Integrated fo Vandersteen 1C

Hello, I have had Vandersteen 1c's and 2ce's that I have driven with Rotel RA970 integrated amps, Mission Cyrus One, and Adcom GCA-510 integrated amps, all with great sound. You should be able to find any of these used for 250.00 or so. The best I ever used on the 1c's was a YBA Integre DT integrated but it was 4 times as expensive too. Good luck!

Until recently, I was using an NAD C340 with 50 watts/channel to drive Vandersteen 1b speakers, an earlier model of the 1c. I am now using the preamp section of the C340 with an NAD C270 power amp of 120 watts/channel to drive the same speakers. The C340 alone was capable of doing a reasonable job with those speakers, but the extra power provides an audible improvement in bass response. You mentioned that your friend has an 80 watt/channel NAD integrated. It is probably the NAD C352, which is an upgraded C350, which in turn is an upgraded C340. If he wants to upgrade but stay with integrated amplifiers, I would suggest an Audio Refinement Complete, a NAD C372, or one of the higher-powered Arcam integrated models. If he is willing to try a power amplifier and can afford something more expensive that a NAD C270 or C272, I understand that McCormack DNA 0.5, DAN-1 or DNA-125 power amplifiers sound very good with Vandersteen speakers.

I have 2ce's and I use an Acurus Dia-100. It is available used for little money. Try eBay and other audio auctions.

You won't go wrong.

Enjoy!

The 1Cs are easy to drive as Banksfriend stated. I'm currently using a Roksan KandyIII integrated (115 watts) with excellent results. The Roksan very versital with a nice phono stage, headphone jack, two preamp outs and remote control. They don't come up on used market all that often but sell for $600 or so when they do. Good luck.