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Sonus Faber Amati Tradition - How Many Watts Optimal?

Hi all,
I own a pair of SF Guarneri Evolution driven by a pair of Mcintosh MC75 MKIII and C22 and realized my room is too big for bookshelf. Just like many younger generation (I am 39) I like strong tight controlled bass while at the same time just like many audiophile I am always lusting for midrange to die for, so I have been lusting for Amati and last week during an audition in my local dealer I saw a brand new in box pair of Amati Tradition for a price I couldn’t refuse and I put a deposit. Now I am wondering about what amps I should drive my Amati Tradition with? I suspected it’s not an easy speaker to drive with 4 ohm impedance, sensitivity is quite high at 90db though, spec recommended 100-500 watts.

I like Mcintosh amps very much but I am not fanatical, initially I was thinking about driving the Amati in biamp while still utilizing my MC75 plus a pair more channel from new amps to save some dough but opinion seems to be divided in the middle regarding bi amping and it’s a big gamble for me to go bi amp considering the cost of extra cables.

What amp should I consider? I live in Indonesia so I don’t have much choice in regards of brands. I can easily source Mcintosh, Audio Research, Gryphon, Audio Note, Cary and some other more typical household brands. More exotic brands such as D’agostinos, Pass, T+A, Ayre and the likes are hard to come by and audition.

Lately I also been flirting with the idea of going integrated to keep cost down while keeping my previous system as second system and build an entirely new system around the Amatis, but I am still open to any suggestions because I know I will have difficult time explaining to my wife why I need two systems. LOL

Thanks in advance!
uwiikz
willgolf
933 posts
 
Interesting...I had SF Amati Tradition Homage Speakers.  I drove them in a very large room with a Raven Reflection MK2 Integrated tube amp and the sound was incredible and easy to drive.  I used KT 150 Power tubes and probably driving them at 62 wpc.  I am a Raven fan and they have great tubes and customer service.  Please take a look at their lineup online.  

What is your budget?  

Mac is generally good with SF as they are in the same family to a degree.  I am just not a fan of Mac.  

There are a lot of great integrated amps. Luxman, Aries Cerat, Gryphon T&A.  I liked the convenience of an integrated and I really don't think I sacrificed any sound quality.  
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 
The Mc75s should work fine unless you want to shake your foundation. At reasonable listening levels you should have plenty of power. 
uwiikz OP
89 posts
 
I looked at the specifications of your Raven Reflection MKII and it’s produces around 60 watts +/-. How does it handle your Amatis? Do you ever feel the lack of power when playing speedy and slamming notes? I don’t listen loud at all, on my existing setup I never went beyond 45% on volume dial on the C22. My budget is anywhere around USD 15-20K but I actually really like the sound signature of my MC75 and have no complaint nor desire to try other amps if I weren’t so concerned that my Amati would sound somewhat ‘weak’ lacking authority being driven by MC75. 
uwiikz OP
89 posts
 
Do you think so? If that’s the case then I will be a very happy camper. Like I said above I actually have no complaint about the sound quality of MC75, just afraid that it will lack authority when driving the Amati. Initially I was thinking about bi amping MC75 to drive the Amati in vertical configuration but so many people in various forums doubts the benefit of bi amping so I consider bi amping as a very risky proposition due to the cost of expensive extra cables. 
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