Vandersteen

I owned Vandy 5ACs and have had 2CEs Sigs as well. Problem with Vandys is that the "sweet spot" is about a quarter-inch wide and they are hugely over-priced. For about one-third the price Tyler Acoustics gives a vastly broader sound-stage and equivalent quality drivers.

I have to agree with what @tomic601 says, and follow setup exactly. Vandersteen gives very specific instructions on setup, and the stands are a necessity--they add that last bit of focus to the sound.

But I will say this--I have some 2CEs here and don't feel they "fall apart" on any type of music.  Especially large-scale classical.  And, I don't even have them properly set up yet. (Have not had time to fully tweak placement and to be honest, they would probably do even better in a slightly larger room.)  I can vouch for them being power hungry, though. The Threshold Stasis amp I'm running has no issues driving them--the Vandys really bloom when I turn the volume up.  Less powerful amps can't give them the juice they need.  Feed them well with plenty of power and good source components, and they'll treat you well.

I'm a planar speaker guy myself, so some qualities of the speaker aren't exactly my preference.  But still, what the Vandys do, they do nicely.  I probably will keep these for a second system.  

My Vandie 4As are excellent on symphonic works.  They don't 'fall apart' at all, but then they run separately amplified bass sections with a Vandersteen external crossover.

Wow!  4As?  Don't often hear about Model 4s.  How long have you had them?

My experience with Vandersteen is they excel no matter what you throw at them.  I own a pair of Vandersteen 3.  I have it so I can run them either in my all tube analog system consisting of an Audible Illusions Modulus 3, Music Reference RM-9 & VPI tt, or swap the speaker cables and run them as my home theatre front speakers.  I used to own a pair of Vandersteen 2C driven by Quicksilver Monos & Audible Illusions 2C . . . no negative issues to report there either.  I play in a rock band and have used hearing protection for years so my hearing is fine.  I can tell you these speakers can reproduce Deep Purple as if you were on stage with the band as well as play Vaughan Williams Symphony Antartica.  Highly recommended.