I am a Maggie diehard here. These do harmonic richness and 3D presentations like no others I have yet heard....but I do hope to hear all the talk about Avalons and Kharmas some day. As we all know, the Maggies, at least the 3 series, require a good 200w at least. The ARC VT130 amp I owned was an awesome sonic match with this but it simply did not have the output capability for higher levels. The ARC CL150 amps were marginally better in power but the VT130 bloom magic was much reduced when the CL150s replaced the VT130. I have since gone with a Counterpoint NPS400 amp and this is excellent with the 3.5s. And I was quite startled how much more refined the NPS400 was over the CL150s, and more headroom to boot. Rarely does a product half the cost of another exceed the higher cost product by so much in so many ways. So look into the Counterpoint amps for Maggies.
Over the years it has been all about the harmonic richness, forever decays and 3D presentation that I have sought in a music system. If there was ever a line of electronics that simply does not handle these areas well, it is the Madrigal Levinson line. Holy cow....way too analytical to me! After hearing the great ARC, BAT, CJ, of the 80s and 90s and now the Aesthetix electronics, going with Madrigal gear is simply not involving to me at all. With such electronics, you will NEVER hear the Magnepan magic that the tubed products can bring.
I have no experience with the 1.5 or 1.6, but the 3.3 and 3.5 that I have owned are excellent values on the used market. I think for just a few hundred $$ more, a pair of 3.3 has simply got to be more exciting than the 1 series models. Yes, the 3 series are big, but so are ALL maggies! Area few more inches in ht or width really that big of a difference? I think if you can accommodate the 1s, you should be able to accommodate the 3s.
So try to hear the 3.x as well. Just be aware the Magnepans are not really a good choice for Home Theatre applications. I find the Talon speakers to be awesome for HT. But for music, wow, the Maggies are simply unbeatable.
Hope this all helps.
John
Over the years it has been all about the harmonic richness, forever decays and 3D presentation that I have sought in a music system. If there was ever a line of electronics that simply does not handle these areas well, it is the Madrigal Levinson line. Holy cow....way too analytical to me! After hearing the great ARC, BAT, CJ, of the 80s and 90s and now the Aesthetix electronics, going with Madrigal gear is simply not involving to me at all. With such electronics, you will NEVER hear the Magnepan magic that the tubed products can bring.
I have no experience with the 1.5 or 1.6, but the 3.3 and 3.5 that I have owned are excellent values on the used market. I think for just a few hundred $$ more, a pair of 3.3 has simply got to be more exciting than the 1 series models. Yes, the 3 series are big, but so are ALL maggies! Area few more inches in ht or width really that big of a difference? I think if you can accommodate the 1s, you should be able to accommodate the 3s.
So try to hear the 3.x as well. Just be aware the Magnepans are not really a good choice for Home Theatre applications. I find the Talon speakers to be awesome for HT. But for music, wow, the Maggies are simply unbeatable.
Hope this all helps.
John