VAN ALSTINEDVA M225 MONOBLOCK SOLID STATE AMPLIFIER
The DVA M225 is a compact and powerful solid state amplifier. It is rated at 225 watts into 8 ohms, and over 300 watts into 4 ohms.
Single Ended Transistor voltage amplifier design.
Class A/B amps that operate as Class A amps at normal listening levels
$1700 apiece.
2nd an AVA amp, the Sunfire would drive those ladies perfect. send to Flannerys to have her checked! i sent in my sunfire, happy ! Have a 600 sig, there is almost nothing (affordable) this amp won't drive and control. odyssey mono blocks. can use smaller cases and fit the kismet in the smaller cases. owner will work with you on what u want and price.
check audiogon, lots great amps here. you will need current for those, make sure get something w enough power for the speakers.
used mccormick, upgrades are big $.
if you ship anything, get max insurance, and pack like your sending a small child overseas.
search. Craigslist has a sunfire 300 last time i checked. check other states, etc.
Outlaw M200 or M2200 monoblocks are excellent and relatively inexpensive. You'll be hard-pressed to find better transistorized amps for under $1k. At 200-300 wpc they are all the power your Maggies need and want, they are quite transparent, and they are very natural sounding.
Indeed, sorry about that. McCormack DNA125s can be found sometimes at $1000, as well as old, unmodified, non-upgraded DNA.5s. As a side note, I find those both to be vastly superior to a Bryson 3B in my experience, with the exception of SST generation on up.
I am currently using a full set of Audio Alchemy including their mono blocks driving my Mag 1.7s. I switched to this setup after one of my Audio Research Classic 120s sparked out. I'm very happy with the resulting improved sound stage, clarity, etc. In full disclosure I am also using a REL sub and Audio Quest cabling as well as a Silver Circle A/C filter. Check the Absolute Sound/Robert Harley article. http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/audio-alchemy-ddp-1-preamplifierdacheadphone-amplifier-dpa-...
@russbutton mentioned Hafler as a cheap amp option. I used a Hafler DH220 with Maggie 1.6s in a small room and loved the sound. These are MOSFET amps and do have that smooth sound MOSFET's are known for. I recapped the amp as the original caps were past their prime.
You could purchase two DH500s, recap them and have a wonderful sounding pair of amps. And the good thing about these amps is, if they don't tickle your ear, you can resell them.
I have 1.6's and have driven them with 4 different amplifiers and gotten excellent results. They are as follows: Bryston 3BST, Audio Research 150.2 (Tripath), Quicksilver V4 (Mono Bloc Tube) and Red Dragon M500 (Mono Bloc Class D). Presently switching back and forth between the ARC and Quickies using Audible Illusions M3A Tube Preamp. I used the Bryston with the same preamp as well and the sound was incredible with all 3 amps with this preamp but sonically a bit different. I'm now using the Bryston on a pair of Vandersteen 3A Sigs and it's a great combo as well. The Red Dragons do need a preamp that can play nice with an input impedance of 10k. That's a little low for a tube preamp but you can try and see. When I used the Dragons I used an ARC SP16 but with SCE HRS interface that helps with Amp to Preamp impedance issues. I have not tried the Dragons with my AI M3A yet but I intend to at some point. The Bryston, ARC and RD amps are older products and may be found used at a bargain price. The Quickies are still in production and have gotten a little pricey but you may be able to find a used pair within your budget. I would imagine the 1.7's at least would be in line with the 1.6's in terms of mating them with amps.
I don't think ebm is the seller or anything of the sort. Just feels that this would be a great amp for you and knows that one will go fast at that price. Kinda like the DR-8 that sold hours after I posted about it.
Not questioning your approach. It's your call to buy or not buy anything.
Yes, I just want to see what is out there to replace the Sunfire - building a candidate list. I hear the caps go bad after 20 years too, and mine is about that old...
600 is not a huge discount on a new A23 which comes with a return privilege and warranty for about 300-400 more - you aren't the seller or his friend are you?
You are using a Sunfire now? Why not pick up second one, and bridge them? 6-900 used. Tough piece of equipment to beat especially on the secondary market. There is also a few things that can be done to them to really make them shine. 600 watts @8ohms if memory serves me correct.
Not cheap not the cost of a house either Bryston makes some very good sounding reliable cost effective mono blocks to power just about every mag. The power packs also sound very good look into them. They should easily hide in the back somewhere if thats any concern at all.
I drive mine with Marantz MA-700 monoblocks. Not made anymore, but you'll see them pop up occasionally for $175-250. But keep in mind that I've been through blind amp tests that put me in the "watts is watts" (given all the standard qualifiers) class. So given that, if I were buying new monoblocks I'd get Outlaw Model 2200 ($379/ea).
The Sanders magtech is $5,000 so outside the scope of this thread - unless they have a less spendy one I'm not aware of. It is also designed to drive wildly varying impedance loads of electrostatic speakers. maggies, while planars, are NOT electrostatics and present a simple 4 ohm load across the freq. range. They certainly can use a lot of oompah but are a lot 'kinder' to amps than electrostatics.
If I decide to replace my somewhat elderly Sunfire with something at the $3k or above range, it might be the new Benchmark...
Thanks everybody for the responses! And have a good new years.
Maggies draw tremendous current from an amplifier which can cause the internal power supply voltages to fluctuate dramatically in response to the music. This reduces the power from the amp and causes the distortion and bias to be modulated by the music.
One of the best amps that deals with this is the Sanders Magtech, one of the only amps available with a regulated power supply, and is a great match for Magnepans.
dlcockrum, no shooting here, especially at you. Didn't see that in the opening, but at your suggestion, did see it further down. I'd argue that one could buy used, and resell, all for the cost of shipping. Perhaps, even that's stretching this budget. But, really? Might be a case of wanting a big dog, but not being able to afford to feed it. Happy New Year!
dlcockrum, high bias Class A/B, direct coupled, high current, mono blocks with enough power to drive medium to large Maggies for a kilobuck or less, ...NEW?! That is funny!
Hmm, very limited budget there Randy. You seem to be tossing up between S/S & tube, so perhaps a hybrid?
Vincent SP-331MK get's outstanding reports. I sort of regret not picking up a B-Stock near 1/2 retail, although did wait and picked up the sublime SP998 Mono-Blocks @ 1/2 RRP. These blow some mega buck big name Mono's to the shizenhausen at a fraction of the cost.
No, it wasn't a gen 1 problem only. Thinking that since you haven't experienced it means it doesn't exist is neither here nor there. I've read where owners tried to fix the ticking by dismantling the amp and installing rubber washers on the heat sinks.
When you try to bring an amp to market at bottom dollar, compromises have to be made.
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