I have the 9s and love them. Classe sounds great w/Aerial. While many do, I don't really like Mc amps with the Aerials, ok, but inferior to other options in their price range. I heard the Bel Cantos others have mentioned (w/Joseph Audio speakers) and they are great; if I was not a tube geek, I would strongly consider those.
BTW, despite their reputation, I have never found Aerial's hard to drive. While I am running a big SS amp now (Classe CAM-350), I powered them with a 150w integrated (Classe CAP-150) for about a year and it had more than enough power. Just this past weekend, I auditioned a 40w triode amp (Dehavilland 50a) and it sounded great, really great. Granted, that particular amp is designed to power hard to drive loads, but still-just 40watts. Amazing sound w/the Aerials, even had pretty deep and tight bass; probably not your cup of tea, however, as it does clip at really high volumes (higher than I play music).
BTW, despite their reputation, I have never found Aerial's hard to drive. While I am running a big SS amp now (Classe CAM-350), I powered them with a 150w integrated (Classe CAP-150) for about a year and it had more than enough power. Just this past weekend, I auditioned a 40w triode amp (Dehavilland 50a) and it sounded great, really great. Granted, that particular amp is designed to power hard to drive loads, but still-just 40watts. Amazing sound w/the Aerials, even had pretty deep and tight bass; probably not your cup of tea, however, as it does clip at really high volumes (higher than I play music).