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McIntosh XR-16, which type of amp to drive them?

Someone asked me for a suggestion about the right kind of amp to drive the McIntosh XR-16 speakers.

Since I am not familiar with the speakers I checked its specs and found out that they are 8 Ohm speakers, with an input of 150 watts and having a sensitivity of 89 db SPL. On paper it looks like a very easy load on the amp but I am rather reluctant in recomending any run of the mill amp to drive them. they are twenty+ years old and were not cheap in those days either, $1900 for a pair. According to its present owner, they are being driven by a Marantz receiever (105 watts/ch) which is not the best of combinations IMHO.

Has anyone used them with various amp combinations? Which type of amp would be most suitable to drive them?

Any feedback appreciated.
128x128quadophile
2 responses Add your response
markmaslard68f
1 posts
 
Hi,

I've owned a pair of XR-16's for almost 20 years. What kind of amp? BIG! While the 30w/ch amp I owned initially was enough to power them, a McIntosh 120w/ch was better, and my current NYAL Moscode 600 (300 w/ch) is much much better.

Any amp with massive amounts of headroom should do OK. The more headroom, the smoother the speakers sound. Even at pleasant volume levels.

Regards,
Mark
quadophile's avatar
quadophile OP
418 posts
 
Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated! Will pass on the info.
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