Help: Searching for Vandersteen-like speakers...

Bigtee, I currently use B&W DM602 speakers which I think sound damn good, but they only go as low as 52hz. Because of this I use a subwoofer, but I have to set the subwoofer crossover to high to capture all of the range and there is my problem. If the DM602 would go down to the 40hz range, I would be a happy man, but it doesn't and I'm not. I have checked out other B&W speaker in my price range and they all sound good, but none of them go very low. However, I know such a beast has to exist. I recently saw an Infinity Alpha 50, full range, tower that went down to 35, 91db and could handle 10 watts and the towers were at 1000 MSRP. If Infinity could do it, so could other people.

Bigtee, one thing for sure, Audiogon has been schoolin' me pretty good.

I'm going to chime in with one last post. DON'T believe manufacturers specs. If it is a ported design, it will have trouble going below 40hz ( not to say it can't but usually they will be very expensive). Manufacturers spec speakers with all kinds of figures and most are baloney. Your room also has a lot to do with this. I guess what I'm trying to say here is I've never seen a speaker in that price range REALLY go down that low. For example, the B&W 805 Nautilus was spec'd to go fairly low (less than 50hz). In my room, the best it would do using a spectrum analyzer was about 56hz at -6db. It dropped off like a rock after that. Most speakers in your specified price range are going to be ported as I've said before. At that price range, they will have a bump in frequency at about 60-100hz to allow them to produce much at 40hz. Pull out some old Stereophile magazines and check it out.
I would go with an accurate speaker such as the Vandersteen with a genuine low end. Any ported speaker is a hard match with a sub because of the phase shifts around the crossover. A sealed design matches better with a sub.
By the way, B&W makes several lower cost subs that I would think would match up reasonably well with your 602's. Try before you buy is my best advise.
I'm of the accuracy school. It is the primary reason I use Vandersteen loudspeakers. They are accurate. I also believe in phase correct and time aligned designs. You get a lot for your money with Vandersteen because the box ain't much. He doesn't waste money on a lot of wood veneers.
I was in your position some years ago. It is a learning process. I used ported designs for a while and I will never go back. But, the biggest thing is to satisfy yourself. Listen with your own ears and make your own decision. Nobody can do it for you. Good luck with your hunt.

Dynaudio Audience 72 is around your budget. These medium sized floorstanders are giantkillers for your money, don't pass a chance to audition them. They are 4-ohm single wired.
I succeeded driving them to a very high level of musical realism with a pair of 28W 845 SE-Triode monoblocs (Cayin 9084D made by Spark Audio). These are quite affordable here for me. But I understand 845 Triode amps are very expensive in USA. Good luck and post back your findings.

Even with speakers that supposedly do 35hz...it is recommended to crossover the sub at an octave higher...in this case 75 hz...because BOTH would be -3db down at 35hz...

A note on Vandersteens:although I do like their sound, they are not designed to be played even remotely loud, and their bass...although musical...is not the fatest or tightest bass around....for this reason...SS bass power is a must...a tube pre helps "round" things out....

I will have to disagree with Phasecorrect just a little on the loudness thing. Since I don't know which Vandersteen speaker(s) you are refering to, I can say that the Model 5 will play as loud as anyone should be listening to and then some. The 3A Signatures will play plenty loud by themselves and with a pair of 2wq subs will go much louder than a sane person should listen to. These speakers are power hungry and do require it for volume.
The 2 series will not play that loud(especially in the bass) before they run out and begin to compress. However, they play loud enough I feel.
As for bass, they can be full in the wrong setup. I have definitely heard worse. I personally think they sound pretty right when set up properly. However, the subs do improve things quite a bit when set up correctly. Not more bass but tighter, more controlled bass. With the low bass filtered out of the speakers, imaging and transparency really go up. Speed in the bass with the Vandersteen's, I think, is masked by the level sometimes making them sound a little plodding. This level is related to setup. Wrong room or setup and, yes, the bass does need help. But that's really true of any speaker. There seem to be a lot of lean speakers out that with no real deep bass extension selling for some big bucks. The Vandersteen is a very reasonably priced speaker that does give true extension.