What amp to drive Magnepan MG12QR's

Thanks for all your input. I'm searching the internet for the reccomendations you have made as we speak.

Yesterday, I hooked up a pair of Wyred 4 Sound monoblcoks to my Maggie 3.5Rs. They grab hold of the Maggies like no other amps I have tried, PLUS they are very musical. Their stereo amp is in your price range

Well, this thread is a good one for demonstrating how wildly varying our perceptions are regarding desired sound. With the caveat that my experience is with Maggie 1.6's and MGCs, not 12s, I found the Belles 150a Hot Rod to be an extremely mediocre amp, barely an iota better than an Adcom 545 and 555. I was extremely disappointed, considering the great press it recieved. When I switched to a PS Audio HCA-2, that was what I'd been searching for. Much, much better bass control and extension. Much better midrange palpability and instrumental timbre. Much better high frequency extension in a natural, un-etched, manner with better retrieval of all the ambient soundstage information that makes you believe you are at the recording venue. Now, that's not to say that the other postings are off base. It simply demonstrates that our different tastes, paired equipment, and listening rooms make this sort of advice best consumed with a generous dose of salt.

any quality amp on the hi current side that does better than 100 watts per channel should do it. a van alstine amp or the beeles mentioned above are great choices. mccormick is another, or a cj solid state.

I agree with Wendell, (Narrod).

I found the Belles 150A Hot Rod to be magical with my MG12s. I also have used the Odyssey Stratos amps with great success.

The Portal Panache integrated is also an excellent choice.

McCormack, Odyssey, Belles and Muse can all be found used within your budget. All will drive the speakers quite well.