I will likely need to replace my amp, and was considering one of the Meridian 500 series (555, 556, 557) according to whatever I can get on fleabay when the time comes. Rationale - they are seemingly well regarded, and go for the sort of money I'm prepared to pay. Naim etc seem a bit pricey, and their slightly snake-oil marketing puts me off somewhat, thought I accept they are good products. So, the question: my Kefs (which I am absolutely delighted with), are 4 ohm, but some of the Meridian 556 amps I've seen on fleabay have "8 ohm minimum" written on the back, despite web searches of manuals stating power outputs into 8 and 4 ohms. Anyone know if their models have changed, or if "minimum load 8 ohms" means something different ? And also, does anyone think this would be a good bet for the Kefs? For what it's worth, I've now got a 30 year old Mission cyrus 2, with the beefed up additional power supply (PSX). I've been extremely happy with this, but it's starting to play up and I think its days are numbered. "people" say the kefs need a lot of power, yet, the Mission runs the kefs quite loud enough for my needs at the "1" setting on the amp, so I don't quite understand the "need a lot of power" thing. They also work perfectly with a very modest 40 year old 25 watt jap amp I've used when attempting to fix the mission amp. Final question - is there any need for a pre-amp - I use a lynx audio card in the PC, and don't really use other sources, so if I set the volume right on the lynx driver software, should this just work. Obviously full blast would be a mistake ! Thanks everyone PS this is my first post, so hopefully in the right section, and not containing any faux-pas due to ignorance.