Vandersteen Model 2CE's: Should I upgrade?

Well, hell, I might as well jump on this train also -- particularly with such august company. I previously owned the Model 2Ci's, then went to the 2CE's, then to the Model 3A's, which I later had upgraded at the factory to the 3A Signatures. The 2CE Sig's are a fine speaker for the money, but the 3A / 3A Signatures are a substantial move up the performance ladder. I have helped my son move through the Vandersteen family of speakers, starting with the 1B's, and most recently to the 3A's. (I remember his girl friend's comment after we got the 3A's set up properly in their living room: she said she had no idea that such quality of music reproduction was possible in the home.)

For my money, the 3A / 3A Sig's are an astonishly good speaker, and I think they make a better long-term investment than going from the 2C to the 2CE Signature. If your budget will allow, give serious consideration to the 3A's or 3A Sig's -- you won't be disappointed.

Unless you have a very large listening room, or tend to listen at "ear bleed" levels, you Bel Canto amp should be a very nice pairing with the 3A Sig's. Since you've raised the question about power levels for the 3A Sig's, you should be made aware that Vandy speakers are less well suited to playing at very high SPL's, compared to some other speakers. The Vandy 3A / 3A Sigs are of medium efficiency (87-88 db) , and they employe a 6-db, first order crossover, which somewhat limits their ability to play very loudly. If pushed to high volume levels, Vandy speakers may compress the dynamics a bit. I have driven my various Vandy speakers quite effectively using a low distortion 125 wpc solid state amp (although my current amp has about 300 wpc). Based on what I have read of the Bel Canto Evo amps, they have good dynamic headroom, and good bass control, so yours should be fine with the Vandies.