I love my Vandersteen's but . . . . . . . .

I had a pair of vandersteens for about twenty years too. I now have the Gallo ref 3's. I love them, and they seem to be able to rock out with gusto. I've got the little sub amp attached, so there's no problem with base. Priced in the used market they're a steal!You can see them on my system page too.

enjoy,

Rolloff

Hi, I'm not convinced it's your speakers. More likely it's your amp that you're hearing. I suggest trying a different amp (Maybe borrow one) before worrying about the speakers. The 2s will play plenty loudly with the right amp in place. Since you have an SPL meter you will want to see how loud you're playing in the first place. The wattage is really irrelevant.
Just my 2 cents!

I don't think your amp or any of your system is at fault, you are just ready to step up from the Vandersteens for sure. The Vadersteens are great, but slamming dynamics are not thier strong suite.

I'd skip on the Dunlavy reccomendation as well. I've owned those for years and they just don't resolve enough or put out enough bass to justify those huge coffins in your room. They don't do bass anywhere near as good as the little VR4Jrs

You will love the VR4Jrs I'm sure of it. I own a pair of them and a pair of the 4SRS. They love power like you have and will drop right into your current system like a dream. They will play loud and clear the bass is awesomely tuneful and tight, maybe not the final word in low extension, but really really satisfying. If you gotta have more bass get the SRs, but they may not be worth it, the super duper value is in the JRs for around 2500 used. If you have the system for them (good powered amp (and a good one too) great preamp and source) they are AWESOME speakers, but again they will reveal everything about the system. Placement isn't to tough and they are very small for the full sound they make. They don't have a humongously tall soundstage if that matters to you, and they sound superb out of the sweet spot as well as in it.

Good luck and feel free to hit me up with any questions you may have.

Ryan

There could be a number of issues taking place.

First, your speakers could be too small for your room. How big is your listening area?

Second, your speakers are not efficient enough to generate enough volume in your room.

Third, your amp is under-powered for your speakers in your room.

Since you do not want to replace the amp, more efficient speakers are an option, but possibly a costly solution.

Have you considered moving to a more of a nearfield listening position? The closer you get, the louder the system will be, I don't know how close you are right now, or if it's an option. If you can move the speakers and the listening chair, it is by far the cheapest option.

Since everyone has a different opinion here, I'll add mine. I do think you should first try a different amp and see if more power does the trick. But if you decide to move on, I suggest you look at Green Mountain. Coming from Vandersteen as you are, I think it will make for the smoothest transition if you stay with a time- and phase-correct design, of which there are only a few, Green Mountain being one. And their designer, Roy Johnson, likes to play music loud, so I think you may get what you are after even in one of his smaller designs.

Your room appears to be rather small, with the speakers near the side walls. This will be an issue for you with most speakers, some more than others. Just something to be mindful of.