Best integrated amp ? Great match for AZ Adagio?

I've had my Adagios running with an Ayre AX7e for sometime now and it is an excellent match. The reality is that Acoustic Zen's are pretty easy to drive and present a very linear load so they'll respond well to just about any amp you want to drive them with. The Ayre is incredibly clean and linear in response and its character works exceptionally well with the Adagio (which by the way, I personally have found to be one of the finest speakers money can buy! I'm a HUGE Acosutic Zen fan; you can see some of my reviews of their stuff here on 'Gon...)

I have thought about trying them with tubes. AZ has been showing their Crescendos with the big Tri monoblocks for the last year or so and they sound magnificent together. (Actually, I thought they had one of, if not THE best sound, at RMAF this year. Most of the rooms this year just sounded harsh and sterile for some reason, but the AZ/Tri room was the one place you could hear MUSIC). The BAT VK300 mentioned by Bizango is one I've strongly considered as well as the Genesis I60 or Music Reference amps. For now though, the Ayre sounds so good, I'm not sure if there's any real value in changing...

Happy Listening!

I am using modwright kwi 200.Its quite a jump from sim 5.3.I really am enjoying this amp.the extra wattage(current)gets things poppin.

I agree with Bizango that hybrid integrateds work very well with the Adagio. My personal recommendation is the Pathos TT – it is a hybrid integrated with a patented Class A amp. section that is truly a magical combination with the Adagio’s. I highly recommend you try a Pathos TT with your Adagio’s.

Have also heard the Tri is a nice match. I compared the Tri Trv-35 withe the LM 211 IA. I chose the LM, but could have easily lived with either. The Tri had a touch more of that classic tube sound. I found the LM to be a tad more neutral.
I would say try both lines if you can. Both amps I am speaking of are EL34 based, and in the 30 watt range.

I think I've read that AZ likes to show their Creshendos with the Tri 845 SET integrated. I imagine that would work with the Adagios too.

I am using a BAT VK300xSE (tubed pre section with SS power) with my Adagios and for me they have great synergy. I previously owned a W4S STI500 SS amp and an NAD M3 SS amp with them and those didn't make me happy. The W4S had unbelievable clarity but overall it wasn't believable. The NAD had great body and power but was missing some air and space up top. When the BAT went in I knew right away that it would be in the system for a long time evidenced by the fact that I moved on to adding a DAC to my CD player and a heaphone/amp setup and forgot about the amp. If I was to try something else with all tubes (I'm not, dammit!) I'd be curious to hear a Rogue Cronus Magnum with them.