What quest have you embarked on?

Yes to all accounts! Please check my system page. From Martin Logans, to Magnepan, to Orion Plus, to Altecs.

I only need less than a watt at the speaker input for my normal listening levels during the day, less during the night.

I kept the Orion Plus though because the speakers are truly special.

regards,

Abe

To answer your question, an amp quest and I'm done.

The room defines the speakers (small speakers in a large room or large speakers in a small room are not going to get the job done). So for my small room (15' x 11') I selected Reference 3A MM De Capo i speakers. Then I went on an amp quest to power them;

up first a solid state amp, Simaudio W-3 125 wpc
followed by a hybrid, Blue Circle BC6 25 wpc class A
followed by a tube push-pull, Melody 2A3 18 wpc mono blocks
and finally to a SET amp, Aria 2A3 5 wpc.

Aria, 2A3/vt-229(6SL7) SET, Italian designed - French made,

...and it sounds even better than it looks!
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i have embarked on a quest to minimize the inaccuarcy of instrumental timbre, from the perspective of a rear hall location at a concert hall.

i believe this may be attained by attenuating the upper midrange lower treble, selecting suitable tube components, and employing a speaker such as the quad 57.

yep. I'm making astonishing strides at being OK with what I have, rather than being infatuated with what I believe I need.

I am currently gethering quite a pile of older (vintage) gear, everything from speakers (EPI, Infinity, University, Wharfedale, Bose 901) to receivers (Marantz, Sansui, Pioneer) to tuners (Sherwood) to old tube consoles (Zenith, Andrea, several more on the way) to antique radios (RCA, Zenith, Wards Airline, GE) to CD players (Sony, Onkyo). Most of these were obtained for free from folks who had no use for them anymore. The most I paid for any one item was $50. One by one they will be restored to their former glory - I will keep some, sell or give away the others. I haven't been this excited about a new hobby in, well, forever.
Not that any of this will take the place of my modern high-end gear, but sometimes a different perspective is needed, if only to remind me how good the new gear really is.