platinum audio solo's


I have read that the solo's are very hard to drive, that being said, can a 100 watt tube amp do the job? Secondly, I am usually not a fan of metal dome tweeter's but all I have read is how smooth the sound is out of these speakers, can anyone comment, I don't have anywhere I can listen to them but they seem to be a steal for the money. I am interested in these because I have a small room and I don't want thin sounding monitor's. Thanks.
sean34
If you want a good sounding monitor, snap up the $1000 pair of Aerial 5s that were listed a few days ago. They kick the ass of Plat. solos. Another good choice would be Paradigm studio 20s. I had platinum solos on loan for a while. I found them bright, thin on the bottom, and little bass. (not surprising considering 2 4" woofers). They needed about 2-4 layers of toilet paper over the tweeters behind the grill to tame the tweeter's brightness down. (not kidding.) Combine that with the fact that platinum is long out of business and spares/repairs are not available for these drivers, and they are pretty much a pair of boatanchors. There's tons better stuff out there for the same $ or less. The plats do have a nice finish and look cool, but the sound leaves a lot to be desired. I am sure some platinum owners will chime in here with defenses for these (typical proud-owner syndrome of course), but the facts remain as above.

-Ed
Sean34,I used a Sound Valves 35 watts per channel tube amplifier, and a matching tube preamplifier, and the sound was musical, articulate, detailed, and with thrilling bass.
Audiophile buddies agreed. This was in a small room.
These go used on Audiogon for about $600, and are a fine value, especially because there is bass extension, and detail, not usually available at this price, but so important to the fun of many recordings.
I know Ed feels this must be either physically impossible, or biased, but that's what one group of careful listeners heard.
Whenever there is such a radical divergence of opinions, I prefer to attribute this to damage or malfunction of the component under test, poor component synergy, or wearing out of my hearing aid battery. Just kidding.
Just put each posting into perspective, by going back to the other postings here, and elsewhere on the internet, using google.com search engine.
If you want any specific questions answered about system, and room matching for these speakers, feel free to email through the Audiogon member email exchange.
I have the Solos in my setup for a little more than 3 years now and having great success partnering it with the Ayre V3 amp (100 watts SS) and an AS Passion passive pre. My room size is 15.6 x 10.5 x 8 and no problems with the "loudness" factor ie: it will go as loud as I want with most modern CD recordings. If you are interested, the details to the rest of my setup can be found at the following link in AA; http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/3896.html
The Solos in my system is not "thin" sounding as experienced by others and I gather it all comes down to matching of the other components in your system and careful setup/placement of the equipment as well.
Good luck.