Amps for Vandersteen 3A Signature SS or Tube?

Narrod
I am getting very good results with the DNA 225 and ARC SP-16L SS and tubes.

"Laid back and detailed" does seem superficially contradictory but well describes the sound I get from my 3A Sigs driven by Rogue M-150's in a well-treated listening room. All the detail is there but is placed naturally in the soundstage which is not thrust forward but instead pulls you into the music. It is not a gimmicky or splashy presentation; it invites contemplative, concentrated listening and is particlarly realistic for opera (my favorite) and operatic venues. I use a separate Blue Circle Music Ring 1200 for each amp which has improved the sense of precision and rhythmic accuracy of the sound. Finally, the addition of a REL Stadium III rolling off at 23hz has further enhanced the presentation, particularly on live recordings. I had previously used a Levinson 27 (admittedly not the latest and the greatest ss, but not shabby) with the 3A Sigs and I could not capture the emotion within the notes to the extent I do now -- that seems to be the gift of tubes.

I second Sogood51's suggestion for the Rouge 150's. I drive a pair of Vandy 2ce Sigs with them and they are very musical indeed. More than enough bass and plenty of headroom. They seem to keep "opening up" the higher the volume and even running them in triode I never feel like I could ever run orut of gas.

Over the years I have owned 1B, 1C, 2CE, 2CE Sig, 3A and 3A Sig speakers. I've always thought they were some of the best bank for the buck speakers available. I still do. However, once you move up in class (and spend more money) they are easily bettered, in my opinion. Once I owned my first pair of
Audio Physic Virgo IIs I've never looked back at Vandersteen.
I've owned Avanti IIIs for the last three years and they are easily the finest speaker I've ever owned and one of the very best I've ever heard. They are more transparent than Vandersteen could ever hope to be. They do a disappearing act that is incredible. My point being that Vandersteens are very good but, when budget is available, there is much, much better available. By comparison, every Vandersteen system I've ever heard (with the exception of the 5s) sounds
veiled.

Laid back and yet detailed is a very good description of the whole Vandersteen line. Especially the 3A sigs and the 5As. Laid back in that you can listen to them for hours at any sound level without ear fatigue. In other words not colored on the bright side. Detailed in that you have no problem hearing the most subtle aspect of any recording. Music instruments and voices simply sound like what they are. It is the magic of Vandersteen speakers, and their curse. It is a curse for dealers because people give them a short listen and think they aren't hearing something special because they don't sound "differen". They simply reproduce sound the way we hear it all day long.