Brute power cheap?? Adcom Vs. Rotel vs. NAD

They may not have the SNOB appeal, but the newer Adcom gear is truly outstanding.

My good friend is using an Adcom 5802 to drive his Martin Logan CLSs. The sound is breathtaking. Smooth and powerful with plenty of finesse. Even at the new price of $1800, it's quite a deal. But used for ~$900 - it's an outright steal!

You'd have to spend a WHOLE lot more to do appreciably better. You've summarized it quite well with regard to the NAD products. They're very thick sounding. I think the MOSFETs of the Adcom coupled with the ribbon tweeter on the Maggies would sound terrific. The next best thing to a high-powered tube amp with the Magnepans is a nice MOSFET amp to smooth things out.

Others will recommend the usual suspects; Bryston, Aragon, etc. I wonder how many have actually listened - objectively - to the Adcom. Don't get caught up in the brand hype.

(BTW - I DO NOT own any Adcom gear, so there's not hidden agenda.)

Good luck to you!

Hafler is another good choice. It, too, is a MOSFET design. I used to own an Acoustat TransNova Twin 200 which, I believe, was made by Hafler and was designed, obviously, for use with the Acoustat speakers.

Great recommendation.