Amp for Soliloquy 5.3i floor standing speaker?

That you're asking for advice for alternatives without giving us any clue as to what you thought of the sound with your Jolida makes your post most unhelpful. Very common on this site and very frustrating for those who would really like to help.

That said, I had the 5.3s for many years and found that the two midwoofs working in tandem could cause bass/lower mid problems in some rooms if not controlled. If you experienced anything like this I'd recommend something like a Bryston integrated as I find their amps do a great job in that department, and I think that characteristic along with their excellent imaging capabilities and crystal clear treble would also work synergistically with the 5.3s. Of course, not knowing anything about what you're looking for makes this a complete shot in the dark and quite possibly a complete waste of my and your time.

Apparently the original designer of the speaker (Phil Jones I think) was in an accident before the speaker was finished and Dennis Had (of Cary) finished the crossover design, so if you're looking tubes I'd second exploring the Cary route.

Best of luck.

I could be wrong , the story that I heard was that Mr. Had wanted a speaker designed to work with his equipment . He later tired of the speaker buisness and sold that part of his empire .
The new owner ran it for a number of years then sold it to a guy that works for Monster cable . He had his family handling the day-to-day operations untill they finally went out of buisness .

I have not owned the 5.3i's but did have the 6.2i's and had pretty good success with an Audio Aero Prima Integrated amp . It is a hybrid with a mossfet output . I also ran a Cayin A88 T tubed integrated with good results as well . Both of these are 40w amps .

While they may not be SET friendly I don't believe they require copious amounts of power either . YMMV.

Good luck .

Saki70's recollection is close to mine. http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/459/index.html

Kal

Just wanted to mention a little tidbit about the 5.3's. The two woofers are wired out of phase from eachother. I heard that from the dealer who sold me my 5.0 monitors, as well as a guy who worked at Cary Audio in the late 90's.

fwiw.

Chris

I had a 6.3, and agree: no tubes! The amp will sound pretty fat. Tried AES Sixpacs with little luck. I ran my McCormack DNA-125 and it sounded very full, but still detailed. Probably either a lean tube sound, or a good SS amp is best. And, they need a bit of current to keep control of the woofers. I actually had great sound with a C-J MF2200 amp as well.

If looking at integrateds (your budget wasn't stated) then perhaps a fairly high current model like the Karan will bring out great things, or Simaudio I-7 perhaps.