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Power Amp for Magnepan MG 20.1's

I recently purchased a used pair of Magnepan MG 20.1's and I am looking to add a power amp to drive them that will cost under $2,000 either new or used.

I use my 20.1's as part of my home theater set up which includes the Magnepan CC2 center channel speaker, Magnepan MG MC1's for the surround speakers and an active powered subwoofer. I watch Blu-Ray and DVD video discs and also listen to music SACD, DTS, DVD-Audio, Dual-Disc and CD's in both 2-channel and 5.1 channel formats.

I'm looking for a power amp that will allow me to bi-amp the 20.1's in addition to powering the center channel as well as the left and right surround channels so I will need an 7-channel power amp.

I am using an Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player which plays all of the disc formats that I named above including the 5.1 material so I need to integrate a 7-channel power amp with my current A/V receiver so that the receiver can continue to decode the high-definition audio being received via the HDMI output from the Oppo BDP-93 player such as Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio.

Can anyone recommend a high quality 7-channel power amp that will fit my needs that will allow me to continue to play all of the audio and video formats I mentioned and bi-amp the 20.1s all for under $2,000?
southernphoenix

Showing 3 responses by southernphoenix

southernphoenix OP
11 posts
 
How about the Wyred 4 Sound MC-7 7 channel power amp?

It has 500 watts in the front three channels and 250 watts in the four rear channels.

I'm assuming that if I used this amp I would be able to bi-amp my Magnepan 20.1's using two of the three front channels and two of the rear channels which would allow me to use the remaining front channel for the center channel speaker and the other two rear channels for my surround sound speakers.

Has anyone else used a Wyred 4 Sound MC-7 power amp to drive the Magnepan 20.1 in a 5.1 HT set up?
southernphoenix OP
11 posts
 
I've taken the plunge and am getting a D-Sonic Magnum 3500-7 power amp which will give me 1,000 watts per channel at 4 ohms.

I will be bi-amping the front speakers so I will then have 2,000 watts for each of my Magnepan 20.1's. That should be more than enough power to make the Maggies sound their best.

That will also give me 1,000 watts per channel for my center channel and two surround sound speakers.
southernphoenix OP
11 posts
 
I've already purchased the D-Sonic and will have it next week.

I feel confident that it will be more than adequate for my purposes.

For the record I don't tend to play my music or movies at the same high levels as most people and in the 15 years that I've been listening and watching movies just using an A V receiver I've never once hearddistortion and that was just at 100 watts per channel.

I appreciate all of the help and advice that everyone has offered.

Some of the power amps that were suggested are simply too expensive for me. I don't have $5k plus to spend on an amp. The D-Sonic amp that I bought is a custom version that originally sold for about $3800 and I was able to get it for about $2700 so that's pretty much all I can afford to spend unless I hit the lottery at this tIme.

Compared to just using an A V receiver I would expect the improvement in sound to be quite substantial in my case.
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