Zu Definition, AG Duos orCoincident Total Victory?

I forgot to clarify, LOWER cost like 800-1500.00 used or possibly new solid state amps can work well with Zu, even people these days are using the Nuforce 1200.00 mono's I guess with very good results. Sorry to offend the tube God's, but I do always agree a good tube pre is needed.

I run my Druids with a HT receiver as the preamp and Flying Mole 100 Watt SS monoblock amps (modded with Hexfred and Cree diodes, better coupling caps, better binding posts, bypassed volume controls, etc.) and they sound very good to me. But I'm planning on getting a Modwright 9.0 tubed linestage to replace the receiver very soon. Should sweeten up the system considerably, but it's no slouch right now. The Flying Moles are very nice amps for the money.

My Druids began life in my home with a PS Audio combo, PCA-2 and HCA-2. I understand the HCA-2 is one of the amps in the Zu boys' stable. While I like the amp very much as a value for money, I felt it did not do the Druids justice, and have since moved irrevocably into tubes. It's interesting about the sound; when you are listening it does not feel like it is analytical and in fact feels a touch warm. But change amps and the speaker communicates the nature of that amp right away; it is shockingly obvious. I have tried 6-7 tubed amps and each time their nature has been clearly revealed.

Taksil , your Pathos can be perfect for any of these speakers, 30 watt solid state output will have some nice slam to it vs. completly tube at that price.. so don't be afraid to try the solid state on them, and you have some tube flavor on the input anyway of that intergrated, could be a perfect combo for any of the speakers in this hi-efficiency you seek!

And I actually don't remember where I found it, but They did compare the Victorys to Duo's stating the Victorys to have a superior integrated Bass to the Duo's, but found the dynamics more explosive with the Duo's.. And They have compared the Duo's to the Def's basically the Def's won out by far in the bass as well, and many other catagories, but If you can't hear any of these speakers for yourself you could make a mistake taking a leap of faith on a used pair of any of them on audiogon if thats what you are asking.. Of course I see no Definitions up for sale ever, but there are a couple pairs of Victory's and several Duo's all the time.

Undertow is way off base in two regards - since horns have limited dispersion, they are actually LESS sensitive to sidewall reflections, and in fact have GREATER placement flexibility than speaks using dome tweeters. Secondly, although tubes are the classic match with Duos, Avantgarde makes solid state amps which reportedly (and not surprisingly) mate very well with the horns. With excellent amplification (I use Lamm ML2s), the Duos positively sing at low levels...but you'll have to fight the temptation to crank them up due to their vanishing distortion levels.