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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
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
jwc37
38 posts
 
I use a Bryston crossover feeding two McCormack DNA-1 deluxe amps. The 3.6/Rs never sounded good with one amp. My present setup works extremely well in my dedicated room which is 20'x30' with 10' walls and a 14' peak cathedral ceiling. No lack of power and excellent dynamics. Biamped Maggies are truly musical and a major step up from my experience with a single amp.
louisl OP
183 posts
 
Tok2000..Thanks for the response! The rest of my system is an Audio Aero Capitole MK II directly into the Lervinson driving the 3.6R's. In addition, I am using a REL Storm III sub. Speaker cables and interconnects are Cable Research Lab bronze. For a/c cables I am using a Gold FIM on the Levinson a bronze CRL on the CDP, and an Electraglide fat boy on the sub.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions that you may have.
jimbo3
304 posts
 
I've tried several amps on a pair of Maggie 12's. Ended up with a Counterpoint SA-20 (220 wpc). Two SA-20's would be good with the 3.6's....

Regards
Jim
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