2. amps-preamps
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Solid state amp recommendations for Maggies?

I am looking for another amp to drive my magnepan LRS, looking for a solid state amp to deliver more detail than my current tube amp, but don't want to give up (much) of the soundstage and depth.

I have a small listening room with a near field set up, so I don't need a ton of power for ear piercing volume. I listen mostly to acoustic rock, acoustic jazz and female vocalists.  I want more the guitar on Keith don't go and hotel canifornia intro from hell freezes over to  to sound... better...

at the risk of sounding stupid, I am driving these $650 speakers with many thousands of dollars of electronics.  The amp is a Primaluna HP (80wpc using 4 EL34s per channel), CJ ET7 preamp, PS Audio Direct stream DAC and a Naim digital source. All with MG audio silver interconnects and speaker wire. Even the interconnects cost more than the LRS.  

I am very happy with my current set up, but would like to grab another amp to a change of pace.

My budget is $5-8K, used or new.  My room is such that mono blocks set up well, but that is not necessary. 

thoughts/recommendations?

 

 

meiatflask
arcticdeth's avatar
arcticdeth
1,549 posts
 

+1 Sanders Magtech. Will be the last amp you ever buy, power, headroom, clarity, massive sack!

 

Odyssey kismet mns. Great bs of current to keep the mags fed properly.

or themJC-1 monos will drive anything like the Sanders. Sanders will be revealing, bt that s what u want!

 

Odyssey audio orbSanders Magtech!

 

or search for a Carver Sunfire 300 or 600  both will drive ur mags to ear bleeding levels

 

tweak1
3,563 posts
 

@happyship

 

Prior to getting a Voyager 350 (GaN amp) I had a EVS 1200, based on dual IcePower 600/1200 modules, which I purchased because the other class D amps I tried (W4S, Emerald Physics 100.2SEs, PS Audio M700s) simply did not couple/energize my large room. I was skeptical that dropping back in wattage would be countrproductive, but it is far more potent than the ~ double the power class D and way better sounding to boot

 

hth

spacecadet65's avatar
spacecadet65
54 posts
 

You may want to consider the PS Audio M1200 monoblocks. I don't own them myself, but I have a close friend who has larger Maggies and pairs them with a tube pre and the result is a sense of immediacy and effortlessness dynamics that is very impressive. YMMV. 

 

G

johnto
980 posts
 

The Pass X250.8 I'm using very really goes out of class A unless I'm cranking the volume on heavy organ or bass material. I don't think your ears can tell when it moves from A to A/B it's only by watching the front meter that you'll know.

meiatflask OP
145 posts
 

Wow, lots of ideas here. Thanks to everyone for your input.  Hopefully I will have time over the holiday weekend to do some research, look at company websites for details, read some reviews, identify local (chicago-Milwaukee) dealers, and look at the various sites for used candidates.  

The Pass amps intrigue me as I recall loving the Threshold stuff in my youth. But the Hegel, Bryston (another brand from my youth), and parasound will be on the "look into" list, as well as the PS Audio (because I enjoy their DAC). There were several other brands that I have never heard of, so that is always fun to discover new stuff.  And while several mentioned lower cost stuff, I really plan to spend $5k+, so I will pass on them.

And perhaps the most interesting suggestion was upgrading fromLRS to the 1.7xx or larger Maggies.  Yep, this is on my radar, probably a couple years down the road when we move south, and I can have a larger listening room.

But for now THANKS for all your input.

Bill

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