Well, the good news is there are quite a few amps that can drive a pair of Martin Logans well. The bad news is, they tend to be big and expensive.
Among amps that will work well are models from InnerSound, Parasound (JC-1), Levinson, Wolcott, Convergent Audio Technologies, Atma-Sphere (probably with Zero autoformer), Accuphase, Boulder, Jeff Rowland, Audio Research, and Pass Labs. These are amps I've either used or auditioned and found to work well on electrostats yet still have the low-end current delivery to work well on a conventional woofer. I'm sure there are many others. Disclaimer - I peddle some of these. I'm a Sound Lab dealer but have owned Martin Logans as well, and have customers who are Martin Logan owners.
Offhand, I'd say that a used InnerSound ESL amplifier would be a very high bang-for-the-buck solution. In tube amps, you definitely don't want one with a wimpy output transformer, and unfortutely that's the most expensive part so it's where compromises are made when the manufacturer is trying to keep costs down.
In my opinion, getting an amplifier that works well is much more critical with electrostats than with conventional speakers. If you have further questions feel free to e-mail me; I won't try to hard-sell you.
Best of luck,
Duke LeJeune
AudioKinesis
Among amps that will work well are models from InnerSound, Parasound (JC-1), Levinson, Wolcott, Convergent Audio Technologies, Atma-Sphere (probably with Zero autoformer), Accuphase, Boulder, Jeff Rowland, Audio Research, and Pass Labs. These are amps I've either used or auditioned and found to work well on electrostats yet still have the low-end current delivery to work well on a conventional woofer. I'm sure there are many others. Disclaimer - I peddle some of these. I'm a Sound Lab dealer but have owned Martin Logans as well, and have customers who are Martin Logan owners.
Offhand, I'd say that a used InnerSound ESL amplifier would be a very high bang-for-the-buck solution. In tube amps, you definitely don't want one with a wimpy output transformer, and unfortutely that's the most expensive part so it's where compromises are made when the manufacturer is trying to keep costs down.
In my opinion, getting an amplifier that works well is much more critical with electrostats than with conventional speakers. If you have further questions feel free to e-mail me; I won't try to hard-sell you.
Best of luck,
Duke LeJeune
AudioKinesis