I have Magneplanar 1.7's and power them with a Jolida 502 P with KT 150 tubes. This is a 60ish watt per channel amp and I find no problem at my normal listening levels (70- 75 db with peaks up to 90 db or so according to my radio shack db meter) I also have a Conrad Johnson MF 2300 amp (240 watts into 8 ohms, tested at 400 watts into 4 ohms). Of course, the CJ will play louder but I find the Jolida very satisfactory at the loudness I like and with the music I listen to mostly - Jazz, classical, earlier rock and such. Room size is 14X24 and I sit about 10 ft from the speakers. The speakers are run full range with a sub set at a very low level for bass augmentation only.
Tubes for Magnepan’s.
I think next up on my acquisition list is a tube amplifier. I'm not looking for the be all end all, cause I don’t think there is a definitive "Best", so am looking for as good as I can get for $3-4k.
Because tubes drive speakers so much more efficiently than solid state I am only looking for 40-50 watts to drive my modded Maggie’s, 1.7i's. (Or what you have when you add a new crossover and planer tweeters to 1.7i's.) Maybe 2.7x? I haven’t settled on that yet. And I have some Zu Dirty Weekend's upgraded to the max coming in in 2 months to replace my KEF's.
Anyway, I haven’t had a tube device since my Halicrafter short wave radio, and reviews are not the same as advice from people that own something. There is a Rouge Audio dealer in my area, last I looked, (opps, they no longer carry them), so I may have to go to another market to hear something, or get a try before you buy from a manufacturer or dealer.
You folks have taught me a lot, and I think asking users is the right thing to do on this change in direction.
Thanks in advance.
Because tubes drive speakers so much more efficiently than solid state I am only looking for 40-50 watts to drive my modded Maggie’s, 1.7i's. (Or what you have when you add a new crossover and planer tweeters to 1.7i's.) Maybe 2.7x? I haven’t settled on that yet. And I have some Zu Dirty Weekend's upgraded to the max coming in in 2 months to replace my KEF's.
Anyway, I haven’t had a tube device since my Halicrafter short wave radio, and reviews are not the same as advice from people that own something. There is a Rouge Audio dealer in my area, last I looked, (opps, they no longer carry them), so I may have to go to another market to hear something, or get a try before you buy from a manufacturer or dealer.
You folks have taught me a lot, and I think asking users is the right thing to do on this change in direction.
Thanks in advance.