Need advice on amp to drive Vandersteen 2Cs

Agreed, but think about instruments like Cello, they are pretty bass intensive, I couldn't hear the cello reverberation with my Denon Revciver, but with the pre-power combination the sound was very good. I want some heft to the music.

Also, the reason I'm looking for an integrated is phono stage. I only listen to vinyl, so it's essential to have a phono stage, my budget at won't permit me to have a tube pre and a tube power.

There is a Plinius 8200 mk 1 for sale on Audiogon now. If that's what your looking for...

I never much cared for tubes running Vandy's till I heard the more recent Audio Research amps on the bigger Vandy's, truly sublime. I haven't heard them, but would imagine VTL's working very well. Still the Livin was looking to spend "about a grand". At that price point, I think ss is probably the way to go and I wouldn't feel compromised by not going tubes regardless.

I use a Plinius 8200 MKII with my 2CE Signatures, and I think it's a fantastic match.

Just a word of caution - apparently the 8200 MK I (the earliest version) was not all that great - especially in the phono stage.

Plinus was reported to have made a quite a lot of changes for the better when creating the 8200 MKII. Pretty sure they paid a lot of attention to making a much better phono stage.

I listen to vinyl a lot too, and it's very satisfying through the Plinius.

If you were to go the route of separates, I think McCormack is a no-brainer.