Five moths with new speakers and even more equipment from California.
Bought a Kingrex T20 Class T amplifier and was very impressed with this small amplifier and how it sounded together with my Sonist's. This lead to a purchase of a small 2x4.5W EL84 single ended amplifier called Tecon Model 55. Although this amplifier is produced in China the company is based in Palmdale California.
Anyway, sound wise I would say that the Kingrex T20 is the best all-rounder. It makes almost anything sound good with deep, solid bass and smooth, relaxed highs. The Tecon is plenty fun. Deep bass and lots of punch when used with Russian long-life 6p14p-er tubes. Especially CD's with music from the 70's that sound a bit flat and boring on many amplifiers can be brought to life again with this amplifier. Then again, once in a blue moon I stumble over a CD where it just becomes too much fun. This is the game of tube rolling I guess...
The CI Audio D100's sounded quite boring when the speakers were new. This has changed a lot over time, but the D100's still are the most "correct" of the mentioned amplifiers and when I use them I prefer to connect a Eastern Electric MiniMax BBA tube buffer between the preamp and D100's. I have a feeling that this give a little boost to the bass/punch. They are completely neutral and never loose control no matter what I play, and of course they play with a higher level of control at really high volume. Still, they are more laid back in the lower frequencies than both the Kingrex and the Tecon on the Sonist's and sound best on recordings with good quality and high level of dynamics.
