I agree with several postings above that you should decide on the speakers first. Vandersteens have a reputation for working well with McCormack and Audio Research amps. A used cj MF2500A would be another good match for the Vandies and certainly with the cj classic preamp. One more thought about the McCormack...you could buy one for under your current price limit and have it upgraded by SMc Audio. I am currently running an extensively modified DNA-1 Deluxe into 3A Sigs. with great results. The high current of the McC really coaxes the dynamics out of the Vandies.
Power amp around $3000 for C-J Classic preamp
I've all but decided that my next preamp will be the Conrad-Johnson Classic, but I'm struggling with ideas for a power amp that would be a good match for it below $3000. I listen almost exclusively to vinyl and the speakers right now are the Totem Acoustic Hawks but will be upgraded in the near future to probably the Vandersteen 3A Sig or possibly VMPS RM-30, but not yet sure. I'm open to both tube, hybrid or solid state, but I'm more inclined toward solid state. Any ideas?