The right amp for Martin Logan Ascents

altho a little bright, the capian integrated plus biamped power amp sounded great on my SL3's. I am presently using the Innersound., and it will drive anything....while not as transparent as the caspians, I am now going to sell my subwoofer!
Frank

Check out the Innersound amp. 300wpc - made for electrostats.

Also the Electrocompaniet 120.

I used to have the Ascents. Used the Transcendent Sound SC150 tube monos on them to good effect. Not a SS amp but with 150 watts/channel it has plenty to drive the Ascents. I actually am having them on an audiogon auction now.
Good Luck

Good follow ups. Keep em' coming. I'm a little new to high end audio (my last setup was Marantz MA 700 monoblocks with NHT 2.9s) . I should mention that I am using an Acurus ACT-3 preamp, and not currently looking to change. As I mentioned in the post, this will serve double duty in a home theater. My understanding is, tubes are generally lacking in the bass dept., and might not be "quick" enough for HT. I'm not 100% opposed to tubes (just want to make sure I get the right amp for both HT and music). That said, if anyone has had experience with Rogues and the MLs, please respond.

Of the amps you list, I'd go with the Plinius. I own and sell electrostats, and in my experience the Aragon is a rather steely-sounding amp when mated with electrostats - I really don't think that would be a good choice. You want something a touch on the warm side if anything, and of the amps you list, that would be the Plinius.

I sell the InnerSound amp, mentioned by a couple of people here, and it can probably drive any electrostat on the planet. Clayton Audio amps are also quite nice. I generally recommend tubes for electrostats, but Clayton and InnerSound are exceptions to that rule, and sound better than some very well respected tube amps I have owned.

Best wishes!

There's currently a Levinson 23 on A-gon. I'm using Reference 20.0 with Monoliths. It's currently a bi-amped system, but originally it was running on the 20s only. Excellent sound and Levinson build quality--the 200 watts will be an added benefit--and certainly no problem driving difficult loads.

If I remember correctly, Gayle Sanders said that his speakers only require 5 watts to drive them. SS is the wrong way to go- I have never heard M.L. sound decent with ss amplification (Krell, Levinson). Although I am not a Audio Research fan, I would have to say that it was the only time that I've heard them with the "magic" that only ML can do. The room was 20 by 40 or so, with the speakers 1/3 of the way out. CD was "Jazz at the Pawnshop" Propius(?) recording. all this was 13 years ago with Quests ! good luck.

I'm using a Coda amp with my CLS IIz. Coda is the OEM for Innersound and Legacy amps and they sound very similar. I tried an ARC tube power amp a few months ago, but it didn't suit my tastes. I found it too soft and lacking in base response. I've also tried a Conrad-Johnson pre-amp with the Coda power amp and I found that to be an enjoyable combination. But, you should listen to as many amps as possible to see what sounds best to you.

I used a PS Audio 100c w/125wpc in 8-ohms and 200wpc in 4-ohms. You need to select a high currant amp. This is a budget alternative to higher end high currant amps like ML, Krell amps. I used this amp on a pair of sequel II for 9-years,plenty of sound. I placed my PS Audio amp and sequels in classifids if you interested. I upgraded to a ML336 amp to run Martin Logan Prodigy speakers. A great set of high dollar speaker cable make a big differance.

Well Inever had a pair of Ascents but I did had a pair of Sequels,as for a Solid State amp i would recommend the Conrad Johnson MOSFETs amp.Or Threshold power amps,they go very well with Logans,and that is my opinion.

YBA amplifiers work great with Martin Logans (minimum YBA 2 HC). You may to try Simaudio W5 or W10 as well.

out of the amps you mentiond ,the mccormick is the one. but i would say tubes of course. the little bat may be a good choice . how much do you want to spend? not only are tubes more detailed than ss but they are more lifelike. i run tubes in my theater as well.