I would like to add my two cents to the discussion about amp compatibility, specifically regarding damping factor, with the Nenuphars. To recap: I've had extended auditions with three amps: the LTA Ultralinear, The First Watt SIT-3 and the First Watt SIT-1. I settled on the SIT-1 for its overall superiority--not just one thing it did better than the rest. However, one area in which the SIT-1 excelled that I believe might be related to damping factor is scale. As mrubey and others have commented, the Nenuphars are capable of creating the scale of much larger speakers. But not only does the SIT-1 bring a noticeably increased sense of largeness through a sound stage that opens more in every direction, but it increases immediacy and involvement when playing at low volumes. I found this to be even more important than increasing the largeness of scale since I'm an early riser and play at relatively low volumes for several hours before others wake. Does this have something to do with damping factor? I don't know, but Charles and some of the other more technically astute posters might. Although all the amps I've mentioned have relatively low damping factors, the SIT-1's factor is 2 which is the lowest by a significant margin.
