Amp suggestion for Merlins?

Just to wrap up my own question - for several reasons, I ended up purchasing a Rogue Cronus Magnum. No complaints. First tube amp. We'll see what the future holds. Thanks to everyone for their excellent input.

Isn't the Ars Sonum integrated what Bobby uses now? At least that is what I thought he had at RMAF this year. If that amp is in your budget it should work quite nicely with the speakers.

It is well known that Merlin always present their speakers with Joule-Electra power amplifier 80 or 100 watts.
Its not integrated amp so you need separate preamp. If on the budget use passive (TLC, in my opinion, are the best for money see Promethious (spl?)

Ain;t no better amplfiier for merlin then J-E !!!!! Does not exist - ask Bobby from Merlin

Depends on the sound you seek. I bet Gryphon Callisto 2200 would drive them extremely well, but the sound would be different from if driving with Manley. Much more dynamic and transparent, I guess. It is a very rare piece, listed here for $4000 now and I am sure can be had for a little less. Just because everyone uses Manley or the likes doesn't mean that you should. If that Gryphon was within my price range I would get it right away. There are no dealers in the US though if you care about this, so if anything goes wrong you might have to send it to Denmark which is not a big deal. It would sound great with many other speakers too, most of them.

I own this speaker and have run it with Rega R Brio, Analogue Audio Verdi Settana integrated and a Sugden A21SE integrated. They all sound great, with of course variances.

The Stingray will also work great. The speed of the Merlins is really showcased with the class A SS amplification of the Sugden. Have fun.

One more vote for Manley. I bought a pair of TSM-Mmi last spring to mate with a Stingray II and I'm extremely happy with the sound. The Manley puts out around 20w in triode or 40w in ultraliner. In my very large room, ultralinear is the way to go, as triode struggles just a bit at both frequency extremes. The output impedance is 5 ohms, which is just right for the Merlins' 6 ohm load.

Another nice feature of the Stingray II is its RCA sub out, which makes it very easy to integrate a subwoofer. I use a small, sealed-cab Von Schweikert set at 50 Hz and its seamless.

You could also pick up Mahi monoblocks, which are almost identical to the Stingray II but you'd need a preamp. Either way, the Manley/Merlin combo is a proven winner. Add a sub, a decent source, and quality cabling and you have a system that hits way above its weight.

I am a new Merlin TSM owner. Using a Manley Stingray II. Sounds fantastic.
Great speakers, great company.

I've read that the Manley Labs Stingray is a great match with Merlin. I think there are some discussions here on A'gon about this amp/speaker match.