Avantgarde Trios too loud with my amps

Onhwy61,
I agree that system gain reduction is certainly a viable choice(especially if he wants to keep the BAT components).

If he`s interested in exploring a 'different'type' of sound and musical perspective with lower power SET amps,he has the ideal speaker to take advantage of their special qualities.These speakers provide significant flexibility.
Regards,

Ohhwy61,
Come on man, those were my words! I wanted to say it first- not fair.
Of course, the power of your amps has nothing to do with the loudness, it is a gain structure of both- preamp and power amp.
I have Avantgarde speakers, and know exactly, what you mean.
I was also told, that it's better to have lower gain in the preamp, than in the power amp.
Attenuators are an option, but will come with some, maybe negligible, degradation of signal.
But, a reduction of your system gain will afford you immense benefits- much lower level of background noise, more precise volume control, etc.
Please, do yourself a favor and contact Victor Khomenko of BAT, maybe they will be able to reduce gain in your preamp- you will benefit also from having less connections in the system (b/w attenuator and amp/preamp)
As a matter of fact, Victor has Avantgarde Trio and (surprise, surprise) BAT electronics in his personal system, so he should know how to help you
Cheers

Agreed re gain, not power of amp, but the Lamm SET/AvG combo is
special in my experience. (And yes, I have used other amps with the AvG
as well). A pair of used ML 2.1 are probably in the neighborhood of 13k
dollars US from an authorized dealer, and well worth comparing if the OP is
going to the trouble of getting the most out of the speaker/amp combo.
Like I said, I rarely recommend components I use. Interesting to note that
several other AvG owners who have posted here (Triode, Maril) have the
Lamm
and the other poster-Chadeffect- who also owns the Trio, recommended
similar types
of low powered tube amps.

Yes,you can have excess gain with low power amps in the system also,no arguement.It would be fun (if possible) to try different low power DHT SET as they all have their own attributes.Chadeffect`s amplifier odyssey is quite interesting and informative.I can imagine the pure beauty of his 2 watt Yamamoto driving these speakers.It`d also be interesting to hear the very different Lamm for another sonic approach.
Regards,

Just to add to the good advice above, bare in mind you are in a realm where finally you don't need mega $ over the top amps. The circuits should be so simple that the part count is in the 10s!

I praise The Lord when a flea power amp the price of an interconnect of virtue comes through the door and puts in the type of performance you once dreamed of.

I advise you (especially if you are a true audiophool) to enjoy the journey with the Trio. I never in my wildest dreams thought a 2w amp of modest cost could satisfy. If you need a larger sound or more SPL a 4w amp like that of an AD1 tube a la the Yamamoto A06, or god forbid a Tom Evans Linear A or B will blow your mind with explosive dynamics and speed.

I'm sure the Lamm as mentioned is great too, but for that price you could have a couple or even three lovely amps for various moods in your arsenal.

Try audition the types of tube amp you could never have used before. Your 110db/w sensitivity and active bass allows even the smallest power amp to be bombastic and completely unstressed. It is a whole new "old" world!