I think they are great on a lot of different kinds of music. Good sound staging,excelent detail and rythem and very smooth. Great balance. I was prepared to spend 2 or 3 times what they cost but liked them best when auditioning a lot of speakers.

I drive them with an Audio Research D240 and am changing to a VT100 soon.
I also use an Audio Research LS2 preamp and a PH1 phono section.

The beauty of the Vandersteen 3's is in their listenability. They are never tiring.

Upgraded from standard monster cable speaker wire to this Zap 3 wire. Wow! what a difference. Spend alittle bit of extra money and get some good stuff. Got this in 8ft. lenghts for $75, worth every penny. The music is more open and airy, bass is much smoother and detailed, midrange is open and clean, highs are much less edgy or hard. Wonder how much more music even more expensive wires will buy. My reference equipment consists of a Pioneer SX-1980 reciever, a Philips CD player, and klipsch kg 3.5 main speakers with a ksw-150 sub, transperant 100 cable between cd and reciever. Sure its not champaign equipment but I live on a beer budget. Didn't think cables made such a difference, I'm convinced.

The Vandersteen 3a is one of the best speakers I have heard.It is very easy to listen to over long periods of time(unlike many others).It also has a very good bass capability,and a three dimentional air about it(especially when used with a Sonogy Black Knight amp,Quicksilver LS preamp,and Wadia 860 CD player)This is one of the best systems I have EVER heard.Being able to almost step into the music,not just a casual listener.Check them out,you'll be glad you did.