2. amps-preamps
  3. 127504-79934

Best Cheap Amps for Magneplanar Speakers

I want to drive some medium sized to large Maggies (1.7 or 3.7) with the cheapest possible amps that will still let them sound great.

I prefer monoblocks and by 'cheap' I mean a kilobuck or so, tho less would be fine too.  I do NOT want to spend 4 thou...
randy-11
iopscrl
196 posts
 
Adcom 555 are widely available and cheap.  New caps etc would only be a few $100.  200wpc.....

On the tube side, you can find a pr of rebuilt Dynaco MK3 for less than $1k if you are willing to take your time.  60w per monoblock of good tube power.
gregorybraun's avatar
gregorybraun
24 posts
 

I drive a pair of Magnepan 1.7 loudspeakers with a Rotel RB-991 solid-state amplifier producing 200 watts/channel. They sound great! This amplifier can be found secondhand for around $700. Alternatively, the current replacement model, the RC-1582 Mk II, for $1500 new in the box.

I also have a pair of Dynaco MK III monoblocks each producing 60 watts/RMS. They provide a warm vacuum tube 'sound.' If you can solder and have a few evenings free you can build a pair of these kits produced by www.DynaKitParts.com. These are the real deal, but you have to assemble them. They cost $550 each, slightly over your $1000 budget, but at $1100 well worth the effort.

http://www.dynakitparts.com/dynakit-products/amplifier-kits/MARK-III-KIT

steuspeed's avatar
steuspeed
501 posts
 
Cruising the ads I see a Belles 150A 3ch amp for $695. Probably can't go wrong with that.
steuspeed's avatar
steuspeed
501 posts
 
Want to add a little tube magic? There is a hybrid Counterpoint SA-100 for $695 also.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,468 posts
 
It would be a shame to take such a good speaker and feed it poorly.
More to discover