another vandersteen (1c vote)
Just stumbled onto this thread, Aman...I have had the vandersteen 1C's for 6 years now, and love them. I read somewhere here that you had concerns about efficiency. I dunno, they are rated 90db with a 6.8 ohms, so that seems pretty efficient, rating-wise. I've driven them, in a large living room, with my former myryad mi-120 integrated amp (60 wpc) and now my new (1 year old bought used on Audiogon) Sim Audio I-5 integrated amp (70 wpc). They sound great and seem to meet many of the sonic signature characteristics you've indicated (warmth, nice bass, good mids).
Many folks on AA and Audiogon seem to agree that vandy's go best with tube amplification. My buddy has very fine quicksilver tube monoblocks and a quicksilver tube-based preamp powering the "mere" 1C's (as his pre- & amplification cost much more than these speakers), and his system sounds terrific.
Used 1Cs (with stands, you must have the stands, and fill them with sand) can be had on Audiogon for like under $500 leaving you with nice funds to get a used integrated amp from like NAD, Rotel or Arcam (solid state mind you, but I like my SS stuff) on Audiogon and stay within your budget.
- walkman
