Vandersteen's Low Spousal Acceptance Factor

Let's get this straight right now. You obviously haven't seen my wife - she's a total Sicilian hottie. The Vandy's are going way before she does, so how about some real suggestions??

Like the Meadowlark Kestrel 2 idea, but afraid I'd be giving up bass. Am I wrong?

OK guys, Just locked down a pair of Kestrel 2s in mahogany - absolutely beautiful. Call me superficial, but the shearwaters are almost as butt ugly as the Vsteens. Not looking forward to the 200 hours of break-in though. thanks for the suggestions.

I bought a subwoofer for my setup as well.

Thanks everyone for their input. It's amazing - or incredibly foolish - that I'm willing to risk about $1000 based on advice from people I've never met! You could all be WRONG!

Just kidding; almost every recommendation I've gotten on this site has been excellent.

I'll post again once the 'larks arrive

The 'Larks have landed! They are absolutely beautiful in Mahogany. BIG, off-the-charts-positive wife acceptance factor. She loves them.

They're significantly smaller than the 2ce sigs, which is nice given my cramped listening room. Hard to compare sound until these are broken in, but so far I'm very impressed. Bass is even good considering small cabinets. I don't quite hear the cohesiveness of the Vandys, but I've got many hours of break-in ahead (I've been told as high as 500 hours!!).

I found a scratch on the front panel of one of these, so to compensate, the distributer has agreed to cut me a deal on a great MJ acoustics sub (down to 15hz!). Can't wait to integrate this set up.

See? Sometimes, it's not the worst thing to listen to your wife. I ended up with new gear that looks great!

Thanks again to all of you. The 'Larks were a superb suggestion! Meanwhile, I showed my wife that Consonance teardrop CDP - her jaw dropped. "What is that?! It's beautiful!". Yes, I can see this situation working to my advantage more and more....