Member's recommendations for tube amplification

Very subjective for sure with 1 - 3.5 watts. I have talked to DI owners who experience did not match Terry’s with the ZOTL combo or good flee watt amps. Terry and others love it, others will not. No right or wrong here, just differing sonic pleasures. Very subjective for sure. We all hear differently and have differing expectations and sensitivities. This is one reason David, but a smart guy like you knows this 😊

Some are more sensitive to "underpowered" or "little headroom" in an audio system. Others hear the same system with no sensitivity to this and hear all the good. What is a black dot on a white piece of paper for some is not seen by others. We are fascinating creatures.

I used to own the original Micro ZOTL and used it on high efficiency speakers and it did quite well, were talking 98 - 104 dB. Again, I think a lot has to do with how large your room is and how loud you listen.

The ESL panels I am using now have adjustable sensitivity, from 70 - 80 dB. The impedance is pretty acceptable from 100 Hz to about 10K Hz whereupon it begins to drop down to 2 ohm pretty quickly (note the speakers do not go below 100 Hz and I bi-amp them).

Understanding the designers goal was to make a panel with a very small footprint that can provide extensive detail at low volume, he had to make significant comprises. So he said the heck with the rest of it and made a set of panels that are better than my ESL-57s, but not as flexible with amplification. While the recommendation was to use a 100 watt amp (ss or tube) I was able to use a tube amp that is 35 watts per channel to drive them cleanly getting SPL levels up to 90 dB, which is a good 10 dB more than my preferred listening level. The level of detail and clarity in the music is fantastic.

In addition to room size and listening levels, if an amps damping factor is synergistic with a speaker, a lot can be done with a little power. There is too much emphasis placed on headroom in 2-channel. although in home theater I think it's important. Less is more in many cases. Mind you I'm talking about the ability of an amp to drive a speaker cleanly to reasonable listening levels. Just because it can be done doesn't mean the listener will like how it sounds.

Coming too close to a SET amp’s maximum power output with little "headroom" left is an important consideration clio09... especially with SET amps. Ralph at Atmasphere has shared the Tech reasons behind this several times in these threads. Can you share why you think differently @clio09?

BTW....,Good to hear from you here on the Gon! I love the speaker and amp combo you have put together. What are you using for a preamp and source now?

Thanks

Try to audition Mastersound from Italy. 
I recently followed an advice and I bought the compact 845. Then the Monos PF100.
I had owned many desirable pieces under 50k. Nothing can't be compare with mastersound.  
Regards 

+1 Mastersound.  

I also urge the OP to check out Ayon Audio amps.