Not Thrilled with Vandersteen 2CE Sigs - where is the first place to work on?

Some recordings are just bad no matter which system they are played on 

That is the way they are supposed to sound- they are Vandersteens!
Also they are ridiculous power hogs- 86dB! Why does anyone buy these things? What do you expect?? Sorry, but it doesn’t have to be this way. There’s much better choices around that price, ones that are so easy to drive you can go to a by far superior sounding lower power tube amp and have a system that sounds great at low to moderate volume yet still plays plenty loud when you want to rock out.

One of the few speakers I ever had to listen to in my room, an earlier version of the 2. To hear what other say, sounds like not much has changed. Do yourself a favor. Get some Double Impacts. That is the low hanging fruit. Then you will probably be able to sell your pre-amp and amp for almost enough to get a good tube integrated like a Raven Nighthawk. Which is more than enough power once you’ve ditched the Vandy’s.  

Oh and by the way everything will sound great with Double Impacts. I have Moabs and am constantly amazed how much I enjoy full orchestra, jazz, etc., but at the same time how much better rock sounds too. Every recording sounds different sure, that better be the case or you blew it somewhere. But with the right choices everything sounds better, and this is how you get there.

It's all in equipment matching and synergy. This is not a new idea. My experience with those exact speakers is a friend's system. Everything that I have to say here is obviously limited to his room and system layout limitations (meaning speaker positioning) He has the 2CE Sigs, Audioquest Rocket 88 speaker cable double run (2 sets for bi-wiring) per Vandersteen recommendation, a McCormack DNA 0.5 (which is in at SMC Audio for upgrade right now), (McCormack amps are thought by many to be a very good match for the Vandy's), a Rogue Audio Perseus tube preamp (tube preamps and McCormack amps are a good match up also), Transparent Audio Super mm1 IC's and Transparent Power conditioners and power cords. The analog side is an upgraded Rega P3 table and the digital side is a Jolida tube cd player.

He is very much a "lotus eater" or pleasure seeker or "musicality" driven listener. He's very much not an analytical listener. I am a bit closer to the fence dividing the "musicality" side from the analytical side but, still on the "musicality" side. That system can be very pleasing and fun but, to my ear it is on the "midrangey" side which, I think is partly due to some of the cables. Vandersteen has its fans and there have been jillions of them sold. They may not be for you if you want a more "high performance" result.

If you just want to get lost in the music and want to not be thinking about the sound when you are listening, find a McCcormack amp but, be aware that the input boards in all of the DNA amps are aging out and failing. SMC Audio is the place to go but, they are not a repair shop, they are an upgrade shop, a hot rod shop so to speak. Their upgrades are excellent. I can attest to this due to the 3 upgraded DNA amps that I have.

The Apt 1 isn't helping...it was an ok preamp in '79, but hell, a Rappaport, ARC SP3xx, Theta, & the little DB were better back 41 years ago..(we sold each of them + a few others I can't recall)...go with nwres' post above & take it and other peripherals out of the chain if possible, before arbritarily spending $$ on another speaker chase. 

What are the dimensions of your room?  I had 2ce's in a room that was about 12x13 with standard 8' ceilings.  I thought they sounded good until I moved them into my living room which was much larger and had a vaulted ceiling.  Completely different experience with the speaker really opening up in the larger room.  

Where are the speakers positioned in your room?  I found they needed to be a minimum of 1/3 of the way into the room if not even more.  They excel when you give them room to breath.  Playing with room placement is the lowest hanging fruit there is. It's free and can make a bigger impact than many component upgrades.

Your front end can make a huge different but if your speakers are slammed up against the front wall or in a tiny room even the best electronics won't make them sound good.