thanks, everyone, for the complements.  i will have to show my wife so she knows that i am not the only one that thinks this stuff is cool.   as for the amp question, IBs are fairly efficient (whatever the driver rating is).  so i am actually getting by with a small Acurus amp right now.  150 RMS per channel.  The IB cult folks recommend a pro amp in order to have enough headroom so that is my goal after i unload a few things on ebay to pay for a new amp.  but for now the IB w. Acurus is doing a great job.  i will report back with my thoughts on small amp vs big amp.