The OP posed a very simple question and some of the responses come as no surprise to me. It appears to me there is some misinformation and factual lapses in one or two of the above responses but I do respect the opinions of those expressing those views, whether I agree or not. The ones where I disagree usually contain the mantra that frequency response is all that matters and all amplified watts are the same etc.
I've debated the same points too often with several of the above posters so all I will say that based on my experience all amps lend a sonic character, simply because there is more to sound than just frequency response.
I've hear the M80s through all sorts of different amps. As with all speakers more power is usually your friend. For an HT I've always recommended solid state amps with the M80s. But for dedicated stereo listening tubes can often bring a realism to vocals, strings or horns missing from SS amps .
I've always had McIntosh tube amps in the house. I've tried the M80s with mc240, mc275 and mc2102 amps. All of them had a different sound quality with the m80s. The mc240s at only 40wps were very satisfying at moderate levels but ran out of gas with loud classical or rock music passages. The mc2102s at 100wps had a more nuanced presentation but didn't have the solid tighter bottom end of the mc275 at 75wps with its higher damping factor.
Anyway I would encourage sauniq to try out some tube amps. The M80s sound wonderful with them.
