I agree, you would need a high powered tube Amp. The best sound I'v heard on the Sonus Faber Extremas, was the Meridian 557 Amps bridged, which are 1000 watts. I heard this system at the Stereophile show in 96 in NY. This system sounded unbelievable. It was so sweet and articulate sounding. The bass was fast and tight. The preamp was the Meridian 502 and the digital equipment was the Meridian 566.20 Dac, 500 transport and the 518 jitter reducer.