New monoblocs for Maxx II, which ones

VTL S800's or get some Lamm ML2.1 SET amps... both of those should be amazing. Don't bother with the Linn or Pass.

Kurt_Tank: The Lamm M1.2 is an excellent amp, as I owned the M1.1 but the Maxx's are efficent but require lots of current. So I would opt for the M2.2's if you wanted a hybrid design. 45 watts of Class A is really all you need. My Theta Citadel easily bested the Lamm by a long shot in the bass control department and the 2ohm drops in the bass that Wilson Watt Puppy's and Maxx's do, and made the earlier M1.1's sound a little dark and constrained on top but the Lamms are still the most amazingly organic in the midrange. I owned M2.1's before the M1.1's and shouldn't have switched. The extra current is helpful.

Crna39: I totally blanked on the Pass XA series.. that is another option since this has the warmth of the Alph series but has control also. I still think the Theta, Lamm or VTL has better synergy with the Maxx's.

They aren't Exotic but I can't say how happy I am with my Theta Citadel's... The Ayre MXR are a little warmer with a little more air but the Citadels have Slamming bass control and a deeper soundstage with more detail. If I had bought the Ayre MXR's I could have been just as happy. I have heard the Halcro's also and my old Lamm M1.1's but nothing has caused me to want except for the pair of VTL S800's powering my dealers Maxx 2's with the same front end as I have except Transparent Opus (my next upgrade or Reference MM)

Dazzdax: the DartZeel doesn't really have enough current I've read for controling Maxx's. Just like my Lamm M1.1 solid state/hybrid 100watts ran out of juice controlling my WP7's, but the M2.1 worked no problem. So some people buy the DarTZeel Preamp and use another amp to get the characterics of that manufacture.

Oneobgyn: The Lamm M1.1's had tons of mid bass but were missing the last octave at any volume in my system or the midbass bloat was masking the low end (Yes the room was mic'd out with my Tact and then corrected with $3.5k of Realtraps and measured again (Tact was not used for correction after correcting the room). I spent the $1275 roundtrip to ship (they will only accept Fedex Air to their non business address with the crates, no UPS) them back to the factory where the checked out perfect. I then switched to my Theta Citadel amps which made the Lamms sound broken in the lowest octave and exposed the darker character on the top end (which wasn't necessarily a bad thing on ultra revealing speakers in an hyper active room). The Theta's just don't run out of gas and are completely effortless while driving the most complex passages with a huge soundstage and delicate on top like the VTL. I found that my Prior Lamm M2.1 didn't have a problem and the missing 50 watts of Class A was really no loss. I then switched to tubes but ultimately the Music Reference RM200 was not romantic like the Lamms so back to Solid State I went. I loved the organic flavor of Lamms and was looking for M2.2's when I spent 4 hrs at my dealer listening to the Theta and comparing it to the VTL S400 amp (which I couldn't afford). The other ultimate decision why I got rid of the Lamm's each time was that they heated up my 12x16 room 10+ degrees in about 15 minutes and made my AC run non-stop here in Arizona.

All of these amps are world class, I think it comes down to what type of characteristics are appreciated by the listener.

I will probably pickup a pair of Lamm ML2.1 or the new VTL 450's (with autobiasing) to try with my Maxx's during the winter or I'll just add a tube preamp and upgrade my cabling..... the cycle continues...

Rugyboogie: since you want to try a completely different flavor compared to your ML's and the ASR, the Lamm's would really fit the bill.

Elberoth2: Your Avalons are only a minimal 3.6ohm load the Lamm M1.2's will drive those perfectly, it's not the watts it is the current delivery with Wilson Maxx's and Watt Puppies 7's. My Watt Puppy 7 were a minimal 2.73 ohm load at 70hz. The Wilson Maxx II are a 3ohm minimal so they aren't as hard a load to drive, and therefore the M1.2 or M1.1's might work better, but unless you really need the extra 50watts of Class A, I would go with the M2.2 or M2.1's.

But as others keep suggesting Lamm ML2.1'sound like the perfect match.... or big VTL's depending on your liking..