best amplifier to drive my Quad 988 speakers

Kjl,

You are absolutely right on. The 988s and 989s can deliver much more than the Quad amps/preamps bring out in them. I am about to purchase the 989s. I heard them first with a Plinius SA 102 amplifier, Plinius preamp and was STUNNED. I subsequently listened to both 989s and the 988s with Quad electronics. A fizzle by comparison. I am making a joint purchase of 989s plus Plinius SA 102 amp next week. I will be using my Pass Labs X-1 preamp, every bit as good as the Plinius pre and then some.

Be certain that you look into the SA 102, not the 100 and not the 250 Watt Plinius either. The SA 102 is a very special amplifier. For an interesting brief summary see the Plinius SA 102 writeup at galen carols website: http://www.gcaudio.com. Also do a search on this amplifier in the Audiogon archives, it will yield interesting results.

Please note, I could care less about Plinius, per se. But when I hear a combination this special, my ears do the talkin'.

The above suggestion is good. A goldmund integrated ...100-150 watts would be very nice. On the tube side...some of the EL34 based amps of around 30-50 watts would sound great.

I was fortunate enough to demo a pair of 988's driven by a pair of Air Tight ATM-300. The experience was amazing.

Try the innersound amplifier designed specifically for electrostatic speakers.

I was over a friend's house and couldn't believe what he did: Got rid of 100 watt tube EAR amps for a 200 watt parasound. It sounded amazing! The parasound was a better match than the EARs.

I am listening as I am writing this to my 988's driven by the Quad II Forty monos and the QC-24 preamp. I cannot imagine the sound could get much better than this from any other combination and you know that Quad designers have already taken the guess work out of compatability issues. I urge you to consider them.