What kind of power wakes up electrostatic speakers

I own a pair of Acoustat selp-powered speakers and i do love them. I will not be upgrading before I check out the latest electrostatic speakers.

Practically, any high-current power amplifier would be able to drive electrostatic speakers, of course, with consideration also given to the minimum of watts recommended for that particular speaker (brand/model). Better, a good idea would be a direct contact with the speaker manufacturer that could advise you closely what kind of amplifiers -at least the brand- would be a good match. Finally, you will have to experience yourself and to decide which amplifier would be best for your electrostatic speakers, based on your particular setup, source of sound, cabling, room configuration, possibly more other factors (you might find a good high-current amplifier able to drive your electrostatic speakers, but you might not totally like the amplifier's sonic features).

OTL's and ESL's....a very synergistic arrangement!

For budget planning I have used 2 Crown PS 400s bridged putting out 600watts each and alot of current. They can get harsh at high volume but at a $700-800 investment this is a lot pf bang for the buck and extremely reliable. If you really want to see what your planar speakers can do, and face it that is why we upgrade, then a high current tube amp like ARC coupled with a tube pre will bring out the best of your speakers but this is not a budget route unless you find a good deal on the used market. I am looking into trying out the Accoustat tnt200 because these type of amps are specifically made for electrostats.

I have used a pair of Classe DR8 in mono with a Blue Circle 3.1 MK11 pre amp with CLS 11Z and this worked very well in a two chanel system.
I have also used the EAD Powermaster 500 on the CLS in 2 channel and in a complete ML system,in which the EAD drove 2 pair of CLS11Z and the Theatre Centre with no problems.