Far be it from me to contradict Mr. Porter, but I had both the JC-1s and the VTL 450s at the same time and I chose the JC-1s for a couple of reasons. First off the 450s put out a TON of heat. They also are chock full of tubes which mean problems with them probably. I like to leave my system on and ready to rock all the time and you can't really do that with the tubes. Most of all, I thought the JC-1s sounded better, a little smoother and better in the bass. The VTLs did have the tube magic though, and surprisingly were brighter sounding overall.
I would go for a new amp. Those speakers need some juice and if you've not got a chance to hear some high powered amps you are in for a treat. After fooling with amps of all different power ratings I don't think I'd ever go back to anything below say 300 watts.
I would go for a new amp. Those speakers need some juice and if you've not got a chance to hear some high powered amps you are in for a treat. After fooling with amps of all different power ratings I don't think I'd ever go back to anything below say 300 watts.