2. amps-preamps
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Amp suggestios for maggie mg12's

So I am getting my maggies tomorrow and am concerned they will not have enough bass for me.I listen to mostly electronic music and I am sure there is an amp within my budget (MAX 1000) that will give me the bass I am looking for at a lower listening level. Right now I have a Yaqin MC100B tube amp and when I auditioned the maggies at a dealer it was powered with a Mcintosh 275 tube amp. Now it didn't have enough bass at lower listening levels but when I turned it up it had enough. I don't have a preamp so that would have to be included for the budget. I am thinking of trying the NAD 372 as that seems to be the only integrated I can afford that is within budget. Maybe Sunfire or Outlaw power amps and I would go with a tube preamp. So if my Yaqin doesn't do the job what should I get or try? I don't really want to spend more money but if I have to I will. Experience would be awesome!
andrew01
9 responses Add your response
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
I had the MG12s for a bit. If deep bass is what you crave, and with you music preference that sounds accurate, prepare for disappointment. Sorry to break it to you but they just won't go that low.
bwp
114 posts
 
I second magfan, you would be well served to just get a good and relatively inexpensive sub such as one of the sealed Martin Logan offerings. I keep the volume knob on my sub at 3, it is just barely noticable and does not at all interfere with what Maggies do so well. It is going to be hard to get low end response out of Maggies at low volume, they need the juice to really make the panel come to life.
magfan
1,583 posts
 
I use a PSAudio Integrated of 500x2 @4ohms into MG1.6s.
Bass is only OK.
If the MG12s follow Magnepan practice there is NO big dip in impedance and the phase angle of the load is moderate throughout.

Load sensitivity of an amp is a function of design, not the topology of the amp.
Good / bad designs, at least as far as driving a reactive load exist in all schools of design. For non-'d' amps, or even 'd' with non-switching power supplies, I'd start by looking at the sheer size and weight of the Power Supply.

Your new panels will only go so low and if you want some bass slam, you'd be well advised to at least demo a sub.
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
I used a musical fidelity a300 with Maggie 1.6 and it was bright.

Cymbals seemed 5' across!

Otherwise it had good tone.

fwiw ymmv
andrew01 OP
1 posts
 
I have been doing more reading and what about the musical fidelity a300? I will not buy a sub. The suggestion about speaker placement I think is a good one and I will try.
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
4,982 posts
 
Odyssey Stratos Plus or Extreme. Even better, a Stratos Dual Mono if you can find one.
ferrari
617 posts
 
I would suggest a amp such as the digital ones. Wyred 4 Sound or a PS Audio HCA 2. Main reason being the outouts do not sense the reactive load from the speakers. So these amps are not load sensitive, do not generate vasts amount of heat and have the outright power to drive planar speakers as opposed to class A and A/AB amps that are load sensitive. Many planar speakers can dip into the 2 ohm range so you will need an amp that can go there, I don't think the NAD 372 will be able to really handle the Maggies if pushed hard.
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
If you are looking for real bass, take the money and get a subwoofer as Magfan says. Although the 12s produce tuneful bass, they just won't go all that low.
magfan
1,583 posts
 
You're only going to get so much bass out of your panels. Congrats, by the way, you'll enjoy them more and more and especially after just a few hours of run in, after the caps form and the mylar get a little flex to it.
As for bass? Well, that's another story. You will probably not get the bass you expect from the panels at lower levels. If you had tone controls, maybe. But than you'd get blasted for having such controls.....I kind of expect it for the mere suggestion.
Nope, take the money and get a decent sub.
The other solution is just to maximize the panels thru CAREFUL setup and placement.
The other consideration is that the ear is simply not sensitive to low level bass. Maybe your last system was a little beefed up down there and gave the impression of more bass?
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