Vandersteen fans..need your input (TREO CT)

I upgraded from 30 year old 2cs to the Treo CT in April and I find that for them to really shine they do like the volume cranked a little.
Just think though how loud a real piano or trumpet would sound in your room.  Isn't that what we are striving for?

It might be as simple as you not having enough power for the paticular speakers that you are presently using.  I myself have the same problem running my Martin?Logan SL-3 speakers with only 130 watts per channel from my Odyssey Khartago Extreme amplifier.  Yes, playing it at a generous sound level they sound fabulous, but at lower volume levels they do not really come totally alive.  Possibly it might be mainly the lack of low-base audio reproduction, possibly the midrange does not really come into focus until I turn up the sound level.  Living in an apartment, or with others allso is a major factor for me.  Anyway, until I can afford to save up for a more expensive, as well more costly amplifier I will just have to live with limitations.  Actually presently my amplifier is the only part of my audio system which needs to be upgraded, so don't feel sorry for me.  Actually Klaus does a major uprade on his Khartago amplifier for only $400, but I would be totally without an amp during the upgrade process.

Let me expand as someone who has had a very expensive audio system, but there remain certain limitations in certain areas of audio reproduction that do not suit your own personal needs.  I do know for certain that the Vanderstein 7's when they first came out needed a humongous amount of power to run properly.  A pair of Audio Researcj Ref 200 tube amplifers did not have enough power to play rock and roll.  That is why, even with your 25 watts per channel of Ayre power might not be enough-again for your paticular needs.  Sounding great at low levels.  Most other speaker systems will not have this problem.  Call a Vanderstein and ask them.

the OP needs a nightime solution when the family is asleep

not outplay AC/DC

I have the Treo CTs fed by VTL's IT-85 integrated amp. My listening room is about 12' x 15' with no room treatment beyond a rug on the floor and curtains over the sliding-glass door. I sometimes feel I'm not hearing as much bass as I should. For instance, the 1st movement of Schubert's Symphony #8 ("Unfinished") begins with the basses (or maybe basses and cellos) playing alone, and it was very striking when I heard the Chicago Symphony play it here in San Diego a few months ago. 

So I went home and listened to the same piece on a CD (Bernstein, NY Phil) and yes, the bass at a comfortable listening volume seemed muted compared to the effect in the concert hall.

Vandersteen's website (or maybe the manual for the speakers) recommends Ray Brown's "Soular Energy" album as a good test for bass response. (Brown is a jazz bassist, playing here with piano and drums.) So I put it on just now and indeed, the bass seems more prominent at a slightly-above-normal volume level—in other words, turning up the volume seems to increase bass levels disproportionately more.

But I wouldn't swear to it. It occurs to me that conductors, musicians and recording engineers all make choices about which instruments to feature more prominently, and these may or may not agree with our expectations. Having spent hours trying to eliminate wow and flutter in my turntable that was actually (I think) in the tape the record was mastered from, I've learned that hearing is a complex sense. It's really easy, for me at least, to be persuaded I'm hearing or not hearing something I expected to hear.