Aeris speakers amp

I have had these speakers for a week now and must say they sound amazing. The setup was a snap and the wavelet room correction is just what I needed. I also appreciate the contour function and utilize it on some recordings. I tried out the PL preamp but after switching back and forth to the wavelet as a preamp, I found that the PL muddied the waters somewhat. The mids sounded almost the same but the upper end wasn't as resolved or detailed and the soundstage seemed somewhat collapsed in comparison. Out with the preamp....
At this point in time while I feel the sound is quite good with the PL, it seems to run out of gas a bit and sounds a little "sluggish" especially at higher volumes. Was considering another PL to run mono but I have started to come to the conclusion that SS might be a better match.

Amps that I have been looking into are:
JC1+
Coda 15.5
X250.8
XA100.8
XA160.8
Not sure if the Pass Labs XA series would return sound enough sound quality for the leap in price but they do seem to be highly regarded. 
Any input or opinions would be appreciated.

Well......
After much research, I decided to get a Pass Labs x-260.8 from Reno HiFi. Kent at Pass Labs and Mark at Reno were very helpful. My reasoning:

Bipolar vs. MOSFET...... I've heard the description of the two as Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up. Not sure if that is really as valid today as in the past but one thing I do know is that I desire a slightly warmer than neutral sound as I cannot stand much sibilance especially in female voices. Past A/B amplifiers I have had seem to have some degree of this characteristic. Legacy Audio used to voice their speakers with Coda (and may still) so that synergy was appealing to an extent. I feel the passive speakers they produced with the big woofers and multiple drivers could avail themselves of the high current available from the Codas. The partially active speakers that Legacy is now producing certainly shouldn't require the amount of current as in the past. The bottom end of the Aeris is drive by 1000 W of class D with a crossover at 80 Hz. The cross over is provide electronically by the Wavelet DSP/preamp so no passive crossover needed. This also means only frequencies above 80 Hz are provided to the upper end (with passive crossovers) for the 10-inch woofer, 8-inch mid, and the two ribbons. I would assume this would reduce the back EMF and current needed. From reading about the different amplifier designs, I seem to come down on the MOSFET side.
Class A..... I chose to try the X-260.8 for a few reasons. Cost vs return is always a factor as I wanted to try the amps while minimizing potential expenses if they weren't for me as compared to the more expensive XA line. The 260's have more available Class A power and I figured it would give me a pretty good taste of the flavor to decide whether to move over to XA-160.8.   I am also hoping the higher slew rate will be a benefit in the speed and detail. With my speakers I would expect to consistently run in class A. I couldn't find a review on these amps ( only one on the .5 series) but most of the comments about them on discussion boards were very positive. I kind of took other reviews and extrapolated them over to the 260's. Could not find much in used sale histories but don't know if that was because of happy owners or just few being sold. I get the feeling these might be some under-known or under- appreciated amps. Besides, I just like mono-blocks, be it actual or psycho-acoustical perceptions, I don't know.
I've had the amps for a few days now and I must say I was quite surprised how great they sounded out of the box with minimal warm-up time. I didn't want to lose the smooth midrange from the PrimaLuna and on the first song I played, it was evident that the Pass improved the mids immensely. The soundstage is larger and more realistic. The upper end is more detailed and clear with no hint of sibilence. It was like a veil was lifted and the speakers were allowed to open up and show what they could do. I stayed up half the night listening to them with no fatigue whatsoever. I am quite happy with my choice and will take the 4 months that Reno HiFi allows for trade- up to decide on the 160's.

Happy listening!

I came across your posts and wondered what your final outcome was.

 

I have the Black Pearl Aeris and have been considering upgrading my amplifiers.  I have an opportunity to get a Dartzeel NFB-108 Model One my dealer (Unlimited Audio) has access to.  I recently upgraded my front to the Aries Cerat Incito S and Helene DAC.

The Aeris system I heard was using the Legacy i.V2 amp. One of the best systems I've heard.

Find a dealer that can loan you the i.V2. Based on some of the other recommendations, you might end up saving a ton of money.

I’m coming in late here, but I would agree that if using the Wavelet, you should primarily focus on amps that are deliver unrestricted current and high power. I owned the Aeris/Wavelet combo when loving tubes and realized quickly that using tube amps in combination with the Wavelet pretty much sucks the soul the tubes bring. I hated it so much that I modified my Aeris to use an analog crossover instead which the bass section only was DSP’ed. I then paired the mids and highs with a pair of heavily upgraded Cary 805AE monoblocks, which were 50wpc of SET goodness. It was a wonderful result.

I moved on from this setup over a year ago, and the buddy who bought my Aeris is now pairing them with a PL HP amp (without the Wavelet also) and has been pretty happy. Consensus seems to be high wattage is a benefit, but not at all necessary if current delivery is unrestricted.

That said, if you truly want to keep the Wavelet, consider going SS as the Wavelet may take away the good harmonics tubes bring.