McIntosh Tube vs SS w/ Sonus Faber Aida II

You for sure have the proper amps to drive those wicked speakers. 
Dude, the SS amps are some serious power. Used to have the catalogues sent to my by Mac, to drool, and pray. 

the 901’s are very unique, I’ll bet those would sound simply amazing.
 We will never be able to own any Mac gear. ☹️There is plenty of wicked gear out there for us, just,not the Mac gear, oh wait I have a Mac App on my phone, with the blue meter!

whichever amp/pre combo you choose, will be a game changer for sure!   Enjoy the fine Mac gear, please come back after some break in time, and let us know how it all worked out!,!”

  Congrats, most people can not get Mac gear. We like to hit a dealer and bring some CDs to listen to the sonus faber and Martin Logan’s. 
Enjoy!

The McIntosh dealer I recently visited had a pair of Sonus Faber Aidas powered by a C1100 and a pair of MC611s. It sounded effortless to me. 
The Aida speakers are beautiful. In person they look like they been sculpted. The craftsmanship is fantastic. 
Cheers!

Amp selection depends on many factors. 

1. What type of music do you mostly listen to? Classical/jazz/rock? 
2. How loud ? 
3. How big is the room? 
4. Whats your experience with Tube amps? What do you like in Tube vs. SS? 
5. Have you ever heard SET tube amp? 

Your speakers are some of the best sounding on the planet, I wouldn't limit them with Mac. Don't get me wrong, Macs are superb, I have a full Mac system with SF.   Mac tubes sound very much like SS. That's why I ask what you value in tube sound. All tubes sound different as well. Over the years I've experimented with many tube amps so I have an idea what a modern SF would sound like with each respective tube amp. 

@ei001h

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Actually, I decided to go a slightly different route. The final system I ended up going with is:

• Sonus Faber il Cremonese ex3me
• McIntosh MC901 (x2)
• McIntosh C2700
• McIntosh MS500
• McIntosh MCT500
• McIntosh MPC1500
• Nordost Valhalla 2 speaker cables, interconnects, power cords for everything

To answer your questions:

1. I mostly listen to folk / americana / acoustic. Followed by instrumental / classical, and a little jazz. A little bit of rock every now and then too.
2. Loudness varies from moderate to loud. But I don’t live alone so I usually can’t blast it.
3. The room is 18’x17’ with 10’ ceilings. Room size is the main reason I did not go with the Aida’s. They would have just dominated the room, and tbh the ex3me’s are probably pushing it.
4. These will be my first tube amps, always used ss prior.
5. No I have not heard a SET tube amp.

Do you think this system will limit the ex3mes? How would you describe the MC901 tube sound? Which SF do you have, and what are you pairing it with?

Never a fan of McIntosh especially the way i was treated with the purchase of a new mc402 years ago but i suggest checking out Jays audio lab videos...with all the highend stuff hes owned and reviewd Mac was given worst of amp list...my thoughts to a tee.