Which amp matches best my JM Lab Mezzo Utopia ?

The 211s are really an option for me. My concern is that they have only 22w of power. Wouldn't it be better to go for solid state Pass Labs XA 160 - class A 160 watts more so as I use a passive pre?

I have thought it is parallel single ended very much like the Aleph.

I read somewhere that it's not recommended to use SET amps with speakers that have impedance below 8 ohms.

If using a balanced amp on the unbalanced input : do both halves of the amp operate or not? If only one half of the balanced circuit and no intention to use a balanced source then buying a balanced amp is a loss of money. Anybody?

Sensitivity of the Mezzo is stated to be 92.5 dB. It is measured up to 2.8v. In 4 ohms this is not watt/meter. 2.8 v makes it watt/meter in 8 ohms. The sensitivity of the Mezzo up to watt/meter is somewhere 3dB less - 89.5 dB as the reviewers have measured it and stated it does not correspond to specs but without explaining the reason.

Thank you All!
Gregm, thank you - I have decided to go for a tube amplifier but will follow your advice to look for a 45-50 watt amplifier (may not be a pure class A amplifier though)!

Atmasphere, I guess that you actually are the Atmasphere company?
Had read somewhere though that it is not efficient to use a balanced amplifier with an unbalanced source (as mine).
I am not targeting a balanced amplifier for this reason
as it is naturally more expensive due to the doubled circuitry.
Why pay for double circuitry and not concentrate the funds on a better quality single type circuitry.
A matter of strategy I suppose.
On the other hand I know that a balanced amplifier will provide more current at output which will be good for a hungry speaker like the Mezzo.

Has anyone tried the Mezzo with a single ended amp based on the 211 tube ?
Or with a parallel single ended amp based on 2 output tubes like the 211 or the 845 ?
Or the GM 70 tube ?
Any shared experience is welcome.

Thanks

All,
I would like to ask you this :
Which amplifier would you prefer
- Air Tight ATM 211 or
- Wyetech Topaz A Mono

for use with the Mezzo and why ?

The Topaz M has great reviews , AT also.
I have auditioned the Air Tight 211.
It is awesome.
It has Tamura transformers .
These simply sing.
One thing only is that it has noise (audiable).
I have not auditioned the Wyetech Topaz.
The Topaz M is obviously more powerful and seems to have
more robust power supply.
Because of this my preference has gone to the Topaz so far.
One thing which makes me feel uncertain still is that the Air Tight is transformer coupled while the Topaz is capacitor coupled .
The capacitor introduces phase shift as fas as I am aware.
Will I get the direct immediate sound with the Topaz the same as or better than the AT 211 ?
Any suggestion is welcome.

Vet93, from your experience I understand : 100W minimum.
Others have said it too .
The power of the amplifier appears to be the limitation factor in these speakers' case.

Kirkus, you are absolutely right.
Enough is enough !

Vet93, here it goes :

- Pass Aleph 3 - solid state single ended 30W.
The small 3 sounded fine with the Mezzo .
I would say it did the same as with 8 ohm speakers .
It used to get quite hot during operation.
There was the see through soundstage existing.
Output current is limited with the 3 though.
Subjectively this created the impression that the amplifier is trying too hard.
- Primare 928 monos - solid state, push-pull 100W.
At 100W a better match, maybe a very good match.
Good soundstage and bass line.
IMO these are very good amplifiers.
Easier operation but some clarity lost compared to the Aleph 3 .
- Gamut D200, solid state, push-pull 200W.
Good match especially that you can adjust the gain by the 4 switches inside.
Especially valuable for me as I use a tube phono pre-amplifier with cathode follower output and no line stage but only passive - selector and ladder volume attenuator.
Powerful sound, bass line was very robust, the speakers got in control .
The soundstage was very wide but not quite deep and see through like.
The highs were probably not that clear as with the Aleph but the mids were very good and the bass was much deeper .
The solid state character was still evident though.
The effect for me is that I get easily tired and want to try something else .
That is why I have started the discussion saying that I am going for a SET tube amplifier.
From what I understand it seems that the Marantz 2 you are using is a very good match for the Mezzo.

vet93,
Sorry for mistaking your system with somebody else's I have seen ...

I ended up with Belles MB200 mono amplifiers. Solid state differential circuit. 200 watts in 8 ohms 400 watts in 4 ohms and the Mezzos have 4 ohm impedance. A very good match and I use it without pre-amp only selector ahe Goldpoint ladders. The Belles MB200 have 100 kohms input impedance.