New Speaker advice

@mattsaunders2000 the speakers you are referencing are somewhat starkly different from one another.  This indicates, to me, that you were heavily influenced by the artifacts of the different sound rooms you were in, and the different source components used.  As ghdprentice advised at the outset, try listening with your ears; not your eyes (i.e.  speaker specs).  Among all the specs for all the hardware I can think of, speaker specs are the most unreliable and virtually least helpful.  What you power your speakers with matters a great deal more but not as much as your sound room dimensions, its acoustic properties and other source components.  Your lash-up power source (i.e.  amp & pre-amp) is a real wild card here.  I doubt any of the shops you were in were able to replicate this or even come close; not to mention the sound room and other variables.  It would be good if you could audition speakers in your home, with your equipment.

In my last speaker upgrade, I actually purchased a pair of one of the speakers you are presently considering.  This was after a lengthy quest of scheduled, structured critical listening sessions in several high-end audio shops involving A/B shoot-outs of approximately 18 or 19 different brands.  I spent several hours, in fact, with 2 of your contenders.  I was fortunate enough to hear the final 3 contenders on an amplification source identical to mine and with some other source components identical or very similar to mine, as well.  Of course, the sound room was different, mostly in acoustic properties but the dimensions were similar.  I was and am pleasantly surprised that the speakers I came home with actually sound noticeably better in my home than they did at the audio shop, most notably in further reaching or lower bass response.  Telling you which speakers I chose would be pointless.  The important thing is what sounds best to your ears; not mine or anyone else's.  Be that as it may, judging from what information you've provided, you might want to add PSB, GoldenEar, Monitor Audio and Martin Logan to your explorations.

Good Luck!

@jetter I am going against the flow here, but I have a friend with an older Denon AVR and I am always amazed at how good it sounds. I have always thought Denon makes very nice sounding gear for its price points.

I believe the issue lies in using an AVR as a preamp. I have personally experienced this when using the Cambridge Azur 851A integrated amp as a preamp through its pre-out. While the Azur 851A sounds wonderful by itself as an integrated amp, the sound fidelity from its preamp section via the pre-out is poor, constrained, and heavily attenuated for some reason. It’s better to connect directly to the amplifier. If someone has had a similar experience, they may chime in to share their insights.

Focal are made in France 100%, the other two, China, if that matters.

I always recommend focusing on the weakest link in the audio chain. Your Vandersteen’s are definitely not your weakest link.

See if you can borrow a decent preamp (that falls within your budget) to plug into your system first before getting rid of your current speakers.

It is straightforward to assess whether the AVR used as a preamp is a weak link, as many have commented. Simply compare it to a direct connection of your DAC with the AR D300, both using XLR and SE connections, and you’ll know immediately.

Finding a preamp that pairs well with your D90 and D300 in terms of impedance is not a problem since both have decent low output impedance and high input impedance. However, finding one with good synergy will take time and effort, but it will be worthwhile. You could start by experimenting with an AR preamp, as preamps often have better synergy with power amps from the same brand. My little gem Parasound Zpre2 pairs very well with two parasound amplifiers I currently have. The sonic quality is improved over the direct connection with airier treble, greater dynamics, and more expansive soundstages.