Pre Amp or Amp Best Money Spent

I think the better preamp is more important, as Narrod said "In general, the preamp will have more effect on sound than the the amp (as long as the speakers have enough power)." So yes the amp/speaker interface is absolutely critical and must be accounted for - the amp must have enough power to drive the speaker, but that should be easily accomplished. Finding a great preamplifer is more difficult. Sure a great preamp and an underpowered, underdamped amp (for 2CEs) won't be so great, but finding a competent amplifier with enough power should not prove too challenging. For Vandersteen 2Ces within a relatively modest price range, I would go with a McCormack 100 watt SS and a tube preamp, maybe an Audible Illusions 3A or the higher end Rogue, or the lower priced Modwright - all three of which should be available used on Audiogon, or of course, can be purchased new. While VS can sound great with tubes, you need a pretty hefty tube amp as the VS are not the friendliest tube impedance loads. It will sound a lot better than an NAD entry level intgrated.

Tvad, I agree with you and the point made in the article (a good informative read); it is not as simple as power (maybe the difference between horsepower (watts) and torque - current) - I am aware of the other factors, especially with tubes. But I still think it will be easier to find a good amp to drive the 2Ces without having to spend "a lot" on amplification, especially with SS, which I think generally work best with the Vandersteens. In other words, I think you could find a satisfactory pre/amp combo that will work well with VS with more budget going to the preamplifier. Frankly, I would just ask Richard - boy does he shoot straight, sometimes you have to duck. I also agree with you about the Merlins.

Richard also likes Rotel with the 2Ces. See what he thinks. You get a lot of power for the money with Rotel, but Richard is the go to guy.

Tvad, the article you provided the link to is really a must read; I reread it at lesiure. I finally really understand why Bobby (designer) says the Merlins are made for tubes and why the little Ars Sonum can drive them so well. I've argued in the past that one ought not to talk about the sound of an amp universally, but only the sound of an amp with a particular speaker - again the importance of the match between the two.