Is it too mismatched to pair Maggie 1.6 & NAD 370?

After using tube amps with my maggie 1.6's I finally ended up with solid state. I now have a Plinius amp with about 175 watts into 4 OHMS and feel it is just enough power. I know I listen louder than most people but the point is these speakers suck up the power. The tubes just never had enough life to them and they were Rogue Magnum 120's (120 watts)

I really like the speakers and think you should try them with the NAD. Maggies are tuned with solid state and it seems to work the best (for me). I can assure you that other people like tubes better but, they never had enough 'life' for me.

The NAD may do an "adequate" job but you should be looking at more juice for those Maggies. I run a Bryston 4B-ST with my pair of 1.5's and IMHO its just enough. The B60 is not enough for that particular model and I would look at a minimum of 200 w/ch @ 4 ohms as a starting point - used Aragon, B&K, Classe and Bryston to name a few.

I have not heard the NAD 370 but based on its power rating it should be fine. Before getting my current 3.6R, I had the 1.6. I still use a McCormack DNA .5 (200 watts @ 4 OHMS) with no problems. I also have a McCormack Micro Power Drive (100 watts @ 4 OHMS) that powers 10.1QR with no problems.

A good amp to research is the (now discontinued) Anthem Integrated II. It retailed for $1700US, but often sells for $800 or so used (perhaps you could even locate a new one for around $1K)? This has more than enough drive for the 1.6's (based on my hearing one pushing a large pair of Thiel's) and since it uses two 6922 type tubes (the power section is solid state) you can tailor the sound to your liking by changing the brand of 6922's in the future.

After your Maggie 1.6s meet your NAD 370 one of them will have to go. And it's not going to be your Maggies. Power considerations aside; if your NAD had the power to pop your planars, it wouldn't do it for me.

This new NAD is surprisingly good put all your old NAD stereotypes away, this on can play. The only way to find out if anything sounds good is to audition it yourself.

I think Ake already knows the answer to his questions. But why not a pair of Maggies further down the model line? Even with your CDP, you are spinning your wheels some.

While the NAD C370 lacks the snob appeal to satisfy many or most that post here, it is actually a fine amp. In addition, you can add a matching C270 power amp in order to biamp. This combination should do a great job of driving Maggie 1.6's. You can easily get a C370 within your budget and you can see if this satisfies you before buying the C270.

Consider the wonderful Audio Refinement Multi-2 (retail $1095). It's designed by YBA, a renown high-end French manufacturer, but produced where labor costs are lower. Very clear, smooth, involving, even tubelike without the drawbacks. It puts out 200 watts per channel into 4 ohms.

For another $155, you can get it in a three channel version, which could come in handy if you think you might ever go multi-channel, such as SACD or Home Theater.

Disclosure: We are a dealer of these.

An update - I recently demoed my 1.5's for a potential buyer using the wife's NAD L40 as a source/preamp into her NAD C270 amp. No the results were not my Rogue/Bryston combo but nevertheless it was very palatable. You could tell the bass control wasn't there but the presentation was suprisingly good. Using a 370/270 bi-amp combo might provide a very astonishing and/or enlightening outcome...

FWIW, I recently set up a system for a friend with the MMG's driven by the C370 and it is an extremely good combination. The NAD easily drives the MMG's and it's quite musical. I'd not heard NAD for some years, and this new product shattered my preconceived ideas about NAD. Very good product.