Finally stepping into the hobby after 30 years of watching from the sidelines

@oleschool, I'm in Colorado...downtown Denver.

@gdnrbob, I'll look into them, thanks for the recommendation!

Cottguy, I would be hesitant to buy without hearing. But that does not mean never.

I bought an upscale Nottingham unheard, after hearing the Hyperspace and admiring it. I spoke with Tom (then the owner/designer), and upgraded to the Mentor, and have never regretted. The table is at home in an all-electrostatic system, with a Koetsu. The modern equivalent of the Mentor is the Dias, which is said to be better than the Mentor, with superior resonance control.

Also consider the British Trans-Fi. I use their air bearing tone arm, which is a superior performer at $1,000, punching at 10x the weight. When I bought, they offered a money-back guarantee, which I don't think anyone ever exercised. They now have a TT, the Salvation, which  gets very good reviews.

So there you have it. Two TT with very high bang/buck ratios. See what they will do for you - there is also a store in Toronto, if you ever get there, My Kind of Music, which sells Nottingham. Also, he is very very serious about set-up, which is very important for tables of this class.

Welcome back to the hobby! I’ve been at this hobby for a very long time and, while I can’t claim to be familiar with the various very latest gear (amps) that will undoubtedly be recommended, I think I can offer some advise on some basic and time proven rules of thumb that might help you make some smart decisions:

Vandersteens: You like them and have decided; they are a good, solid choice. Next, and rule of thumb no.1:

-SOURCE, SOURCE, SOURCE! No amount of information lost at the source can be retrieved further down the line. I don’t like the idea of starting with a turntable with a built-in phono stage. Given the direction you seem to be headed in, this won’t satisfy for long and may (will) cause problems in setting up a good sounding, well balanced system. Consider starting with a solid turntable/arm/cart (especially the table).

-I know the 2CE’s well and they are a very good speaker and will satisfy with your music preferences. They are full sounding with a natural midrange which will do justice to piano and vocals. However, they are not the most resolving or detailed and whenever I have heard them with less than top-tier (expensive!) tubes they have always sounded a bit murky and lacking some detail with a balance that was TOO full sounding to my ears; this, including the already recommended Quicksilver monos which is how a local dealer demoed them for me. I have heard them sound very good with the right ss amp in the context of a well balanced system. I am a die-hard tube guy; but, personally, I would start with a good solid state amp like the Ayre that Stringreen suggests. Many other options available. When you have your front end (tubes?) settled and tuned, then have your dealer loan you (he should....considering) some tube amps and see what you think.

-I would not buy subs yet. You may find you don’t need them and will add a lot of complexity to the initial process of building a system. Get to know how the 2CE’s interact with your room’s acoustics first.

-I like the idea of a dedicated line for your system and since you are having electrical work done anyway ITS A NO BRAINER. Like the attention that the source deserves, this is as fundamental as it gets.

-Start with good solid cables that are not "trick" cables until you are settled with your amplification (low and high level) and optimize later. Mid-level Kimber comes to mind.

You will be getting to know your room and how the new gear interacts with its unique acoustics. IMO, the source is where the magic happens or gets destroyed. Slow down and always remember that component interaction and synergy is key. You have your speakers. I would focus on a front end that will satisfy long term and take it from there. Amplification and cabling that you may replace later would certainly be more than adequate for 2nd or 3rd systems.

Good luck!

I think, for the OP the most important thing is to have a full tube chain and then choose the speakers that work well with it, not the other way around. SS is out of the question here, irrelevant, so is hybrid. I understand this approach, it is not the most common and more difficult, but just as legitimate. I could do it either way, especially if I wanted to use SET which I don't unless it is Lamm, Wavac, Ypsilon etc.
He is not chasing resolution, great dynamics and tremendous tight bass. The man wants good tube sound, why don't you stop recommending what you might do, work within his paradigm if you can.
As for the source, yeah, at least as important as speakers, that's why I kind of gently suggested considering Nottingham in the under $5k new category, with more or less neutral sounding MM cartridge.

Trans-Fi Salvation TT with magnetic suspension, 20 lb platter and air bearing tone arm, $3300. New. Beat that.