Calling B&W speaker users with tube power amp

I've driven my B&W N804's with a KR 18 BSI - a 20 watt 300B SET integrated. It kicked the snot out of the 125 wpc Sugden Au51P sand amp I'd been using before. It just sounded sooo much better - including deeper, fuller, richer bass! The mids were to die for, the highs were smooth, sweet and clear, and I've never heard the 804's sound so overall lifelike.

Now, I wouldn't use a garden-variety 8 watt 300B SET on them, but any tube amp of 15 watts or better and the ability to source a good amount of current should make them very happy. Lots of good push-pull tube amps in the 40 watt range should do the trick. The notion that "B&W's can't run on tubes" is parochial nonsense.

The only reason I've gone back to using the Sugden on them is that they're in the living room system, and the KR was a bit much for the kids to handle.

The matrix series cross-overs like more juice to make the speakers come alive. The tube amps will drive the speakers but a high current (note the word current) SS amps drive the speakers much better. It also depends on how loud you like the music also. I used a friends Graaf 5050 on my M803 SIIs and it sounded OK but the Pass X-250 SS amp blew it away. On other speakers, there were differences but not as large.

Happy Listening.

I have a good friend driving his 801 MKIIIs with the Quad IIs {15w/ch} and they sound great.Keep in mind that you won't peel paint from the walls with this combo,but satisfactory SPLs.Any interest in a set of Vivas?