First, let me say that at this price point there are a number of players worth considering. All of them have their pluses and minuses, so picking one involves choosing what to trade off. While this is somewhat true at other price points, it is a very obvious fact at this one. After lengthy auditions of a number of speakers at this price point I bought none of them. Included were the Thiel 1.5 (also the 2.2), Magnepan 1.6, Vandersteen 2ce/2ce Signatures, as well as various speakers from Martin Logan, B&W, etc.
The Maggies had the best imaging, the Thiels were most accurate and all the others had their positives, too. In this group the Vandies were the overall best for my wants (jazz ensembles, acoustic instruments, some rock; SS amp, tube pre, CD only).
The 'Steens were a bit on the soft, laid back side. Without first hand experience to back it up, that characteristic leads me to suggest driving them with SS or "accurate" sounding tubes. Too tubey an input might not be pleasing in the long term.
In the end, just as I was ready to buy, the Vandersteen dealer pushed the wrong button one time too many. That led to my auditioning yet another speaker. It was a bit more expensive, but was absolute the first (in my price range) that simply did nothing glaringly wrong. I took them home that day and have been happy ever since. Unfortunately, the manufacturer is now out of business or I would steer you to them (though there is a pair of new Twos listed on Audiogon that would be a great buy). I'm still very happy with my purchase which was the Hales Revelation Three. Good luck!
The Maggies had the best imaging, the Thiels were most accurate and all the others had their positives, too. In this group the Vandies were the overall best for my wants (jazz ensembles, acoustic instruments, some rock; SS amp, tube pre, CD only).
The 'Steens were a bit on the soft, laid back side. Without first hand experience to back it up, that characteristic leads me to suggest driving them with SS or "accurate" sounding tubes. Too tubey an input might not be pleasing in the long term.
In the end, just as I was ready to buy, the Vandersteen dealer pushed the wrong button one time too many. That led to my auditioning yet another speaker. It was a bit more expensive, but was absolute the first (in my price range) that simply did nothing glaringly wrong. I took them home that day and have been happy ever since. Unfortunately, the manufacturer is now out of business or I would steer you to them (though there is a pair of new Twos listed on Audiogon that would be a great buy). I'm still very happy with my purchase which was the Hales Revelation Three. Good luck!