Best Amp for Vandy 3A's under 3000 Used?


Please give me your recommendations for a good amp/preamp combo for 3A signatures. Thank you.

Rick
golfnut
I've had a few combinations with my 3A Sigs. and find my current set-up very satisfying. The preamp is a Sonic Frontiers Line 2 Special Edition and the amp is the Bel Canto 200.2. I've had much larger amps and was worried that the BC, with 125 watts per side, wasn't going to give me the bass drive that I had before. However, my worries were unfounded as the BC handles bass on the Sigs very nicely. A plus for the BC is that it is small and does not generate any heat. Also, the BCs convert to mono amps very successfully, if you want to add a second one at some point.

The SF tube pre, while being very neutral, gives that little bit of magic that I don't find in an all solid state system. Good luck on your search. If you can find these pieces used, they should come in around your $3k target (maybe a little over).
I would suggest a higher powered tube amp, at least 90wpc or higher. The Quicksilver Silver 90's or a newer equivalent with an Audible Illusions Preamp would probably work well.
I am currently using a Bryston 4B-ST with my Vandy 3A Signatures, and am very pleased with the combination. I have read that Richard Vandersteen likes to use McCormack amps with the 3A Sig's and the Model 5.
I'd suggest a McCormack DNA-1 or 1DLX amp, and Sonic Frontiers Line 2 pre-amp. You could up-grade the McCormack later if you felt the need for "more". This combo is great with the 3As. Cheers. Craig