Ideal Cheap Low-Watt Amp for Martin Logan Quest


What would be a few ideas for an ideal low wattage dirt-cheap power amp for Martin Logan Quest electrostats?

(Either a power amp or, preferably, an integrated amp.)

OK, so it's a strange question. Electrostats are not the most power efficient speakers. But in my current situation, which is living off grid using solar power, I would like to keep my speakers (ML Quest) and get a small amp. I would like this amp to be dirt cheap and very low wattage. Lets say 50 watts and under.

Suggestions?

Most important factors to consider?

I will keep my current setup (tweaked H/K Citation 16 power and sae pre) for daytime use, but I would really like something for cloudy days and evening/nighttime use. We are on solar power, and at night rely on batteries for power. I love this life, but it does pose a challenge for listening to loudspeakers at night.
stephenlloydwebber
Mofi-I'm using the same amp right now! When my system runs for days on end at the office I hate to burn tubes and substitute this little one. The power is sufficient. I will say that the sound quality difference probably will be noticeable vs the HK Citation.
Do you have the original Quests or the Quest-Z? I had (still in basement) the original and they are a tough impedance curve, and may need quite a lot of oomph from the amp. I tried the Mark Levinson ml-27, which sounded wretched. I tried a Classe' CA-200 that dimmed the lights in the house on peaks. I tried the Pass Aleph-0's, which were just boring. The two amps that did well was the McCormack DNA-1 and the Classe' CA-300, and I ended up with the CA-300.
they're the original quests.

yeah, I don't doubt that there will be a major compromise because not only will the amp be lower wattage, but it will also be dirt cheap.

at this point, the class T amp seems like the right move.
Don't the M-Ls require power to operate as well? Seems like you are working at cross purposes. You've got a speaker that uses juice, that needs a moderately high powered amp to sound decent. If it were me, I'd go the low power integrated route w a pair of much higher efficiency speakers.
Some, if not most of the recommended Class D amps tend to be small, inexpensive and quite efficient, you might be able to get more Watts than you realize without draining too much power.