Zu Soul Superfly

I am currently listening to Soul Superflys but saving for Def. 4 as my "final"speakers.

In the meantime I am thinking about upgrading my amp as well which is currently a RWA Sig. 30.2. (pre is Modwright 9.0 SWLP). I am generally quite happy with it but sometimes find it a tad sterile so would like a bit more emotionality. A bit more soundstaging and also power/weight would also be welcome. I listen to quite a bit of rock music and have a fairly big room (approx 60sqm, opening into an adjoining hall). My idea is to make a bit step up on the amp now on the Superflys and then use it on the Def. 4 in a future hopefully not too far away.

So I am thinking about a tube SET or maybe even p-p amp (voiced in the SET direction) with approx.20 + watts in the 7-9 k range new. Hopefully this would enable a big step forward (I am not interested in changing just for the sake of changing something) and would appreciate your thoughts. As I am in Europe many of the US brands are not readily available here but I will make an effort to find Audion and some of the Italian brands such as Mastersound. I thought also about lesser known brands such as NAT (their SE1 models looks nice), Ancient Audio or Trafomatic (they have a 45 p-p model which I think might fit the Superflys but not sure about the Def. 4).
Any thoughts are very welcome.
Gemini

When I had Zu Def 2s, I tried 45 (Yamamoto), 2a3 (DeJa Vu Audio), and eventually 300b (Ancient Audio) SETs. In part because I have very long speaker cable runs - probably 50' or so from one side of the room, under the floor through the cellar, and up the other side of the room - and because I have a huge listening space, I found that the 45 and 2a3 SET amps lacked necessary oomph. A 8 watt 300b SET was about the lower limit of what I considered acceptable.

I now have Zu Def 4s and find the combination with Ancient Audio Lektor Prime and a custom 300b SET (an updated version of the Integra that Jarek no longer makes) with Takatsuki TA-300b tubes to be great. (I have not gone back to try lower power SETs with the Def 4s, however.) If you go the 300b route, do not underestimate the impact of these Japanese 300b tubes; I tried Shuguang Black Treasures that came with the amp and Sophia Royal Princes, and the difference is significant.

As far as Ancient Audio is concerned, I like their gear; but it can be a bit quirky. Jarek built a novel (for him, at least) protective circuit into my 300b SET. When I first tried the Sophia and then Takatsuki 300b (rated at 60-65 mA), the circuit tripped within 60-90 minutes; and the amplifier shut down almost immediately. Finding a pair of 300b with a lower mA rating prolonged the listening time before it shut down, but not by much. I had Deja Vu Audio look at it; they replace a few small parts and changed the bias; and I now can get about 4-5 hours of listening before the circuit is activated and another 2-3 hours before the amp shuts down. This circuit may have seemed to be a good idea to Jarek, but it is frustrating. I have not listened to either his flagship 300b PSET or his 6c33 based amps. However, I must confess that despite all of the other issues, I enjoy the sound as well as the fact that they are "unique" - especially in North America. Conversely, dealing with problems between Washington, DC and Krakow can be frustrating. From your list, I assume that you are in Europe. Jarek welcomes contact with potential customers (although he is sometimes slow to answer email) and is very hospitable; I bought the Lektor Prime CDP after listening to it in his home in Krakow.

I heard the Yamamoto 45 SET a few weekends ago with the Def 4s, but it was in a small room. Two other amplifier manufacturers that you might consider are Sophia Electric and Border Patrol. Phil (Cobra 213) thinks that 845 SET amps - specifically either the Audion or the Sophia Electric - mate extremely well with the Def 4s; I have not heard either.

I'm really partial to the Melody gear and Zu speakers. I'm using an MK88 (KT88 push pull that is surprisingly beautiful) right now and am hoping to buy an AN211 as a potential 'destination' amp with my Def 2s (nanotec drivers on order).

Given you are in Europe, the amp could be had pretty cheaply too.

Thank you for your input. I agree there are quite a few good 45, 2A3 and of course 300 B SET amps in the 2-8 Watts range but I am not certain this will be sufficient power for my needs. I will get an Audion Silver Night 300B in my room in the near future and will be able to see how it comes along with its 7-8 watts. but currently I am thinking more in the 18-35 watts range.
Many of the brands relatively well known in the US have little presence over here, for example Sophia Electric, Audion and even Melody (I think currently not distributed in Europe) and I am hesitant to mail-order one just based on forum reviews. I would assume that the Soul has less power needs than the Definition, is that right? If someone could let me know whether I need to look for something different on the Soul Superfly as opposed to the amp needs of the Definition speakers that would be very helpful (for example, does Black Shadow or other 845 amps or a Quad II Forty behave as well on the Souls as on the Def?).

Gemini,

I committed to the purchase of the Melody AN211 and coincidentally the person buying my MK88 is the owner of a pair of Soul Superflys with nanotec drivers, so maybe he will chime in as to the pairing.

I was looking at the prices to get gear from places like Catylink and you've got some real good Chinese stuff available very cheaply.