I think most people do not know how loud and lifelike Maggies speakers can be. Most of the time they are woefully underdriven.
I have the 1.6's and I tried the tube route. I started with a Rogue 88 and then went to the Rogue 120 Magnums (120 watts per channel) and they never came to life at all. I then tried the Zero autoformers (which increase the impedance of your speakers as seen by the amp and should be a better match for the tube amp) from Paul Speltz and even though this improved the sound greatly it still never came to life. I then tried an Innersound ESL amp (over 600 watts driving Maggies) and the difference was astounding. They had unbelievable dynamic range and presence but the sound grew a little tiresome and was a little anemic so I ended up with a Plinius SA100 MKIII which has 100 watts class A power and is a nice compromise between the sound of tubes and the control of solid state but still -- does not have anywhere near enough power to properly drive these speakers.
When someone tells you these speakers need 500 watts you should believe them if you want to achieve lifelike listening volumes. I would not have believed it myself but the 1.6's will come alive and really sound dynamic, not like a typical planer at all. I also think the 3.6's need a little more power than the 1.6's so my recommendation is to try the tube amp out under the condition that you can return it.
I regret trying the tubes as it cost me in the long run, I have had nothing but tubes for 20 years and did not want to make the switch to solid state but the Plinius actually has nicer tone than the Rogue even though the Rogue is a little more liquid in the midrange.
I hope this is helpful, please tell us what you learn.
Phil
I have the 1.6's and I tried the tube route. I started with a Rogue 88 and then went to the Rogue 120 Magnums (120 watts per channel) and they never came to life at all. I then tried the Zero autoformers (which increase the impedance of your speakers as seen by the amp and should be a better match for the tube amp) from Paul Speltz and even though this improved the sound greatly it still never came to life. I then tried an Innersound ESL amp (over 600 watts driving Maggies) and the difference was astounding. They had unbelievable dynamic range and presence but the sound grew a little tiresome and was a little anemic so I ended up with a Plinius SA100 MKIII which has 100 watts class A power and is a nice compromise between the sound of tubes and the control of solid state but still -- does not have anywhere near enough power to properly drive these speakers.
When someone tells you these speakers need 500 watts you should believe them if you want to achieve lifelike listening volumes. I would not have believed it myself but the 1.6's will come alive and really sound dynamic, not like a typical planer at all. I also think the 3.6's need a little more power than the 1.6's so my recommendation is to try the tube amp out under the condition that you can return it.
I regret trying the tubes as it cost me in the long run, I have had nothing but tubes for 20 years and did not want to make the switch to solid state but the Plinius actually has nicer tone than the Rogue even though the Rogue is a little more liquid in the midrange.
I hope this is helpful, please tell us what you learn.
Phil