magepan 1.6's with mac ma6500 integrated

I ran Maggie 1.7's with a MA6300 at 160wpc/4 ohms. It was okay but I felt that I was missing something.

I then moved up to a Krell 300Si Integrated at 300 wpc/4ohms. This was a big improvement. Much more detail and resolution. Better bass.

I am now running the Maggie 1.7's with a Wyred4Sound ST1000. Completely blows away the Krell. Another quantum leap in detail and resolution. The bass is much better - palpable.

Maggies need power.

Am I mistaken, but didn't you answer your own question in your post?

My friend had the 1.6's with the 6500 and went to the 6900 and difference wasn't worth the price.. the 6900 didn't have the juice. Magnepan's love lots of 4ohm watts... and they open up with more.. Later he used a 200watt a channel Rotel that really opened them up.

my room is small -- 11 x 15, i do have a sub. a rel storm iii.

If you room is small, the 6500 is probably fine but you may want the extra power of the 6900 otherwise. The Mc and the Krell are like apples and oranges so it will depend on your tastes as to which you will prefer. There are several happy Mc & Maggie owners on this forum.

I am not specifically familiar with the Mac MA6500 but
I am knowledgeable about the Magnepan 1.6's which I've
owned for 3 years (with other Magnepans in the past).

I would venture to say that ANY integrated amp will not
do justice to 1.6QR speakers, unless you listen at low
volume levels. Even then you won't have the dynamics
and bass fullness which can be obtained with adequate power.

Magnepans in general and 1.6's in particular are demanding
of equipment. To generalize, the more power the better.
I had been using a Mark Levinson 27.5 amp (200 W/Chan). This
is a highly regarded power amp, but with the 1.6's the
dynamics were constricted and the sound became
two-dimensional at high volume. I replaced the 27.5 with a
Levinson 335 (500 W/Chan) and it opened up the speakers
considerably.IMO 200 W/Chan is the minimum for 1.6's. I
don't think even the Levinson 383 integrated would be
adequate. Occasionally I've read complaints about 1.6's
sounding "bad" and it's often because of inappropriate
amplification. I would recommend a high-current poweramp
of your choice.