Good Amp with totem model 1s?

I have owned the Totem Model 1 for a year and I understand how finicky they are with amplifiers. Vince at Totem has recommended to me these brands Plinius, Sim Audio, Naim 5i, and Sonneteer.

I used Sonneteer (UK solid state) and I coupled my Model 1 with a Totem Storm and REL Q201E and have good result. The combo can sound substantially better if I upgrade my CD player and interconnect cables.

You will need help from a decent sub like Storm or REL if your solid state amp delivers less than 50 watts per channel or you go with tubes. I have moved in with my GF so I will stick with my Totem Model1/Storm and Sonneteer combo for a while.

This is my ranking of the integrated amp for the Model 1
(Scale from 1-10)
Sim Audio 10 (very good bass definition)
Plinius 10 (very papable bass definition and Plinius separates, they look so cool)
Naim 8
Classe 8
C-J 8
Krell 8
Rogue Audio 7.5
Sonneteer 7.5
Prima Luna 7.0. Tube amps won't be able to extract the most out of Model 1 unless you go with C-J.
NAD C372 6.0 (NAD sounds a bit dry)

Last but not least, you will need a pair of good stands made by Totem or Sound Anchor to get the most mid range sound that you crave.

If I were you, I would get either a used Sim/Plinius/Classe or Naim. With these solid state amps, you can connect to your LCD and have great movie sound as well. Go with CJ if you want to try tubes.

Totem Storm or REL powered sub combined with Model 1 will be a great sub-sat combo that even Totem flagship monitor Mani 2 will have to respect.

The Model 1s are well established speakers and a quick google turned up reviews by Stereophile and Soundstage (I'm sure there are more). Both reviewers seemed to like the tube pairings.

Like Eslaudio and M297904, I too liked the Model 1s with McCormack amps, but that was a long time ago - before tubes touched my musical soul.

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/ian02.htm

http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/820/index.htm

Macd, You've probably noticed the Consonance closeouts in the classifieds, but in case you haven't, that Reference 880 looks kind of sweet to me. I do realize it's over budget and some lousy endorsement, but it's all I got - FWIW.

Tubes could sound great with the Totem Model 1, mitigating the harshness of the SEAS metal tweeters.

Personally, I think you want to go with more efficient Totem lines like Rainmaker and Sttaf for tube amps. They (tube amps) are like Victoria Secret models to me, fun to look at but not fun to live with. I like solid state better, cheaper to own, cheaper to operate, and depreciate much slower. But again, it's only my $0.02

Your local Totem dealer are your best bet to determine for you the good tube amps that could drive your Model 1 well.

Welcome to Totem club...