Magnepan 1.7i Amp recommendations


Hey everyone, I have been googling and most of the recommendation threads I found on various sites (including this site) are for the LRS.

What about the 1.7i?

Schiit Vidar, various Chifi tube amps, Parasound Halo A23+, etc. I want Class AB ideally, tried Class D (Hypex NC252 from Audiophonics) and the power switch was defective on it. Want to stick to a brand in the US or one that can be repaired easily.

Tube amps caught my eye, but I want to keep the price under $2000 new. The lower the better as with this whole pandemic I am trying to keep my spending lower, but I got no amp whatsoever at the moment.

Thank you,
Tom.
128x128archerious
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i have chimed in over time on many many maggie threads about suitable amplifiers to drive them well

obviously, you can go upmarket and spend alot of $$ and get great performance, many choices (pass, gryphon, d-agnostino, upper hegels, coda, boulder... the list is long for pricey options) but i think what many are likely to value here are cost effective options (used), which i will list below - i own or have owned each and every one of these

-- odyssey khartago stratos or kismet, with cap upgrade

-- van alstine amps 100 wpc or greater, newer the better, older (synergy series and older) amps can be a little grainy

-- musical fidelity a308 or better... 100 wpc or greater ratings into 8 ohms... newer m6 quite capable but more costly

-- primare i-30 (outstanding value) lovely warm saturated sound, excellent grip and punch

-- kinki ex m1/+ (great value and superb performance in a chi-fi product... built to exceptionally high standard)

-- krell s550i - older model, but sonically excellent, exceptionally stout...

-- audio research 100.2 - lovely, best ss amp they have ever made, uber sweet sounding, very reasonable used now, $2000 or below

-- usher r1.5 -- nelson pass threshold design, improved at the margins/made in taiwan... a little on dark side sonically but very musical, built like the proverbial brick s-house

-- classe amps (old and new) are terrific, very musical with excellent current delivery, older ones ca100/150, model 10, and so on, are superb... recent models have gone into nosebleed territory price wise and are more 'modern sounding'

always check, age, condition etc etc when buying used... older ones deserve a health check by a good tech, maybe replace some power supply caps

Just had a listen today to a pair of 1.7i.

The dealer demo’d them with a big mcintosh tube amp.

Yeah, I ordered them.

From all I have read and what the dealer said, tube amps with plenty of current are what magnepans like..

Will be driving them, when they arrive in 4-6 weeks, with a couple of Carver Silver Seven 900w mono blocks.
At least they have a fuse……. ;-p

Yep, a nice McIntosh tube amp or a tubed pre and McIntosh SS amp with Autoformers...