D'Agostino vs. Ayre

some thoughts but i am biased..but i also dont change gear constantly..

ayre VX-R Twenty driving Vandersteen 7 MK2

are they dark ? no
the amp might not have to be the last word in low end because Vandersteen has a built in LF amp and 11 band EQ.

the carbon / balsa drivers are highly pistonic. Most but not all other drivers have significant out of phase breakup. the transparency of the Ayre gear shines thru IMO. you might want to watch Richards video on Pistonic laser scanning to visually see what drivers do. The driver he is comparing to is a very highly regarded ( by reviewers ) paper cone but on his patented V / scanspeak frame so we are looking at cone effects only

but i think it is good you will have both amps to listen to

I'm looking forward to hearing your opinion. 

Tomic601 Your opinion makes me wonder just how great a pair of Atma Sphere amps might sound on Vandersteen 7s. I just might prefer my MA-1 3.3s over the Ayres in the mids and highs.

goodwithtools

i agree and have wondered myself...
even thought about building a set of the 60 wpc kits to find out...
i think gdnrbob has a pair of atmaspheres driving Vandersteens..maybe he can comment - they might have the carbon tweeter

i do think it is very possible to chase our tails on amps...we have such a plethora of really good amps out there...many mentioned in this thread for sure.

Lots of really good amps out there, yes. But they all sound different. Some significantly different.