how does current work in an amplifier?

AHHHHH! Atmo:
Good answer! Also, tube amps are considered a 'current source', right?
So the right speaker for a tube amp differs from the right speaker for a SS amp.

That's why the 'comparison' threads between tube and SS are not quite......meaningful.

I'd LOVE to hear a 100x2 tube amp with my panels. I'll bet it'd work just fine, thank you very much!

That is a perfect conclusion Magfan and Atma. Speakers and amps work as a pair. And I agree with Atma that speaker impedances dropped when SS became more common. High impedance, high efficiency speakers with a tube amp is probably the most cost effective quality sound/dollar. And here I am sitting at the opposite end of the spectrum with a massive amp, low impedance speakers. It sounds great, but I have to alert the power company whenever I plan to crank it up:)

Tony, except that tube amps tend to be more expensive and high effiency speakers tend to need help extending the bass, which doesn't come cheap either.

I've heard Maggies and tube amps work very well together.

The dealer did use a REL sub also though however.

I would strongly consider a tube amp were I to reacquire a pair of Maggies someday.

My caveat is tube amps and Maggies are both relatively finicky solutions in terms of what is needed to optimize results, so you have to be willing to deal with that.

A nice thing to do if you have Magnaplanars and tube amps is to back the amps up to the crossover and use a speaker cable that is as short as possible- 6 inches is a good length, and make the connections as tight as possible. This can have a profound effect on the bass impact!

Unsound is right, tube power is expensive relative to transistors. This has been the case since forever; in the old days when transistors were coming in, manufacturers realized that they could build a transistor amp for about 1/10th the cost of tubes, but were able to charge about 90% of the retail. There was a tremendous financial incentive!

Speaker manufacturers, seeing that SS amps could double power into 4 ohms, began producing 4 ohm speakers that had larger voice coil gaps (easier to make). This cut their driver cost by a similar factor, and again it was possible to charge nearly as much- another financial incentive! IOW, it was cost and the ability to make more money that drove the rise of transistors and low impedance speakers in the 60s and 70s.