tubes or ss for amati homage

These speakers sing with tubes! I have heard them with the BAT 75W monos and the Atma-Sphere MkI's. In comparison, ML 33H's with these speakers sounded ho-hum. Sure, the latter were "faster", but who cares about fast if they do not play music. I agree with Jtinn unreservedly, these monitors demand tubes. My preference is to avoid low output SETs because of their bass deficiency.

I have heard these speakers with Wadia Powerdac, Krell monblocks and Cary monoblocks that cost $40K. It was done in the same demo room with Wadia 27/270 and to my ears, the Cary was best.

Try an 845 based tube. The Bel Canto SET40 could drive those speakers with ease and preserve the delicate nuances of the music. A good PP tube amp would also work well.

Ryllau, It all depends on your taste! I have the Amati's and being driven by a hybrid amp (nuvista 300 - 300wpc) and love it. I never tried an all tube amp, so I can't comment. I did compare big SS amps (ML & Krell mono's), but was not impressed. took away the speakers sensuality and muicality. However, go listen and compare. but what ever you decide upon, make sure you get a good 4ohm capable amp, as these speakers prefer it.
good luck!

Regardless of the type of amplifier, make sure it has enough power to drive them. I listened to these with an ARC VT-100 and thought it sounded rather thin. With a pair of huge Classe amps however, it really seemed to come alive. I do tend to like the ARC sound over Classe for most their respective lines, so I have to suspect that the VT-100 may have been a bit underpowered.