Amplifier for Vandersteen 3A sigs?

I'm 11 years late to this thread but I've used a Krell 300i, Audio Research VT200, Musical Fidelity A308, and most recently a Pass Labs Aleph 3 to drive my 3A Sigs.

The speakers have sounded great with all these amps but the VT200 and Aleph 3 worked the best. In my current setup the Aleph 3 works the best. The speakers are very revealing and musical at the same time.

I've had these speakers for 16 years and continue to be impressed with them.

You might want to look for a pair of the PSE Studio V monoblocks. Very musical.
I have the 3A sigs and started with the PSEs. They are great little amps for a reasonable amount used. Moved up to Theta Dreadnaught to make it easier for home theatre. PSEs used should run around 1k for two monoblocks while a Dreadnaught can run you lots more(depending on the configuration)

Quicksilver V-4's and Rogue M-150's are both excellent with the 3A-Sigs.

My brother has the 3A Sigs and he took the traditional, most recommended, route - Audio Research 100.2 SS amp w/ AR LS16 mkII preamp. That combo is guaranteed to deliver satisfying results.

Why not check out the AR 300.2? There's a used one here for ~$3k right now. Teamed with one of AR's tube premaps, I think that would be a serious combination. Even better, one of AR's monster tube amps like the VT-200. for the same price as the 300.2

I read somewhere that the people at Ayre use Vandersteens in developing there products. I think they are an excellent choice. Take a good look at the Ayre V-3. This is an older model that is rated at 100 wpc, but don't let the power rating fool you. It's a very powerful amplifier that sounds great and can be found used between $1300-1400. If you decide to upgrade later on the Ayre will be easy to sell.

You owe it to your self to set these speakers up out in the middle of the room even if it's just for a short time before you put the LCD between the speakers.

I'm using the Channel Islands D200's. They replaced my long time favorite McCormack. They added transparency and detail, retaining the top and bottom extension. The McCormack had a slight perceived warmth edge, but I'm not so sure the warmth wasn't induced by subtraction. In other words, I think the d200's were more accurate. About the only criticism of the Vandy's I've heard is they lean towards dark, lacking fine detail and resolution. Some people will choose amps with a 'musical' interpretation they prefer, knowing it may not be true to the music.
Asking which amp is better, you have to determine where you fall on preference. There's a lot of really good amps that sound so different.

i have a pair of 2ce sigs. tried a proceed heavyweight. better was c-j mf2200, added a bit of relaxation while still producing bass. tried 35-watt tube amp (old marantz 8), vocals were pretty but not realistic amp for driving big vandys.

Besides the amps mention above, my favorite is the Belles 350A Reference.
http://powermodules.com/

Timberman- there is another thread running right now on this issue, run a search on VAndersteen and you will find it.

Probably the best amp I ever used with these speakers is the Theta Dreadnaught I. I used it with an Aesthetix Calypso preamp. It made really, really good sound. The McCormack's are good choices but not as smooth, holographic or detailed as the Theta.
The Dread II is better in the bass as for sounding powerful but not as smooth through the mids.
It all depends on what kind of sound you're looking for.
The Belles 350a (or 150a References are very, very good.)
They're some integrateds out there that are good such as the Musical Fidelity KW 500 or some of the other MF's. There's lots of choices. You need a good bit of power and these speakers do dip to around 3 ohms at some points requiring amps with solid power supplies.
BTW, these speakers are not magnetically shielded so close proximity could be a problem.