Through experience have found more powerful amps can really bring efficient speakers alive, especially ones like the Devore’s. What you will have to pay more attention to is the gain across everything in your set up. If you use XLR’s natural has a higher gain. Higher powered SS amps can be more sensitive to gain and if fed higher gain can really highlight the hum and or any type of noise finding its way into your system. That said, attenuation can solve the issue. They sell high quality attenuators that you can place between your pre and amp that would solve any issues if you can’t solve them using the gain settings on your pre or on other devices in the chain. I found the attenuators to be more effective than gain adjustment for some reason. My speakers are efficient but definitely sound better with more powerful amps.
Devore O/96 with high powered amplifiers
Just picked up a used pair of Devore O/96 and am awaiting delivery. Still have a pair of McIntosh MC501s (500W) and a pair of Quicksilver V4s (170W) that I used with my previous speakers.
Before I sell the amplifiers for something with less power, I plan to at least try them with the O/96s.
What can I expect to hear? What issues might I encounter?