I have been told by dealers that an Aragon 8008BB will work very well on the 3As'. This is the amp I currently have, though it is driving a pair of Mirage M3si speakers. I am not wealthy and at the time, the Aragon was the only amp I could audition that was good enough to live with. Not at the top of my list, but I could afford it. Later, Krell came out with the KAV 250A, but it was discontinued before I was in a position to take a serious look at it (I have a Krell KRC-3 preamp).
More recently, I was auditioning a pair of Vandersteen 3A Signatures. I really liked them, but in the shop they were just lacking some punch. At firt, they were using a Krell Showcase processor and amp (multi-channel). They swapped out the pre to a Conrad Johnson Premier 18LS, and the amp to a McCormack DNA-225. The front end was an Ayre CX-7 (what I use at home). Cabling was MIT PCs and Straight Wire ICs and SCs. The sound improved I thought, but still lacking in punch and dynamics. The midbass and bass were also less prominent than what I am used to at home or what other systems at that shop do (same music).
For comparison, they hooked up a pair of Aerial Acoutics (Model 7?) to the same system, but the midbass was quite unacceptable. At the time, I decided that the overall frequency balance of the Vandies was probably more correct than many speakers, but the lack of punch and dynamics in the shop was too large a negative. The dealer said that the McCormacks tend to have a lighter sound and that my Aragon would probably be a better match. However, they did not offer to let me try the demo pair at home (to see if the dynamics were better on my system and room), so I did not purchase them.
More recently, I was auditioning a pair of Vandersteen 3A Signatures. I really liked them, but in the shop they were just lacking some punch. At firt, they were using a Krell Showcase processor and amp (multi-channel). They swapped out the pre to a Conrad Johnson Premier 18LS, and the amp to a McCormack DNA-225. The front end was an Ayre CX-7 (what I use at home). Cabling was MIT PCs and Straight Wire ICs and SCs. The sound improved I thought, but still lacking in punch and dynamics. The midbass and bass were also less prominent than what I am used to at home or what other systems at that shop do (same music).
For comparison, they hooked up a pair of Aerial Acoutics (Model 7?) to the same system, but the midbass was quite unacceptable. At the time, I decided that the overall frequency balance of the Vandies was probably more correct than many speakers, but the lack of punch and dynamics in the shop was too large a negative. The dealer said that the McCormacks tend to have a lighter sound and that my Aragon would probably be a better match. However, they did not offer to let me try the demo pair at home (to see if the dynamics were better on my system and room), so I did not purchase them.