Powerful ones. Very powerful ones. |
Cerrot is correct, I'll go one step further and suggest VTL 750's, VTL 450's (minimum) or Classe Omega. |
Dfwlistener, take a look at my system and reviews regarding amps to drive my MG-20's. I would rcommend either a Pass Labs X-360.5 or a pair of XA-160.5's if its in your budget. The combination of your 3.6's with either Pass Labs amps would be wonderfully musical. |
I have had serveral pairs of 3.6R's over the last 6 yrs, and here are some of the amps that I have used:
Parasound JC1's (sublime, very full rich sound)
Innersound ESL 300 (massive power, never runs out, very detailed)
Bel Canto Ref 1000's (massive effortless power, very detailed, not warm)
McIntosh 500 ( not a match )
Cary Audio 500MB's (tube like sound, HUGE Bass, great match)
Bryston 7B's (power, nice, but not my favorite)
Pass Labs X 350's (good amp not my favorite)
I have not tried, but hear that the H20 500's and Spectron Musician III (all versions) are great matches.
If you can get an Innnersound ESL used to start, that would be what I would do. Go from there, great not too expensive amp, made for planars.
My favorites are the current set up with the Cary's.
Good luck, love the Maggies. |
Sanders Sound Systems new ESL amplifier. |
When I bought my first pair of MG-1s, I had a (don't laugh!) Kenwood integrated of 60x2 @8. OK, in a small room and wonderful with my than new Magnavox CD player...the FD1000, so you know how long ago I'm talkin' about. Since I was a working stiff making probably 6%/hr, I could finally afford a Carver Cube and did a snip-snip / solder-solder on the Kenwood to make it a preamp....the pre and power boards were jumpered together, so it was SIMPLE.
But that was then and this is NOW....
Any fans of the PS Audio GCC250?
Very detailed, good image and staging, even at 2am with the volume down v low. My 1.6s replaced the old MG-1s.
While Maggies are an 'easy' load, having no big impedence or phase angle swings, you do need bunches of Power.
I think the Maggies may be well served by the neutrality of many of the Class 'd', ICE module based designs.... |
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Bryston,absolutely Bryston. |
The Wolcott mono block amps and the Atma-Sphere MA-2 OTL mono blocks both drive the Magneplanar 3.6s very well. Excellent matches to this speaker.
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Spectron amps will really drive all the drivers in the Maggies 3.6R with absolute control. I tested the Maggies 3.6R at the dealer with a Mcintosh integrated amp and with a Classe integrated amp. I then drove it in my setup with a Krell integrated amp. It wasn't until I brought the Spectron Musician III SE that the Maggies started to sing. The other amps never really got to control the bass driver. The bass was lite and and lacked pitch definition. With the Spectron amp, the base is deep, taught and fast. The mid-range has more weight and the highs are really controlled. There is not tweeter glare at all.
I've added a second Spectron Musician III SE to my setup. The Spectron amp can easily be bridged for mono-block use. With these two amps now, I get deeper bass with more texture definition and resolution throughout the audio spectrum. The sound just gets gets way better in every aspect with these amps in mono-block set up. |
Guys,
Thanks for the great responses. I will look into each suggestion. My local maggie dealer recommended NAD Master series. Anyone know anything about them with maggies? He is also an Audio Research dealer which if I remember from years past was usually a great combo with maggies but I didn't see any recommendations for ARC. Any thoughts? Also, I'm not sure I want to "burn" tubes in a theater setup which will see a lot more use. Any more thoughts? Also, I'm in the Dallas area if any of you are local.
Thanks again
Dale |
Dale,
I'm in Dallas. I didn't suggest ARC because my favorite ARC is the Ref 600 MK2, which has proven to be unreliable in some systems.
If you want solid state, the Classe Omega is excellent, I mentioned it near the front of this thread.
If youre exclusively home theater, my suggestions for tube are probably off base. I automatically think high end two channel when I see Maggies mentioned. |
Wyred4Sound. I use these on my Maggie 3.5Rs and have taken them to the president of Scaena Loudspeakers. On $44K+ speakers they were AMAZING! |
You guys must play much louder than I do.
I have 20's and I'm only using 30 watt tube amps.
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/4967/80azslk6.jpg
John C. |
Parasound JC1's (sublime, very full rich sound) - Macdadtexas - I agree and I would add "transparent" too |
Right now, I am using a EAR 534 with my 3.6 Maggies. My room is small and my volume is low...which is fine. I am considering adding another EAR or buying new amps for my new room. Considering Wolcotts or Boulders. |
