My response is based on owning Quad USA Monitors, not the beautiful 989s. Regarding your CES comment. Although I did not hear that system, the few shows that I've gone to did not leave me thrilled with the sound from systems with Quads. But get those puppies home, sent them up right, and you are talking about some magic.
In my experience, my Quads loved power. I would not go with anything too whimpy unless it has an excellent and beefy power supply. I drove my Quads with an OTL tube amp from Atmasphere and with a nice Rowland solid state amp. The Rowland sounded quite good. The Atmasphere, when it worked and the planets were aligned correctly, took the musical experience up several levels.
I'd recommend a tube amp. The OTLs from Joule Electra, one of which I've owned, would be a superb match. And they are solid and reliable. Maybe a beefy SET amp would be worth evaluating.
In my experience, my Quads loved power. I would not go with anything too whimpy unless it has an excellent and beefy power supply. I drove my Quads with an OTL tube amp from Atmasphere and with a nice Rowland solid state amp. The Rowland sounded quite good. The Atmasphere, when it worked and the planets were aligned correctly, took the musical experience up several levels.
I'd recommend a tube amp. The OTLs from Joule Electra, one of which I've owned, would be a superb match. And they are solid and reliable. Maybe a beefy SET amp would be worth evaluating.