Vandersteen 5a or Eggleston Andra II

As much as like the Vandersteen, and they are excellent, the clarity and neutrality of Eggleston appeal to me more. Another speaker you may want to consider is the Merlin VSM-MXe which also uses the same Esotar tweeter. The speaker is much smaller than the Andra 2 and much easier to drive which may give you some more flexibilty in choosing an amplfier - 30 tube watts should be enough. Since you mention the subwoofer capabailities of the VS, the Merlin may not be able to provide the kind of bass you desire, but it does go to 33Hz -2db, and is exceptionally balance throughout the frequency range, but it is ideally suited to a small to medium size listening room, it won't move air like the two you are considering.

Firstly, as others have mentioned, I would not choose a speaker for the tweeter. Mid range is much more important. Secondly, Bob Ludwig currently uses the Andra II's - do a google on him and you will probably find that he has mastered a great deal of the music you listen to (one of the highly respected sound engineers in the industry). Speakers that are highly regarded for use in prestigious mastering studios tend to be neutral, transparent, non-fatiguing, yet dynamic and natural sounding. I do not have listening experience comparing either of these speakers but I would not hesitate to take a page out of Bob Ludwig's book and follow his choice.

A good friend has the Vandy 5's with Dartzeel gear along with EMM source, really nice system. In my opinion I prefer the Eggleston's and feel that they are just in another league over all, more musical and over all more convincing.

Please. This is either yet another overuse of the term "another league", or there is something wrong, somewhere, in the system with the Vandys. I have no issue with someone saying that they prefer the Egglestons, but to claim they are in another league is just plain silly.

There would have to be something very wrong with the Vandy system for the Eggleston's to be in "another league". With these two excellent speaker, it just has to come down to the type of sound you like, they do have different signatures, and both are valid and each will appeal to a different audience. I do think Shadorne does make a reall good point regarding Ludwig anf if you like the recording he produces, his recordings and the EQs and miking would certainly reflect what he is hearing in playback.

"I would not hesitate to take a page out of Bob Ludwig's book and follow his choice."

I would. He used to use wilson's. very different. mastering peopole have some weird systems. Doug sax has a system I can;t make any sense out of.

As long as he can, it doesn't matter, of course.