What are good amps for Focal Maestro Evo


I'm looking for ideas/suggestions for amplification for a pair of Focal Maestro Evo 3 way speakers.  They are "dual purpose speakers."  First and most importantly, they are used for two channel music listening; mostly streaming with a Lumin X1, CD (Oppo), Vinyl.  Secondly, they are part of a home theater which has 22 speakers; 10 floor level Focal speakers, a Focal Vivia center,  pairs of Sopra 1, and a pair of Focal Diablos. There are 8 ceiling level speakers in the Kanta line.  And 4 REL subs, S-510.  A Trinnov Altitude 24 is processing the audio.   16 speakers are driven Trinnov Amplitude 8 amplifiers X 2 (225 watts per channel).  An 350 watt per channel  ATI 6000 series amplifier is currently driving the Maestros and center.  The Trinnov will allow 2 channel listening and I'm looking to for an amp to drive the two front Maestro speakers for music listening and as part of the HT.  The system is in a 25 X16 X 9 listening room that is treated with RPG products under the guidance of an acoustic consultant.  The soundstage is very wide and at times spectral.  I listen to a variety of females Indie music, Rock, Rap, Jazz, Classical.  Price range is around 20K per amp.   I may match the Focal Utopia Vivia center amp to the Maestro's amp at some point.   

I have run into a number of road blocks while thinking about this.  

1) Bi-amping?  I'd love to try it out using a tube to drive the uppers and a solid state for the lowers.  Therefore, I'm thinking of a pair of McIntosh MC451 which is a combo amp.  It's new to market and I have not heard it with the Maestros.  Or is it just a waste of resources to bi-amp?  I've heard the Maestro driven by McIntosh MC312 which was solid but I preferred the harmony and spaciousness of the Luxman MC-10.  

2) Going with dual mono block amps?  I've heard the Maestros driven by a Luxman MC-10 amp and was really impressed.  I could add a nice tube amp to the Luxman later to try Bi-amping.  But then there is the idea of using two MC-10 amps, as mono blocks or even bi-amping.  Or just use a Luxman MC10 to drive the Maestros.  

3) Skip the bi-amping and direct those resources into a DAN D'AGOSTINO, Constellation, or Boulder amps.  

Anyone who has had experience and advice finding a good amp to drive Focal Maestro Evo speakers would be much appreciated.  Anyone who has had experience finding a dual purpose amp as part of a HT and for two channel music listening, I'd be grateful hearing from you as well.  I know that opinions on bi-amping are varied but I'd benefit hearing from those with experience bi-amping the Maestros.

At this point I am leaning towards starting with a Luxman MC10, later adding a tube amp for bi-amping and adding another Luxman to drive the Vivia center speaker for the HT after that.    

Cheers to all!

 

Ag insider logo xs@2xbrianbonf

I have not tried bi-amping the Maestros. Given how little power I use, my impression is it would not be worth the cost. Majority of all my listening would be no louder than -20 on the Delta Pre. This is about 3W on the mono meter (vertical) and any peak as high as 10db louder might reach 30W of output from the amp.

This is the most efficient speaker that I have owned, so it’s noticeably louder at this same gain than any other speaker I’ve tried. For me this is already starting to get uncomfortable loud in my room (similar size to yours).

I would try a nice stereo or mono pair before you buy a whole second set of amps right from the beginning. I really think your money would have more impact elsewhere, such as a 2-channel preamp that supports hometheater bypass, subwoofer, etc. I guess the good news is you could buy 2x Classe Monos per speaker and still be around your 20K/speaker budget for amps. 😂

BTW, I have a Perlisten D212S on the way.

McIntosh MC3500 Mk II very nice! I almost went with those, but the price/deal was not nearly as good for me.

My Scala EVOs are connected to a pair of McIntosh MC3500 Mk II. They sound great.  

Thanks for the Classe monoock experience and recommendations  I listen to 2 channel most of the time for music unless it is in an immersive format   HT is all channels   I also agree that a sub upgrade is due   I’m going to demo Perlistens   Have you tried bi-amping the Maestros?  

 

That is a lot of speakers! I don't quite understand how all are being used. How much time is spent in 2-channel vs. home theater?

The Maestros are 93db sensitive. They get loud fast, and you probably don't want to hear this part, with almost any amp. Did you hear the speakers with any other amp at the dealer?

I am using Classe Delta Monos + Pre and combination is fantastic with the Focal Maestros. If you are not familiar, they are a 300W mono amp where the first 35W are in Class A. With how sensitive the speakers are, you are likely to stay in Class A for almost all of your listening. Your room is around the same size as mine.

You could buy three Classe Delta Monos for your L/R/C for less than your budget. I think you'd be very hard to beat the combination. They can be stacked and/or rack mounted without as much concern for their cooling. If you are doing a lot of theater you might consider upgrading your subs before dumping more money in amps. You'll likely have a bigger impact on the sound experience, at least for theater.

If you go the hybrid McIntosh route, I would make sure you can listen to them first. Their sound will be rolled off on the high-end compared to almost any other amp. I have not heard the Luxman MC10 so cannot help much there. I tend to prefer products design as mono if used in mono vs. a stereo amp bridged to mono.

I don't think you'd run out of driving ability with either as the Focals are easy to drive, but if you are looking for indication of the amplifiers driving capability:
The transformer is the Classe is nearly 2x as powerful as the Luxman. 1,250VA vs 2350VA and the Classe has nearly 3x the capacitance available (80,000μF vs. 250,000μF). If you are in US, you can likely get the Classe Monos for the price of one Luxman MC10. I'd recommend you audition both.