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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
telescope_trade
555 posts
 
Hi,

I have owned 3 pair of 3.6R's (love them but must keep
playing):o)...But will own another pair...
The best amp I have used with them (still own) is the
Spectron Musician amp. It has the power & finesse to drive
the Maggies like I had never heard before. Finally...bass
that would leave almost anyone not wishing for more.
tireguy
1,964 posts
 
There have been a few very good threads about amps that work well on maggies try a search you will find a lot of great information. I suspect more power would cure your problem, the louder I play my maggies the better they sound right to the point where the volume is pinned :)
warrenh's avatar
warrenh
2,299 posts
 
You can never have too much power (unless it's poor) for those babies. I owned the Tympani 1Ds years ago powered with a Bryston 4B. I considered bridging the 4B with another. Now we're talking.
tok20000's avatar
tok20000
608 posts
 
Wharrenh is right. Maggies LOVE power. When I had the 3.6's, my best setup had them being driven by 2 Plinius SA100 mk3 amps in MONO (665 wpc into the Maggies). The Maggies LOVED it.

If you can afford the upgrade in power, I wholeheartedly suggest it.

Let us know the rest of your system, and I can makes some suggestions.

KF
sean
6,231 posts
 
You can't have enough power for speakers like this. While quantity is important and more is better in terms of "watts", quality counts too. Sean
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