Magnepan 1.7i Amp recommendations

Yes Maggie’s use really Mac SS WITH BIG autoformers.   Dont skip on thransformers. I prefer MC-352 or bigger my final amp is MAC-452 plenty power,solid. Solid performance years an years

I have a Krell KAV 400xi Black Recapped April 2022 available for $1500.

Yep, a nice McIntosh tube amp or a tubed pre and McIntosh SS amp with Autoformers...

Just had a listen today to a pair of 1.7i.

The dealer demo’d them with a big mcintosh tube amp.

Yeah, I ordered them.

From all I have read and what the dealer said, tube amps with plenty of current are what magnepans like..

Will be driving them, when they arrive in 4-6 weeks, with a couple of Carver Silver Seven 900w mono blocks.
At least they have a fuse……. ;-p

i have chimed in over time on many many maggie threads about suitable amplifiers to drive them well

obviously, you can go upmarket and spend alot of $$ and get great performance, many choices (pass, gryphon, d-agnostino, upper hegels, coda, boulder... the list is long for pricey options) but i think what many are likely to value here are cost effective options (used), which i will list below - i own or have owned each and every one of these

-- odyssey khartago stratos or kismet, with cap upgrade

-- van alstine amps 100 wpc or greater, newer the better, older (synergy series and older) amps can be a little grainy

-- musical fidelity a308 or better... 100 wpc or greater ratings into 8 ohms... newer m6 quite capable but more costly

-- primare i-30 (outstanding value) lovely warm saturated sound, excellent grip and punch

-- kinki ex m1/+ (great value and superb performance in a chi-fi product... built to exceptionally high standard)

-- krell s550i - older model, but sonically excellent, exceptionally stout...

-- audio research 100.2 - lovely, best ss amp they have ever made, uber sweet sounding, very reasonable used now, $2000 or below

-- usher r1.5 -- nelson pass threshold design, improved at the margins/made in taiwan... a little on dark side sonically but very musical, built like the proverbial brick s-house

-- classe amps (old and new) are terrific, very musical with excellent current delivery, older ones ca100/150, model 10, and so on, are superb... recent models have gone into nosebleed territory price wise and are more 'modern sounding'

always check, age, condition etc etc when buying used... older ones deserve a health check by a good tech, maybe replace some power supply caps

I bought my Maggies at a small shop in SC. He only sold Rogue, Yamaha, Magnapan (for the most part) . I auditioned the Sphinx 2 and the Yamaha 801. I went with the Yamaha. I have had for 5 years and I still thinks it sounds pretty darn good. I have also listened to the Pharaoh and Magnum tube and they are also amazing to my ears, just not in the price range at the time. I feel most who are starting a system, and need an inexpensive amp,  the 801 will not disappoint. That being said I am looking at upgrading this year. Looking at  Bryston, Hagel, Parasound, McIntosh, and NAD.  

I'm running a Rogue tube amp with my Maggies. Except for the heat, I love it.

I’ve been through many amps for my 1.7. One of the fun parts is that each one is different, and it helps you experience how different companies approach how to solve the problem of being “effortless” on all musical sources. The main takeaway was each had strengths depending on the style of music. You may find yourself avoiding certain tunes as not engaging. The right amp for Maggie’s seems to be one that handles the widest range. So far I’ve lived with or tried:

• wyred5sound st500. - good but lacking compared to others
•  Hegel d90. - good but pricy
•  rogue 100. Fun, but tubes could get finicky. 
• electrocompianet Aw 220 (2 set up as mono blocks)

If you can audition other components or go to an audio show to hear different approaches, personally I like the audio note sound and I think the electrocompianet has that “character” that works across so many different  recordings. Enjoy the journey, just know the Maggie’s can reveal weaknesses in amplification design. 

I used a Parasound Halo Hint with my 1.7i and that combo could really sing.
Parasound makes high current amps that Maggie's need.

i listened to them with  Bel Canto Design ref 500S and have since moved up to the monoblocks and they sound great to me.

What are recommendations, if any, for Class D amps driving 1.7i’s? I am currently using Proceed HPAs (used to have them in mono, now using one in stereo) for amplification. the 1.7i’s replaced a set of 802d1’s (the little ones kept pushing in the cones).

Someone mentioned Bel Canto amps.  any opinions?

Dealer feedback specific to lower powered Hegel compatibility with the 1.7i can be found at https://www.audioemporium.com/good-reputation-poor-sound/ , also on Audio Emporium’s general site in the Magnepan and Hegel sections, as well as the owners’ recommendations- “Dave’s Faves”
Audio Excellence has several entertaining YouTube Videos on the subject. Most of the “lower” powered Hegels spec at 75 watts into 8 ohms, 125 watts into 4 ohms. The H-160, 190 & 195 are about double that, and 

Dealer feedback specific to lower powered Hegel compatibility with the 1.7i can be found at https://www.audioemporium.com/good-reputation-poor-sound/ , also on Audio Emporium’s general site in the Magnepan and Hegel sections, as well as the owners’ recommendations- “Dave’s Faves”
Audio Excellence has several entertaining YouTube Videos on the subject. Most of the “lower” powered Hegels spec at 75 watts into 8 ohms, 125 watts into 4 ohms. The H-160, 190 & 195 are about double that.

Jjss49- Point taken, the DACs in the prior series were getting long in the tooth, and DAC refinement is a significant part of this last series improvements, (particularly in the H-190, 390 & 590). That is the disadvantage of a built in DAC, as digital technologies rapidly evolve.

@returntomusic

i am a big hegel fan, their amps simply sound great

i am also quite trusting of the gang at audio excellence in toronto, vilip, young j etc... they are able to extensively test what they are talking about in their shop, do proper a-b comparisons -- i have found their read on equipment VERY much on target

that been said, one should note that older hegels have quite obsolete onboard dac implementation at this point - if one buys a rost, h90, h160 much less even prior gen h100/300 amps, they will need to get a modern outboard dac to have top notch sound

the point of the latest line of hegel units - h95, 120, 190, 390 and so on is specifically to upgrade their dac sections

leaving aside the dacs, the preamp/amp sections of the older hegels ARE totally competitive and are truly excellent

What is everyone's thoughts on Denafrips Hyperion? 80wpc 8ohm, 150wpc 4 ohms. It measures better than most Hypex modules and is class ab. Lovely chassis too.

I have a Hypex NC252 for my Ohm 1000s and it sounds great. I bought the amp from VTV, which is based in Ohio. The unit is under $600 shipped, so you might want to consider that option. They also have higher power Hypex units available as well as the Purifi amp.

(PS, I had a pair of Maggie 1.6QRs some years back which I really enjoyed, but they are so room-dependent that I had to replace them after a move to a new house. However, in the right space, Maggies are fine speakers.)

This is somewhat against the “common knowledge” of massive wattage, but a couple of experienced, enthusiastic Magnepan dealers describe a particular synergy with Hegel integrateds and the 1.7i, including their smaller models the H-80 (discontinued), H-90, and Rost.The longtime Magnepan dealers are Audio Excellence (Toronto) and Audio Emporium (Milwaukee).
The H-90 lists at $2000 new- thinking you should be able to get at least 10% off.
If you are open to used-
A Rost is on Audiogon for $1399 (list at $3K), and another Rost is on eBay with a current bid of $1200 (seller is a Hegel dealer, Overture in Wilmington DE - demo?)
Audiogon also has the much more powerful H-300 at $1499- it is a couple of generations back.
A used H-160, which was Hegel’s recently discontinued middle of the lineup model, might also pop up at the top of your price range.There are watts and then there are watts. Hegels all have very high damping factors to give an usually tight grip on the speaker movement.
The other atypical  Magnepan combination I’ve heard about (with a lower powered integrated) is the Naim Nait 5, but you’d lose the good DAC incorporated in the Hegel.

jjss -- thanks. Already steered away from the maggies but if I move to a larger room I was thinking I might consider them again. But at that point, it would probably be time for an amp change, as well.

hilde

i think the exceptions are few more 'normal use'  (depends on room and volume level obviously, or have one monster of a tube amp)

even little maggies suck a lot of juice, and furthermore, most maggie users will say the speaker needs good power and grip to come alive

further, maggies roll off at the frequency extremes, esp. bass, same for most tube amps, so reinforcing weaknesses at play here

of course, you have the tube amp already, put it on the low impedance taps try it, can’t hurt to try if you watch the amp carefully so signs of stress ... but i think most maggie users find their way to SS power amps, and put tubes in the earlier in the chain if they want some tube magic

@jjss49 I'm interested to hear you say this because I was considering Maggies for my tube amps recently but steered away because of the logic you're laying down. Question: do you think this applies to all Maggies and all tubes? I have 60wpc tubes and was thinking about the 1.7's but...would you say any maggie needs ss? In other words, how far does the logic of your argument range?

for maggies you want solid state for sure, 100 wpc or higher

many out there, parasound, van alstine, odyssey, used mccormacks, used krells, etc etc

just browse solid state amps section used