I wish I could get away with using a tiny, low wattage amp, but I just can't. Small, low wattage amps don't have the headroom or low end integrity that I like to hear. The smallest ampI can use comfortably live is my SWR Strawberry blonde. It's a 1x10" 80 watt SS amp. It's very clean and has a nice, tight, low end wallop. It sounds great with the tweeter shut off and being fed by a good pre-amp (GT-8 in my case). Otherwise, for me it's got to be at LEAST 50 tube watts and a pair of burly 12" speakers.