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Am I underpowering my Magnepan 3.6's?

My maggie 3.6's are being driven with a Levinson 334 amp (125 watts into 8 ohms - 250 into 4 ohms). While listening to the maggies at levels somewhere around 90db - 95db, I have noticed what I think is more than a dynamic compression. It's almost as if the amp is clipping or the speaker is distorting on dynamic peaks.
As an example, while listening to big band, when a trumpet section reaches 'forte' levels, the stage becomes shallow, the air is gone and the toanlity of the horns becomes scratchy, perhaps even a bit distorted.
Anyone got any thoughts? Could the maggies need more power, or do you think I'm just driving them beyond the listening level that the 3.6's are capable of?
In advance, thanks for you time and any input you have.
louisl
aball
2,016 posts
 
Hey - are you checking your dB listening level with a meter? I thought I listened in the 90dB range but then once I got a meter, I was shocked to find out that it was more in the 102dB range! If you are in the same case as me, you may indeed need more power; otherwise your problem may not be the amp. Just a thought I guess.
audibleguy
152 posts
 
These Maggie speakers like a lot of juice to make them come alive, have tried mine with Pass Aleph's , Levinson, Legacy monoblocs, and the only two I found to drive them very well was the Bryston monoblocks ans the Rogue Audio monoblocks in the reasonable price categories.
louisl OP
183 posts
 
Thanks Aball, you're absolutely right. I do need to check with a db meter, as I am guessing that my listening range is around 90-95db. It will prove interesting to actually see what the true level of my listening sessions are! From their, I can go to the next step in determining if it is speaker or amp related.
dinguses
9 posts
 
The pair I listened to at a dealer sounded MUCH better hooked up to a pair of Bryston 7B-ST's than they did hooked up to a 334. I know the 334 is a better sounding amp, so it has to be the power. Short answer, you need more juice!
louisl OP
183 posts
 
Audibleguy, I heard many positive things about using the Bryston amps with the Maggies, but unfortunately, have never heard the pairing. In doing some research into the matter, I have come across another three recomendations. They are the McCormack DNA-500 and the Spectron Musician II (both 500 watts per channel into 8 ohms and have read glowing reviews of both), and the BAT VK-500 (250 watts per channel into 8 ohms). Any thoughts on these three?
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