Maggie 3.6 amplification concern

I'm with Phil on this. You need power and control with the Maggies and only solid state will give you that. In my bi-amped InnerSound system I use the 600 Wpc InnerSound amp to drive the woofers and the Monarchy Audio SE-160 Class-A hybrid monoblocks to drive the ESL panels and the sound is truly amazing. As Phil noted, when used full range, the InnerSound amp leaves some room for improvement. For that reason, I would probably opt for high-powered hybrids like the Monarchy SE-160s, which provide over 300 Watts each into 4 ohm loads. They use a single tube input driver and a beefy MOSFET output stage. Their sound is very lifelike, open, and detailed. They communicate the music better than any other amps I have used (and I've been through quite a few).

Another alternative that would yield almost as good sonics but with higher power would be to use a SS powerhouse (like the InnerSound ESL amp) in combination with a tube line buffer such as the Z-man ASE or the Musical Fidelity X-10D.

I have used the InnerSound amp with the Z-man to drive Maggie 12/QR speakers and that offered a nice improvement over the InnerSound amp by itself. It combines some of the liquidity and sweetness of tubes with the brute force and control of solid state. Frankly I'm surprised that more folks aren't taking advantage of this type of setup.

Plato, pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is a z-man and how does it "improve" the amp? I can't find a website or any information except for your posts here on AudioGon.

See, Tim, I TOLD you the Innersound amp was the way to go...You should go out to Roger's website and read his white paper on the amp and for $3K brand new, how could you possibly go wrong????

- off to bed
aj

If you give up on tubes, the new musical Fidelity A300cr ($3200 new I think) would be the way to go. It is the big brother to the A3cr and has an almost tube-like sound but with real solid state power.

maggies really are just fantastic speakers, but it's true that they require ungodly amounts of power to produce their magic.

they'll play with less, but it would be doing them a disservice. they're terribly inefficient.

i would try out many high-powered ss amps, there's bound to be one that you really like.

you've got some wonderful speakers there, be sure you give 'em what they want and you'll be astounded. 3.6's are really, really great.

aj,

You can get a pic and a brief description of the Z-man ASE (analog signal enhancer) at the following link: http://www.hometeam.com/ehonline/newsprod.9804.shtml

It used to sell for $200 or thereabouts, but I'm not sure whether or not it is currently being made. I see used ones pop up now and then, which seem to be going for $100 to $120, which in my view makes them one of the greatest bargains in audio today. The Musical Fidelity X-10D is a similar unit, though I believe the Z-man has a slight performance edge and has a good internal power supply instead of a wall wart type. It uses a single 12AX7 tube as opposed to two 6922s in the X-10D. In addition to providing tube-like sonic qualities, these units provide a better impedance match between the source and the preamp or amplifier.