tube amp recommendations for Watt/Puppys

As suggested above, you need huevos. Esp, to get orchestral dynamics and to couple the P's with the W's on the V. The best results (caution: to my ears) with WP 6's were in descending order, Atmasphere-2 (as above), Lamm, Ref 600, Mesa Baron in pentode mode.

Don't know if this helps any.
Good luck!

the ONLY time i've been really impressed with the sound of watts/puppies was when i heard 'em driven by nagra vpa's. FWIW, dave wilson uses the nagra tube monoblocks and a pl-p pre with his personal watts/puppies (he told me that at ces-2000). while the nagra's have a msrp of a little over $12k, they can be found discounted (new) for around your max, or less. -kelly

VAC gear works great with the speakers. If you can do mono amps the better. Remember to keep in mind the amps only reproduce what comes down the audio chain. Frankly a CAT Pre-amp makes a amazing difference.

Sorry Kelly, but I disagree. I had both pieces in my system when I still had the WP's and it was mediocre at best. The WP's like power and at 50-60 watts, they did not help the speakers reach their potential. Dave uses it in an office system and does not use it for dynamics, more for background music. The Watt Puppies need more power.

jtinn: thanx for your polite response. i would assume, however, that you were not at ces2001, where nagra was showing with the latest watts/puppies (via vpa's,a pl-line and an analogue 1/4" tape with 2nd generation masters). there was plenty of power, plenty of sound. indeed, my choice for "best of show" (and i'm usually a great Unbeliever of wilson speaks). perhaps you had an earlier version of watts or, more likely, hadn't the pleasure of getting your system set up by the swiss wizards. -kelly