Attention Vandersteen 5A owners/ amp matches

What is your budget????

Hi, I have a couple of comments:
1. Regarding the comment by Jeff Jones - "The typical bass advantage of solid state is likely not much of a benifit." This is not entirely true, although his point is well made. The amp you choose is no longer directly driving your 5As. However, it's signature on the bottom end IS. So you WILL hear a difference on the bottom end even when using a HP filter and the inboard amp. Simply put, that amp will only replicate what it sees from your amp. So it's still important to have good bass in your main amp.

2. Jimburger and I know each other well and I agree with his sentiments. My top picks for the 5As are the BEL amps, Quicksilver V4s and the Theta Citadel mono-blocks. We have both heard the Citadels on my system and although I would stick with my BELs, those Citadels were darn close. Also, they may not have been fully broken in. So I would add them to the list for sure. Since they are out of the price range you mentioned you may want to try the next model down from Them and see if you like it. All of these amps are well known musical pairings. Regarding ARC, give them a listen too. Although they aren't my favorites they are very musical on Vandersteens. Just make sure you don't buy the highest power version as they tend to be less reliable than their other designs (in my personal experience).

Let your ears choose!

Anybody ever hear the 5A's with BAT tube amps?

I Used to own a pair of 5As and have heard them with the number of different amps in my listening room including BAT 75se, Blue Circle AG8000 and BC 2.1, Atma-sphere, JC-1s and Conrad Johnson 12s. They are great speakers and you pretty much get out of them what you put into them. With the BATs, 2.1s, and to a lesser extent CJ 12s they were lovely. (For Jeff Jones, they sounded big, dynamic, and maybe just a little dark with 75se and VK5se amplification - very seductive). With the big Blue Circle's and atma-spheres, they sounded very clean and clear. My favorite is the 2.1s... just beautiful (they don't get much press anymore but I think they are terrific amps for the right owner).

As far as bass response and playing loudly, They don't take much power to play at what I think are reasonable levels, but can really suck up the Watts quickly if you want to play loud. Some people say that speakers with first order crossovers cannot play that loud but they played plenty loud for me (using the JC-1s). I think your bass response will be dominated more by your room than by your amplifier, although the big Blue Circle and Parasound amps had the best bass (no surprise)

Thanks for all your responses to date. I see this thread dominating all even days in April, and hated to see nothing for 4/8. I am listening to an Einstein light in the dark right
now and I guess it was aptly named. It is very quiet with
very discernable silence in between the notes. The dynamics are excellent, especially for an 80 watt hybrid amp. It seems to strike a nice balance with the Vandys, offering detailed,
articulate bass, along with textured mids we often associate with good tubes. It is showing much promise early on. My price
range is around 10-12 k , but hope not to spend on the 12k side unless it is clearly the (dare I say) last stop. Good to hear from you Jim R. and all.