What amp to use with Apogee Stage speakers


What amplifer (power amplifier or integrated) would you recommend for the Apogee Stage speaker? I've read that a very expensive high powered amplifier (in excess of 200 watts) isn't necessary to achieve great sound with this speaker, the smallest in the Apogee line at the time of its release. In fact some can sound worse than a well matched 100 watt amp. Thanks.
lornoah
Hello, I have owned many pairs of Apogees, including the Stage. I have always found that the best sounding amp for Apogees is the older Coda amplifiers. The Coda "System 100" was one of the best sounding amps. Then there is the Coda 11, 10 etc.. The folks at Brooklyn Audio (up in Canada) had a System 100 recently for less than 2K. These amps were designed to sound good while driving down to a half ohm load. On the cheap side the Coda 10 and 10.5 were very good sounding with a pair of Scintilla's that I had back in the day. Another amp that sounded good was the OCM 500, which David Belles helped Magnum Dynalab design about 10 years ago. IMHO I found the Krell amps to be worthy of driving the speakers, but not very musical. You may want to e-mail Graz in Australia. He is the guy that now builds new ribbons for the Apogees. He is a nice fella and might know of the ultimate amp for Stages. Good luck.
Check the Apogee user group for lots of opinions on amps for Stages - http://audioworld.com/cgi-bin/sw/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Apogee+Acoustics+Users+Group&number=1
I have owned Stage speakers (later upgraded to Mini Grands) for 15 years. The low power statements for the Stage speakers was a marketing point that was accurate but not 100% accurate. I find they like a little more power. They will sound good with a musical 100 watt (into 8 0hms)amp but sound a lot better with a 200 watt version of the same amp. Yes, I know the Stages are 3-4 ohms. I was just stating a reference point for the power rating.

Be sure to get an amp that can be stable into the low impedance load of the Stages. The wrong amp will clip badly and make the MRT dance like a ribbon in the wind. With the right amp the MRT will be steady as a rock even at loud volumes.

Classe and Plinius amps have been paired well with the Stages. Good luck
I have been using the Stages now for about 7 years. They do seem to like power. The Aragon 4004 mk2 is a good match for not much $$, I tried a Krell KSA-150, and it did not do it for me, also a audio research 100 watt tube amp was not not a great match for me. I am now using (for 3 years) a set of VTL 300 mono blocs, a very good match to my ears, these can be bought used for around 2k. When properly fed and setup, the Stages make wonderful music. A true bargin.
Enjoy Bob