Need advice on amp to drive Vandersteen 2Cs

John Marks Stereophile "Tomorrow Classics List". Quicksilver, All. I currently have a pair of 2Ce sig2's. A good 50-60 watt tube amp like a Quicksilver Mid Mono or better yet Silver 60's are great. I think the Mid Mono's have a glorious mid-range liquidity, while the Silver 60 provide more drive. Keep in mind that a 55 watt tube amp vrs a 120 watt tube amp will give you better woofer control. It is not going to give you deeper bass or greater overall output. To achieve twice the output will take 10-times the rated power output. And then again, the gain in db output from 50-120 watts is only about 3db. But to me, the sound of music is in the mid-range and top end. I guess it all depends on what you want. Back in the day(1986) I was happy with a mere 35 watt stereo 70.

Agreed, but think about instruments like Cello, they are pretty bass intensive, I couldn't hear the cello reverberation with my Denon Revciver, but with the pre-power combination the sound was very good. I want some heft to the music.

Also, the reason I'm looking for an integrated is phono stage. I only listen to vinyl, so it's essential to have a phono stage, my budget at won't permit me to have a tube pre and a tube power.

There is a Plinius 8200 mk 1 for sale on Audiogon now. If that's what your looking for...

I never much cared for tubes running Vandy's till I heard the more recent Audio Research amps on the bigger Vandy's, truly sublime. I haven't heard them, but would imagine VTL's working very well. Still the Livin was looking to spend "about a grand". At that price point, I think ss is probably the way to go and I wouldn't feel compromised by not going tubes regardless.