overpowering and loud listening.

Zoggle,

Congrats on making the move to the Andra II speakers.

A couple of points of advice.

1. The Andra II does like a bit of power, so SET amps are probably not an option. (And even "normal" power tube amps, (i.e. 100 wpc or so), are probably not going to work as well as higher powered amps.) You probably don't need to go whole hog, like the aforementioned Pass X600 amps, but I'd recommend at least 150 wpc, and preferably 200 wpc.

The one tube amp I would not hesitate to recommend though is the 150wpc VAC Phi 300.1 stereo tube amp. It is not as powerful as the 220 wpc Lamm M2.2 hybrid monoblocks, but in a direct comparision between the two, (in a friend's system), the VAC had a sweeter mid-range and a more refined treble response. (However, the bass was definitely less deep and quick, and the initial strike from percussion instruments was a bit slower.) So there is a trade off between the two: so six of one, half a dozen of the other! (FYI: These are the two best high powered amplifiers that I know.)

2. The Andra II seems to have a touch of mid-bass bloom, at least in my room. Room treatments will probably be necessary to help control this. However, most true full range speakers, (especially vented speakers, which the Andra II are not), need some room treatments for this very reason. (FYI: I listen mostly to rock, so the extra bass reinforcment is not unwelcome.) I bring this up because if you choose an amp with a lot of deep bass response, (say something like a Krell amp), this might exasperate the mid-bass bloom. Also certain cables can also help or hinder the problem as well. I have found that the Nordost Valhalla worked much better than any other speaker cables I have used.

3. Positioning the speakers can be a bit tricky. It took me several positions to finally get them to sound their best. (Pushing them as far apart as possible, with just a bit of toe-in, worked best for me.)

4. Get used to dusting the speakers. That piano finish on the top really shows the dust. But they do look great when they're clean! I love those black granite side panels. ;-)

Well good luck, (assuming you get them)!

Thank you all for your opinions about "overpowering and loud listening"
I have made an offer and will listen carefully before I lay the money down.
should my offer be accepted.

Also, I would like to know if anyone has owned eggelston 2's and if so what amps sounded good to them?

As an owner of the Andra II speakers, they are indeed made for playing loud, IMHO. I seriously doubt there is any problems with the speakers if you can't hear any problems yourself. (But it would not hurt to have them looked at before you buy them if you're truly that nervous.)

As far as overpowering them, I doubt the last owner actually opened up the Pass X600's to full power when playing them, as that would have been ear splitting. (There really is just so loud you can play any speaker - Well okay, except for those MBL demonstations at the Audio shows!) ;-)

I will bring up one thing though: If they truly are only two years old, you are probably fine, but I will point out that the earliest versions of the Andra II speakers had foam surrounds, (rather than rubber surrounds), and they could deteriorate with time depending upon your environment. (A fellow member had this happen to his, and he had to have them rebuilt by EgglestonWorks a couple of years ago.) You should check to make sure the ones you're considering have the rubber surrounds. (I have the rubber surrounds, and mine still sound great after four years, and I was the second owner too as a matter of fact.) I highly recommend the Andra II speakers.

Also, in case you're wondering, I use the 200 wpc Lamm M2.1 hybrid monoblocks, and they sound great with the Andra II speakers. I highly recommend them, or their successor, the 220 wpc Lamm M2.2s.

Good Luck with your decision.

speakers had seen a normal usage and they've played music. they will sound better than new ones.
i prefer to purchase car that had been a daily highway driver i.e. not driven slow. almost same applies to speakers.

My concern is they have a manufacturing recommended power rating of 300 w and the owner was using Pass x 6oo's to power them.

given that the manuf has a higher power rating for them & that the owner used X600 to power them is a very good thing (as Mechans has already written) as this means that the amps most likely did not clip the speakers. Clipping does more damage than playing loud/very loud as the distortion created by clipping gets past the x-over ckt & destroys the drivers - tweeters first. Using an under-powered amp would have been the worse option.
And, it looks like the Andra2 like to be played loud guessing from the manuf's rating.

I recently auditioned used eggleston works andra 2 speakers

did you take your own music to the audition so that you could listen attentively to passages in your music that you now know very well? If not, you should have! The whole point of auditioning is to see that the new potential buy is better than what you own + that the speakers are healthy as far as you could tell.
Speaker drivers are very hardy & quite tolerant of abuse as long as the amps don't clip for long periods or often. If the drivers are getting abused frequently then the drivers are likely to show this when you listen - uneven SPL from left/right which will move the soundstage right/left, buzzing from the cone driver & maybe some physical damage on the driver upon close-up inspection are some of the tell-tale signs.

Simply playing a speaker loud is not sufficient grounds to reject buying it. If it is, then, cough up the money & go buy a brand new speaker & put your own volume/SPL signature on it. Speakers are meant to be played loud esp. if you get into your music & are having a good time listening.... According to me, no point in buying an Andra2 pair of speakers & then playing it at 70dB SPL! I want that room to rock when the Andra2 are playing....

hope that this helps.

The extra wattage is a good thing in that his amps would be less likely to clip. The constant playing at loud levels should have caused soime audible damage if it was going to. Since it didn't cause anything obvious to breakthey may be OK. BUT listen to the speakers very carefully for rubs and or missing sound, the damage may be there even though it is not immediately obvious. So there is a downside, perhaps you can have them assessed by a pro speaker tech for problems.
It kinda sounds like you don't feel comfortable with this deal so why do it? You should be happy with the gear you want to buy.