Best amp for ML Z Quests?

hello Ron, I am a big fan of Levinson and Krell, but I have to warn you not to use it with your Martin Logan. On the other hand, I am not an Audio Research fan, but the only time that I've ever heard "jaw dropping" sound from Logans was with AR. It was with Classic 150 or something. I am not familiar with their models, but it was around $10K for the pair. if you use Krell or levinson, you will be very dissapointed, anyone who tells you otherwise haven't heard the ARs mated with Logans.

I have a pair of ML SL3's. I used to have a Musical Design 140i amp. I purchased a Meridian 557 power amp(200 Watts 8hm and 340 Watts 4hm) I have never looked back. The Meridian is a warm British amp that has been OVERLOOKED by the media.In fact I have upgraded to ALL Meridian front end components!! Steve

I own Quest Z's, have for a long long time now. I've tried various amps with them, so far the best match is a BAT VK-500 with the optional BATPAK. I haven't tried tube amps mostly cuz I don't wanna invest in new tubes on an ongoing basis, the BAT sure does the trick for me. Oh, cables make quite a difference as well; I use (2) Harmonic Technology Pro AC11 power cords and Transparent MusicWave 10' Bi-Wire speaker cables (spades). I'm very happy with the set up, and at $2200 used the BAT is a great value. If you'd like a better understanding of my set up drop me an email and I'll provide more details. Happy listening!

CONRAD JOHNSON Hands down.Solid state,try the PASS AUDIO amps but at least 100 wpc.Good luck.

Steve, I agree with you - Meridian amps are very good from my experience which is showroom only, I've been very impressed every time I hear them. I have always had Meridian digital - they don't seem to put much sales emphasis on their amps. Happy Listening!

I own Monoliths, have friends with Quest Z, and SL3. I have heard all of them driven by Levinson amps (20.0, 23, and 27). I have heard the Quests driven by McIntosh tube amps and AR tube amps (although I don't know which model). I have also heard the SL3 and Monolith driven by Krell amps (KAV on the SL3 and KMA 160 on the Monolith). I did not care for the Krell (great bass, but not smooth enough on the top end for me). I also did not care for the McIntosh--it sounded rather mushy and not well defined--too tubby. The AR and the Levinson were the best. The AR offered a very nice bloom and large soundstage. It did not have the bass control that the Levinson did and did not have quite as clear a definition--but a great sound. For me I chose the Levinson, but that's just personal taste. I think the AR was equally as good, but different. Now that I am bi-amping I would love to hear the AR again on just the panels. I think that would be a really great combination.

Your aim for VT100 is right on for a successfull setup.
The most successful setup(i believe)in the price range you want to spend will be with pair of BAT VK60 monos (~$4000 used) 120W/ch in mono configuration.
For successfull SS amp you will have to spend at least 2x more for a used one.

$8,000, minimum, for a USED ss amp to drive ml z quests? that's utter nonsense. there are numerous ss amps by the likes of jrdg, accuphase, muse, pass, ayre etc. that will drive these speakers admirably, which you can find here on audiogon for $1000-4000. -cfb

you might look at Rowland amplifiers I think a model 8 stereo amplifier would match really well it has very good bass control for the woofers and sounds close to tube amplifiers it the midrange and top end.

Just sold my Quest-z's to purchase Prodigy's,I have a AR-VT-100 and it works great with them.If you purchase a VT-100,change the driver tubes from the 6550's to KT-88's by svetlana and you will be extremely happy.Good Luck,Bobf

I would like to thank everyone for their advice. I got a lot of great feedback. I think that I will probably go with a tube amp, mostly because I have always had ss amps and it is time to try tubes. Here is a list of some of the amps that I have tried. An old Bedini amp, Classe M1000 mono blocks and an Adcom 545. I had all of these amps in house, loans from friends. I was mosst impressed with the Bedini amp, I forgot the model # but it had 250 watts per channel. The 2nd best are the Musical Design amps, they are very smooth sounding but they have that moss fet mist which robs the amps of detail. They can also use a bit more punch, still they are fantstic amps for the price. Next I would rate the Classe M1000 mono blocks. Lots of power but I simply was not that impressed with them in my system. I have heard the Classe's on Shahenian diapasons and they were fantastic, just goes to show how important system matching is. Last place were the Adcom amps, not terrible once agian good value, but not very refined on the top end. I know that there are far better ss amps out there, but I feel it is time to try tubes. When I was shoping for my first set of martin logans (sequel 2's which I still have) I heard them with CJ MV52's running as mono blocks, they sounded fantastic. It was a short demo but I was way impressed.
By the way the rest of my system is, Theta data 2 transport, Theta pro basic 2, sota saphire, premiere mmt, clear audio arum beta and audible illulsions mod 3a, cables are audioquest lapus and kimber pbj and speaker cables are Tara labs space and time, bi wired, a must with ML's
Thanks again to all who replied!
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Ron

I have a pair of Innersound ESL Monoblocks driving my CLS IIz's and they are spectacular.