As stated, it's a matter of personal preference, but I'm more of a Thiel guy, myself. I picked up a pair of used, but great condition, CS3.6's a while back, and I believe them to be a phenomenal speaker for the money. I recently went about auditioning them with numerous power amps, several of which cost more than twice the 3.6's suggested retail. One thing about the 3.6's is that they will let you hear all of the nuances of the rest of your gear, and believe me, the differences in various amps were very audible with the Thiels. In one instance, I hooked up my 3.6's to a dealer's system who had been using a pair of $9,000 speakers, and when we hooked up the Thiels, I swear his jaw hit the floor! He kept walking around them and asking questions about them (which was odd, since he was trying to sell me an amp!).
Of course, Vandersteens are also quite nice. They just didn't get me as excited about music as the Thiels do.
Tom.
