My experience is with Vandersteen 2cis, not 1cs, so take my advice with a grain of salt. I've had them for 14 years. Up until 2 weeks ago I had been driving them with a 50 watt / channel Yamaha receiver which worked just fine. The speakers are made to not be toed in. They're actually a little bit sweet on axis and are supposed to have a flatter response about 15 degrees off axis. I have mine about 1 foot from the rear wall, but I can't say for sure that this is where they're supposed to be.