Well, amp auditions have begun and I think I got lucky with my first real try. After using some bridged Emotiva BPA-1s that weren't up to the speakers' demands, I tried out an Aragon 4004 that jackman brought down today. Probably shouldn't speak for other people, but heck I will anyway and jackman can correct me if he disagrees: We were both really impressed with the pairing. SP Minis became much more effortless, and my worries about the speakers being too bright or too bright with this amp melted away. Music was fuller, with better base and detail retrieval. And since jackman has left I have also addressed my other concern with these speakers: low level listening. Much much improved with the Aragon 4004. Many thanks to jackman for bringing it down. A good time was had by all (including the dog).