I agree with Ritteri that tube amps are the way to go. I have used Classe CA 300, Classe DR8's and my current amp which is a VAC PA100. The N802's are very sensitive to brightness through the upper midrange and depending on program material will tend to pin your ears back and make you wince a bit. A friend has used Linn LK 140's and now Klouts on his 802's biamped and the sound is rather dry and not very extended at either extreme but they don't seem to have the bite that my CA300 would sometimes exhibit, although I must admit that the CA300 had quite a bit of slam when cranked if it didn't sear your eardrums first. The VAC is very smooth and warm with a lot of detail perfect for the 60's jazz that is my favorite music. The VAC fleshes out the mid and upper bass that the solid state gear can't do but sacrifices some impact and extension into the lower bass but the trade off is worth it for me. Also, if you listen at lower volumes say like less the 90db peaks the tube amp is way more fleshed out. If you want to crank the volume, have no fear as I have hit peaks of 106 db from a listening position of 11 ft away without audilbe clipping although this is not my noraml listening level. The solid state amps take way more volume to fill the room with the attendent brightness. Everyone who has heard my system says that this is the best they have ever heard N802's sound and I would need to give credit to the VAC Reneissance preamp that feeds the PA100. It is an incredible preamp. I use Svetlana KT88's with RTC 12ua7 driver tubes in the PA 100 with gives a harmonically rich detailed presentation with vivid colors across the spectrum. If my musical tastes tended more towards hard rock and large classical works I would suggest Sylvania 6189's as the driver tubes as they extend the slam and bass impact at the the expense of mid-bass warmth and harmonic texture. I use Audio magic cables for most of the system. I run the sytem single wired using the B&W supplied jumpers for the tweeters and find this gives a more unified cohesive sound than bi-wiring, perhaps just my personal taste as far as balance and soundstaging. PA 100's seem to be going for cheap 1500.00 to 2000.00 and that is an extreme bargain for amplification that will make unbelieveable music on N802's and not toast your eardrums. The VAC chinese KT88's are too fat and mellow but still pleasing on the right material if you buy one so configured. Right now there is a member selling a pair of VAC PA 160's that I lust after but unfortunatly don't have the right set-up to accomodate them. These, I think with the right preamp like the Renaissance would make the N802's an awesome music maker that would impress you and your friends.
