McIntosh MC501 or Audio Research DS450M for Magnepan 1.7

Is the Audio Research DS450 a class D amp?  If it is, I would go with the McIntosh.  It has a lot of power and a lot of current.  I have the McIntosh MC152 and at 150wpc, it is much more powerful than the 250wpc Conrad-Johnson amp I used previously.

Thank you for sharing! Yes, the ARC DS450M is a class D amp and it has some mixed reviews but mainly positive.

 Read that it was paired with Magnepan at CES. Think this was the last D amp from ARC, probably due to slow sales.

But does not surprise me that you MC152 feels more powerful than a CJ with 250 class D since McIntosh underrates their true output in their specs.

I would appreciate Any other thoughts!

Have you considered the Sanders Magtech amp? It's very popular with Maggie owners.

Thanks for the feedback. Just checked out the Sanders Magtech amp and looks like it was designed for electrostatic speakers with high current demand. Very interesting indeed! There are none for sell in Audiogon. Looking for something used that I could sell without loosing too much if I don’t like