Original Vandersteen Model 3

Abner, I think for the money, you will be impressed even though they are prior generations. I always loved Maggies as well as Vandy's- they seem to share similar characteristics. 
Even if you don't like them, you can always sell them again and probably for the same price.
Though I warn you Vandersteen's are addictive and you may well be on the road for a pair of Quatro's.
Bob

I found this quote from the master himself from 2012 and I think I will go with it, which means from Richard Vandersteen's point of view, pretty much any later model 2 or 3 would be better than the old original Model 3.  From what I have seen, I can probably find one of either of those for around the same money:

"Answer: HELLO MIKE, THAT ANSWER WAS COMPARING A OLDER MODEL 3 AND A NEWER MODEL 2CE. AT ANY GIVEN YEAR THE CURRENT 3 WILL BE MUCH HIGHER PERFORMANCE THAN THE CURRENT 2. THE CURRENT MODEL 2CE SIG II WILL BLOW AWAY AN OLD MODEL 3, AND THE CURRENT MODEL 3A SIG WILL BLOW AWAY A CURRENT 2CE SIG II.

Obviously true, but your original post was wondering if the 3's would be a good speaker for $400. And the answer was 'yes'.

If you want better, then it will cost you.
Your 1.7's are pretty new, so if you want to compare apples to apples, then getting a current Vandy is the way to go.
If you just want something different to play around with for a few hundred bucks, then a pair of 3's would do the trick.
b