2 way vs 3 way question

With a 15% differential I would listen first but likely gravitate to the 2 way
hard to buy a solid mid, more complex crossover and the larger braced cabinet for that delta.

for example.. look at the hyper frugal but perennial favorite ( 250 k sold ) Vandersteen 2 at about $2,500 a $1,100 premium over the esteemed Model 1

both highly musical but the larger more massive more complex two is not free.

@seasdiamond 
 
I don’t see how that distance claim can be made without knowing the distance between the drivers. From what I’ve seen in manufacture recomendations, you need to be 3x the distance between the woofers, so if a traditional 3-way has the tweeter 3ft above the lower woofer, you need to be 9ft away at least so that it sounds coherent.   

As for the original question, the imaging from drivers that are closer in size will be better, unless waveguides and phase-plugs are in use. Meaning, this is why most 3-way towers use a 2” to 5” midrange, I’ve seen some companies use a 7” midrange with no waveguides, which means they valued more powerful/deeper bass over better imaging.

Or they cheaper out on voice coils and decided it was cheaper to use a normal 7" than an over built 5" mid

So, I'd like to re-frame the question and see what people think:

If I'm going to use a decent sub to shore up 45hz and below....and I set a speaker budget of $2000...is it possible to get a 2 way that sounds as good (wide soundstage, good tone, good dynamics) as a 3 way....or does the 3 way just have inherent advantages?