I too have only heard the 101's, and can make only a generic observation. I've heard them with Jadis JA500s, Cello monoblocs and the mid 90's Gryphon stereo amp. The latter amp was the one that really made the mbls sing without too much brightness. You might check your old Stereophiles to see what they used when they reviewed your speakers; I think it was in 1997 or so. Perhaps you can get by with one of the Parasound high-current amps. I always loved the mbl's speed and soundstaging, but the bass below 40 hz was a problem, because the speakers didn't go that low by themselves and there was no subwoofer that could match their speed.