Define power hungry...B&W speakers

Tntate,

I thought by now, after twenty-something replies, it would have been clear to you there is no such answer.

An approach could be to search A'gon Virtual Systems and threads and look for what amps people use with your speakers, or very similar B&Ws, make a list, drop those beyond your price range, read about the amps left in your list, arrive at a short list. And by all means, try and listen to them. No need to go nuts about, at least in my view.

Why are you so focused on Wattage? Sorry if you mentioned this already - I don't recall reading it.

I'll throw in my experience. I used to have B&W CM4 driven by Rotel RB1080. I liked it a lot. Eventually I moved to the 804S, and those speakers started revealing the weaknesses in the Rotel amp. I auditioned some amps and liked McIntosh SS with B&Ws.

Eventually I auditioned in the same system the 804S with a McIntosh MC252 (250W solid state), and MC275 (75W tubed), and decided for the tubes. Goes to show how nominal Wattage means little, even from the same manufacturer if moving from SS to tubes!

Once at home I had a long time to try the Rotel vs Mc275. I was contemplating biamplifying with the Rotel on the bass. Funny enough, the MC275 had more weight and body than the Rotel in the bass. So again, Wattage means little. I went with what sounded better to me.

Having said this, it is generally accepted bigger 800-series need a lot of power to shine. But I don't think your speakers fall in that camp.

Bombaywalla,

I think you misread my post. I was comparing the MC275 to the MC252, rated 250W per channel, solid state, by the same manufacturer, retailing at basically the same price from what I recall. From those two, in the same system, heard at the same time, with my same speakers, I opted for the MC275.

The reference to the RB1080 was used to point at the bass, where one usually reads comments saying tubes don't sound as good in that region. In this case the tubes sounded better even in the bass.

Obviously I was not surprised by the MC275 sounding better than the RB1080 - at the end of the day that is why I purchased it!

Not sure I agree with your comment about solid state amps being better for B&W. I know in my case it isn't, and I remember over at the Audiokarma McIntosh forum I used to visit long ago there was a technical guy from McIntosh who sweared by using MC275 as monoblocks to drive 803D.
And I remember listening to 802D driven by $30k huge VTL monoblocks that sounded outstanding. 802D are indeed power hungry and those VTL heaters could certainly output a lot of tube-Watts. But who would buy 30k amps to drive 802D?? Not me, even if I had the money.
Buying very powerful and outstanding solid state amps from McIntosh, Classe, Rowland, etc would be much cheaper, less bulky, and wouldn't generate as much heat...

My point being I don't buy B&W 800-series works better with solid state. They do need power, and power is more practical to get from SS than from tubes. That's all.