Need advice on amp to drive Vandersteen 2Cs

The McCormack is compatible with most single ended passive, ss and tube pre's. I'm sure you can find one that floats your boat.

I like the Classe CAP 151 feeding my Vandersteen 2ce signatures. I llsten to the kind of music you reference in your post.

I've had Vandersteen 2C's at two times in my life and the best amp/speaker combination I ever had set up was driving them with a McCormack DNA-1. I have no idea whether it's true or not, but I've heard in the past that Richard Vandersteen has used McCormack amps in voicing his designs. May be strictly hearsay. I can say from personal experience that the Vandersteen's and McCormack are an excellent match!

I would consider the Odyssey Audio Stratos power amp or the McCormac .5 or any of them because of their lack of grain. Plus they both will control the bass and deliver very good soundstaging. I think your weak link is the
preamp. I would go with a VanAlstine tube preamp with phono stage. They can get pricey but there are bargins around. The Audible Illusions 3 preamp is a very good choice too. Don't forget the Conrad Johnson preamps with phono are a very good choice. I think by going with a quality tube unit it will open that soundstage and make things more listenable. The Denon amp is not a bad unit but from what I remember it was strictly mid fi. But a good preamp with phono could improve on it. Find a friend that has a tube preamp with phono and listen to it with your Denon amp. Or try a tube linestage with the Denon and see if you get any improvement. Don't hotrod any gear. Have the preamp plug directly into the power amp and use very good quality wire and interconnects. You may be surprised what you hear.