Whats the FATTEST sounding Tube amp to warm up Lean speakers?


What would you say is the fattest, warmest fullest sounding Tube amp to fatten up
Merlin VSM's?

They are 8 ohm, and easy to drive. 30wpc would do.

From my understanding, through reading here, the Famous match with AtmaSphere s30 actually doubles up on the natural detailed and spacious yet lean character of the Merlins.

Which Amp would do the opposite - be a little forgiving and sweet in the higher mids and fatter and fuller in the lower mids?

Thanks
128x128dumbeat
Sure- the Jouls is known to be a favorite match by the designer, however, im trying to counter the speaker's philosophy here, so it is my thought that the Jouls is actually going to emphasize the leanness of the speaker, not counter it. Or Bobby P wouldn't have used it.
I don't agree with this statement at all!
Bobby was not going for a lean sound, and I've not had anyone report that to me when using Merlins.
How do you have the Merlins set up? Are they firing into the long dimension of your room or the short dimension? Normally to get the best bass, the speakers will be firing into the long dimension.

Are you using the BAM? If no, it will sound lean.
Did you check to make sure the phase is correct? If one speaker is out of phase with the other, the bass will be gone. Try reversing the phase after playing a track with good deep bass and see which way has the best bass.
Often you can move the speaker back, closer to the rear wall and get bass reinforcement. You may lose some dimensionality though.  Similarly, the listening chair can be moved back to a room boundary to reinforce bass.

Some amps just don't play bass all that well and I can't speak for what you have right now. But as you know, Bobby designed the speakers to be easy on tubes and he really liked OTLs- on the right speaker they can play bass better than most tube amps!
Finally, long speaker cables and tube amps don't tend to play bass as well. Keep your speaker cables short- 8' might be the longest you can run and 3' would be better. Make sure your connections are tight too.

Any of the CJ Premier series... 8 or 12 mono, the 11 Stereo.... I miss my 8A's, although my back feels otherwise. If it were me, I'd go with the one that will drive your speaker. A bit off subject, but the Premier 16 is also a little honey. 
Hello Mr. Atmasphere (what is your name?). Glad you jumped in!

I did all the things you mentioned. Well, i need to clarify.
The VSM don’t really lack that much in the low end. They are quite surprising down below 50hz for a 6.5" driver.

Where they do lack, in my personal opinion, is the low mids. Anywhere between probably 400 or 350 down to around 60.
From many years working at the recording studio i have quite some experience with different reference monitors, all claim to be flat and non hyped. They all have a lot more information in that area. is it "True"? i don’t know what truth is, i just want to sit back and have some chesty warm honey in addition to the great high freq detail and wonderful space and field that the VSM do provide, Thats why i insist on finding a solution with them and not without them. I want to tailor them to my liking.
To me their balance right out of the box is bright and lean. I don’t have to mix on them so i allow myself to alter their "Truthfulness" and make them my own.

That is the reason i am looking for other parts in the chain to bring me closer. That’s part of the fun in loving to listen to music. We have different listening tastes just as much as we have any other taste i suppose.

I heard amazing things about your Amps and i am close to trying your s30. However you say its not going to alter the freq balance of the speaker itself. But i still want to try it. Most of my peers in the recording and mixing world are completely unaware of the Audiophile world and so was I until recently, so i came here to learn.

I have 35 years of obsessing over Studio gear and obtaining it, but The audiophile world is new for me. As they say, "the cobbler walks barefoot". I made many records and invested in the recording aspect but never in the "listening for fun" aspect,

So here I am, trying to tailor for myself the perfect listening situation with less consideration to "Correctness" as it were.

A word about Bobby RIP. I think he was a total genius, and i admire his speakers. I Just allow myself to "Bend" the method, just like I abuse gear at the recording studio to suit my taste, no 2 people hear the same...

Thanks again and i would very much like to hear your input, as, again, Im new here,

Thanks!
Rea