non stop. If he's home, it's playing (literally)! In spite of that, the Jolida has been no problem.
Another vote for the Jolida. Very musical, especially at the price.
Take Mike's advice on the cdp. Sell the older one here or on ebay. He'd probably waste $100 on a decent interconnect from transport to dac; not worth the trouble in this price range.
Last, but most important point: BIWIRE the Vandys!!!, even if with relatively inexpensive cables. Big improvement. Cheers, Spencer
Oops! My 2CIs sure were. Thought they all were. It made a big difference there. Sorry for the confusion. Cheers,
Spencer
Thanks again to everyone. I really like that Jolida amp and it's good to see that it'll work well with the Vandy's. So I guess I got one out of two right...