Amp for Acoustic Zen Crescendo 2 ?

Great speakers. I own them also and have used several amps on them. Please let us know the type of music you listen to, the volume level, and your effective room size.

I owned two different push/pull tube amps putting out 50 and 60 watts and they sounded good for sure. However they both sounded a tad fragile when I turned up the volume on classical piano, low gain recodings, and classical music. These speakers do like power to really open up and sound more effortless. My room is also large, around 33x21 with 10 foot ceilings.

If your room is large and you listen loudly at times, then 50 watts may be cutting it close in terms of headroom. Again, it all depends on how you answer the questions I asked above.

I ended up with a Lyngdorf 2170 unit with room correction, dac, and preamp all in one unit. Best I have heard my Crescendos sound. The room correction assures the speakers sound as the designer intended in your room. The Crescendos sound wonderful in my untreated living room.

Some folks have had good luck with 845 tube amps made by Line Magnetics even though they are rated for under 50 watts. They are reported to have serious drive and sound great with your speakers. Look at their model 518 and 219. I am sure others will chime in on Line Magnetic.

Here are some other amps to consider.

Tube

Linear Tube Audio ZOTL 40 - must first answer the questions for ultimate compatibility.

Cary 805 used - must first answer the questions for ultimate compatibility



SS

Lyngdorf
Electrocompaniet amps used and in budget

Spread Spectrum Technologies Son of Ampzilla MK2

Spread Spectrum Technologies Ampzilla 2000 2nd Edition Mono Power Amplifiers - used

Hybrid ( great option)

Conrad Johnson ET250s
Aesthetix Atlas stereo amp used
Blue Circle audio used monoblock amps used

Wlutke,
Audiogon member named "Wig" has these speakers and has driven them with Vac mono blocks and then the solid state Vitus amplifier. He currently uses the Line Magnetic 508ia and finds them the most satisfying thus far. I’d get in touch with him via audiogon email. He’s quite experienced and knowledgeable. As Grannyring astutely wrote musical genre, room size and listening volume all are factors to consider in amplifier selection. I’ve heard these speakers at shows on 4 separate occasions driven by the Triode Corp TRX 845 PSET mono blocks in spacious rooms and they were glorious! Builder Robert Lee has used them for obvious reasons, primarily because they mate brilliantly together.
Best of luck,
Charles

Thanks everyone for the responses.  I listen to pop/rock/other in an 15x20x8 room at moderate levels.  Just loud enough to energize the room, not rock the neighbors.  It's a condo.  The Line Magnetic 508ia looks interesting.  Monoblocks are generally too large for my rack and no room on the floor.

Wlutke,
The LM 508ia uses the 300b as the driver tube and 805 as the power output tube, 48 watts pure class A with SET topology. I hope you are able to contact Wig as he can share "actual " owner’s impressions of this amplifier with your Crescendos. He's ecstatic with the sound quality. 
Charles

Thanks for getting back. Well then yes the Line Magnetic and LTA ZOTL 40 should work great for you. Two great choices. If you dont want to mess with tubes and all that goes with owning a tube amp, then Pass Labs makes some great amps that you could afford used. The 250x for example. The Lyngdorf 2200 is amazing also and runs cool while being light and small. Only $2400 new.

Electrocompaniet makes some of the very best sounding SS amps on the planet. Harder to find used. The McIntosh 402 amp is also very special. Finally the Conrad Johnson ET250s is great sounding and will deliver exactly what you are looking for based on your post. It is a hybrid amp that uses small signal tubes on the input section. Sweet sounding, yet is has the power to control and open up the AZ speakers. The signal tubes are not expensive and last for for many years. No problem running the amp for long periods of time. $2999 new from Spearit Sound on sale. Great price.

I have had better luck with more SS watts on the Crescendo as the speaker just sounds more relaxed, in control, and bass powerful with plentiful SS or hybrid watts. Great quality watts as my suggestions are.