Need advice on amp to drive Vandersteen 2Cs

There is a Plinius 8200 mk 1 for sale on Audiogon now. If that's what your looking for...

I owned the 2C and drove them with a upgraded stereo 70 with an ARC-6B preamp. Great combo in the right room. I'll never forget listening to the 2C at Music by Design, (now gone)in northern California with an ARC SP-10 preamp and ARC D-115 amp. Wonderful combo. Lot's of choices.
Audible Illusions 3 A,B preamps with Quicksilver amps mid mono's and Silver 60's sound great!! Belles and McCormack solid state amps are really good as well. But, to my ears the 2C sounds best with tubes.

John Marks Stereophile "Tomorrow Classics List". Quicksilver, All. I currently have a pair of 2Ce sig2's. A good 50-60 watt tube amp like a Quicksilver Mid Mono or better yet Silver 60's are great. I think the Mid Mono's have a glorious mid-range liquidity, while the Silver 60 provide more drive. Keep in mind that a 55 watt tube amp vrs a 120 watt tube amp will give you better woofer control. It is not going to give you deeper bass or greater overall output. To achieve twice the output will take 10-times the rated power output. And then again, the gain in db output from 50-120 watts is only about 3db. But to me, the sound of music is in the mid-range and top end. I guess it all depends on what you want. Back in the day(1986) I was happy with a mere 35 watt stereo 70.

I agree with Dhgee...Keep in mind the Dynaco Stereo 70 for example is only 35 watts per channel. But note that tube watts are more powerful than their numerical equivalent in transistor watts. 35 watts is comparable to about 50 transistor watts! A 60 watt ARC D70 is a fantastic sounding amplifier with an output comparable to a 80 watt transistor amp. The load of a Vandersteen 2C (1987) speaker is also tube friendly, 7.8 ohms nominal 6 ohms minimun. The current 2Ce Signature II is tube frendly as well. Over the weekend I visited my good friend who bought my older 1987 2C Vandersteens. The 2C's are truly a great sounding speaker. He has a very large room and is running them with mid fi 1980's gear , Denon reciever, sony cd player and they still sound very good. Most do not know how great the even older 2C can sound. To the best of my knowledge Richard Vandersteen uses ARC gear to voice his speakers. He has owned Quicksilver amps as well. And if you need more bass performance the Vandersteen sub is the way to go. To my ears the Vandersteens have always sounded best with tubes. Not the big tube amps. But the smaller amps that use the EL34's, KT66's tubes....Just my 2c's...But, you could always call Mr. Vandersteen for more information....

I agree with Dhgee...The ARC D70 is a great amplifier mated with Vandersteens. In fact I beleve that Mr. Vandersteen currently is using ARC gear to voice his loudspeakers. Vandersteen has also owned V4 Quicksilver amps as well to the best of my knowledge. As far as tube vrs transistor wattage. Even the Dynaco Stereo 70, for example, is only 35 watts per channel, but note that tube watts are more powerful than transistor watts. The 35 watt Stereo 70 is really about 50 transistor watts! So, a ARC D-70 at 60 watts is perhaps a 80 watt transistor amp. Something to consider. Also the older 2C (1987) Vandersteen is tube friendly as it's only 7.8 ohms minimum 6 ohms. The newer 2Ce Signature II's are also tube friendly. If you really need more bass the Vandersteen sub woofer is the way to go. I just recently visited my friend who bought my old Vandersteen 2C's (1987). He runs them with mid 80's gear. A Denon reciever and sony cd palyer in a very large room. It sounds pretty good. But many have no idea how great this speaker can really sound. To me the Vandersteens have always sounded best with tubes. I perfer the smaller amps that use the EL-34 tube or KT-66. Just my 2 cents. But, you could also ask Mr. Vandersteen by calling him.....