Magic with Magneplanars?

My understanding is the Maggie 20's have been discontinued and will be shortly replaced by the 20.1's, which will have a push-pull midrange driver (true ribbon) rather than the single-ended midrange driver of the 20's. I believe retail will be around $13,000. A couple of years ago I owned modified Quad 63's with Gradient dipole subs, and I was on the verge of upgrading to either a pair of Maggie 20's or Audio Artistry Beethovens (I love dipoles). Then I discovered Sound Lab full-range electrostats. Not only did I purchase a pair of the new Millennium-1's, but I believe in them so much I crossed over to the "dark side" and became a dealer! Anyway, if you are in this price range, you really ought to hear the Sound Labs. They are the ultimate expression of the dipole - one driver, electrostatic, warm tonal balance, superb timbre and nuance, and (surprise!) genuine bass. There are two models, the Millennium-1 and Millennium-2, that are in the general price ballpark of the Maggie 20.1's. E-mail: audiokinesis@home.com. Best wishes!

In my experience/preference, tubes are great w/maggies. I tried vt100 and mv-50. Both were wonderful. The vt100 was the best, quite a bit clearer, the mv-50 warmer w/very forward midrange. Check out an earlier thread in this forum on amps for maggies. Lot's of good opinions. Not too many childish outbursts either !

If the last pair of Magnepans you have actually owned and spent time with were the MGIII A's...I suspect it would be worth your time to spend some time listening to the 1.6, 3.6 and the 20,,,or wait on the 20.1 before embarking on amp decisions. I believe that sonically you will be pleased by the entire lineup... and the decision regarding 3.6 .vs 20 or 20.1 would be best determined by the size of your room,listening habits and the type of music you like best. For the best advise on all things Magnepan suggest you visit the Magnepan Users Group (MUG) at http://www.sonic.net/~howl/MUG/

I've owned 3.6s and currently have 20s,have had 20.1s on order for a year.The 20s are more powerful in the mid and low bass region.Overall a more believable sonic picture but you do need a good room for them. I use Audio Research 600 mkII monoblocks and Ref 2 pre amp with great results.I'll have my 20s for sale when the 20.1s come.

High resolution powerful tube amps are great match with these brand of speakers. Matching solid state with tube amps is dangerous. You may easily break cohirence. Next, you said you are thinking of upgrading to SACD. Your speakers are hi-rez, they are limited by the source signal. SACD will bring you to another world; its better then vinil and DVD-Audio and second to the live event only. You can have breathtaking system.... Having SACD/Maggies you must have hi-rez amplification with harmonically full midrange