The majority of music I listen to is blues,jazz and mass quantitys of grateful dead.And thanks again for all the great responses.I still thank I'm going to go for the modwright integrated. peace!
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I wanted to pipe in here as somebody said forget tubes, and that may be a mistake. A tube amp can have incredible slam, and at the same time really emphasize what Maggie's do best. Breathe. But it's not just a matter of power, it's bandwidth of the output transformers as well as output impedance. That's why Stereophile Editor in Chief John Atkinson won't write speaker reviews with tube amps. They measure like crap and will color the sound in direct proportion of the speaker's impedance curve. Atkinson recently reviewed the $25K YG Acoustics Carmel 2. A difficult speaker to drive. He tried amps including 400 watts Parasound Halo's, $24K 280 watt MBL Coronas, and Pass Labs XA60.5 monos and didn't get the bottom end he wanted. He was doing measurements on the $4399 PrimaLuna HP integrated for somebody else's review and was surprised by what he saw. Bandwidth and output impedance numbers so impressive he decided to hook it up and try it. In triode mode which is only 36 watts!! You should read what he says. Tubes are fab with Maggies, if you get the right amp. http://primaluna-usa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=218 |
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Hegel is very nice. I understand dave_b's statement, although my experience is that as you go up the line, you get more midbass. The H80 is lovely, but light in the midbass. the reviews say there's not any frequency that 'stands out' (meaning it's neutral), but it is also not as dynamic in the midbass, which will influence the sound of orchestral music. Most pop music with 'thud away' merrily - and with pitch - with the user being none the wiser. The bigger Hegel, the 360, is reputed to have none of these problems. Parasound was good, but it's only $2450 and not as classy as Hegel. I'd suggest listening to Rowland (does he have anything for only 5k?? I mean, he used to, but now?!?) or Audio Research. Also, it really does matter what kind of music you listen to. With classical and voice, you're going to want delicacy (as in the slightest demo-quaver that can break your heart), whereas with jazz you can be just slightly less concerned with that (except for vocalists, again). What is the majority of your music? Vinyl? Digital? Country? Rock? |
jmcgrogan25,351 posts05-01-2016 12:05amWell the title of your thread is best integrated amp. I'll say the best I've heard is my VAC 160iSE, but maybe a bit out of your price range. A VAC 160i may not be though. However, I don't think the VAC would be the best to drive your Maggies though.The Vitus RI-100 & Boulder 865 are all solid choices if looking 2nd hand. Note: The Vitus is a bit dark sounding, whilst the Boulder is natural and dead neutral. If buying new, my first choice would be a Unison Unico 150 hybridamplifier (approx $6000US). The Unico is beautifully made & uses pure class A double triode Input and driver stages + a single Mosfet power stage, and has zero NFB. Second choice with the Maggies would be the Modwright KWI-200 ($5500US). followed by the Wells Audio Majestic (also in the musical camp, $3500US) and new Hegel H360 ($5700US). The Hegal also has a good dac & can act as a streamer fyi. Have fun with your auditions! |
I have Maggie 1.7s and .7. Both speakers work great with integrated amps from Peachtree (Nova 125), Ayre (AX7e), Rogue Audio (Sphinx), Modwright (KWI 200), Cayin (SP10A and A-55T), PrimaLuna (Dialogue Premium), VAC (Avatar Super), and VPI 299D. I don't listen to extremely loud music and all of the above amps produced more than sufficient volumes. The Cayin were very musical and great for near field listening but a bit short on power for a traditional set up. Tubes are my favorite and produce the most life like listening experiences. The soundstage depth is generally deeper with tubes and the midrange is fantastic. Overall, tubes draw me into the emotional experience of the artists. I could easily enjoy any of the above combos long term. That said, let your ears and heart be the judge. Enjoy our wonderful hobby. |
I love the Bryston/CAT Combo, although I think going from Bryston 7s to 28s was a total waste of money as I never even approached the 7s capability in terms of watts......all in the name of headroom. I believe strongly that the CAT preamp (in production for 30 plus years) is still the pinnacle of tube preamps in the under 10k range.......in terms of overall musicality and all the intangibles, it checks all the boxes.......I use Grover Huffman cabling throughout my system with the exception of my digital cables, which are Stereolab Master Reference..... Here's the system when I had the Bryston 7bsst2's.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_cJrj5DwwQ ..I have also changed my cartridge from the Kiseki Purple Heart to the Transfiguration Proteus....everything else is pretty much the same.....although it's all in a different house/room now |
Yes, I too believe in a tube preamp / solid-state amp, especially with Thiels. Even Kathy Gornik, formally with Thiel, use to say, " I've never heard a Thiel speaker that didn't sound better with a tube preamp." I use to have an ARC LS25, Classe' CAM200 monoblocks and MIT cabling with my Thiels CS 2 2s. Best sound I ever had! Regards....... |
you need high current to make mag 3.7s sing....forget tubes if you want tubes go seperates. I would try a tube pre with a bryston amp or do the bryston integrated....... i drive 3.7s with bryston 28bsst2s and a cat sl1 renaissance pre..... i know a non maggie dealer in oklahoma selling 3.7s for around 3500 |
With planars like Maggies the more surface area you have the better the ability to reproduce low frequencies. The 3.7s or 3.7i's will be an improvement as expected, especially in a larger room. Mye stands or similar are also worthy of consideration for any Maggies. So after getting a recommendation of every integrated amp on the planet, what do you think? Cheers, Spencer |
Sim i3 is a great amp. I prefer the bryston B60 that was mentioned. S'more Canadian builds, http://www.bluecircle.com/page25a.html http://www.bluecircle.com/page157.html http://www.bluecircle.com/page158.html http://www.bluecircle.com/page160.html |
Evening my friend this is such a subjective question. I have owned the 1.6, 3.6 and now the Maggie Mini's as my primary listening system. When I owned the 1.6 and 3.6's I had them paired with a Bryston amp and a Marantz pre amp and the sound was heavenly. But sound is so subjective that I would not put a $$ figure on it unless you are looking to just spend between 5-7k. When I purchase the Mini system it caused me to sell my 3.7's and make them my primary listening system because I spend 90% of my time in my study. When I made the switch I listened to NAD, Wadi and I settled on Peachtree. Initially I purchased the Nova 125 and then I upped the power to the Nova SE 220 Both of these intergrates were a perfect match for my listen pleasure. Then I was told by one of my local dealers that by switching to one of a couple different intergrates I could get more sound out of my Maggies. It was suggested that I listen to the Parasound Halo, the Moon Neo (can't remember the model number) and the Hegel h160. After reading extensive reviews I was sure I would be upgrading with either system over the Peachtree. So, I sold my Nova 220 and I was sure I would fall in love with either the Parasound or the Hegel. Boy was I wrong. The Parasound was to bright for my taste and the Hegel h160 despite the rave reviews caused my Maggies to loose their dynamic edge on the mid to upper end. After 4 days of listening to the Hegel which had about 150 hours of burn time before I got it, I returned it and learned a valuable lesson. My subjective ears was in love with the marriage between the Maggies and Peachtree. I ended up going back to Peachtree with their new separates Sona Dac/ pre amp and their Sona Amp 150 into 8ohm 280-300 into 4ohm. Peachtree is using the ESS 9018 Saber chipset which has an awesome sound. I believe you should let your sound preference drive your purchase, cause spending big bucks and reading rave reviews means nothing you hear the perfect sound for you. Peachtree will allow you to demo any of their systems for 30 days and provide you 100% of your money back. So you have nothing to loose. From one Maggie owner to another. |
Classe has the most disjointed time arrival I've ever heard. Listen to a stand up bass as an example...the fundamental, the upper harmonics, and the nails on the string are totally out of sync with one another. It's almost like they are out of phase. Truly bizarre sounding product. So soft and so boring too. Amazing that anyone who actually listens buys it. This is a very subjective hobby, it takes all kinds I guess? |
Yamaha A-S3000 Looks mighty good. Especially in silver. http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/hifi-components/amps/a-s3000_u/?mode=model |
So as many have said it depends on your tastes and matching your speakers but just for the hell of it I heard this Synthesis Action A40 Virtus integrated a few weeks ago at Deja Vu Audio. Synthesis is an Italian company specializing in tubed gear. Here is a link to some specs. http://www.sonus-hifi.gr/showprod.php?id=3012 It sounded great driving a pair of Audio Note AN/K speakers 40W pushpull and had a built in Dac. Super impressive and stylish looking, it's in the $6-7000 range. Now 40 watts may not be enough for your Maggies but there is a 50 and 100 watt version and the higher power models actually go down in price. Worth listening to if you get a chance. |
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this competes with the best of them... the best for one guy, another one, not so much, But very nice by anybody's standard. Coda CSIB http://coda-continuum.com/product/index.php |
May as well consider Musical Fidelity. They may not be "best" but could very well be close enough especially if value (i.e. price/quality/sound) is considered with equal weight. While most integrated manufactures liken their product to a separate amp and pre-amp, Musical Fidelity goes a step further to claim their integrated (M6si) is actually three components that happen to share the same casing. A pre-amp, and two mono-block amps. Just my .02 as I’ve auditioned the Krell Vanguard and MCIntosh comparable as well. |
You can get 3.7s used for a very very good price right now....... especially if you can go pick them up...... 3.7s versus 1.7s would provide you with a great deal more everything, but mostly a real low end and fleshed out midrange......attributes that no integrated upgrade for the 1.7s would provide..... I would do both....... get 3.7s minty used for about 3K, sell yours for 1K to 1.2K or so then get an integrated with some punch that has been shown to gel well with Magnepan....... All this depends on what size room you have...... |
Another one I have not heard in person, but the reviews with Magnepans are off the chart is the new Schiit Rangarok integrated........It puts 100WPC into 4ohms, but according to Herb Reichert of Stereophile, it makes the Maggie .7s just come alive.......best of all it's only 1699.00 factory direct and you also have a truly world class headphone amp...... would be worth a try and if you didn't like it, you could always return it.....I bet you'd love it..... http://www.stereophile.com/content/schiit-audio-ragnarok-integrated-amplifier#p75WvAKDITeOu9X2.97 |
If you have room for 1.7s, then you probably have room for 3.7s I would make that change before changing your integrated as the difference would be night and day in terms of low/mid performance You can find 3.7s used in the 3K range and 1.7s will bring around a grand, so there's 2K, leaving you 3-5 for an integrated....... I've owned both 1.7s and 3.7s and I'm telling you that half your music is missing... Whether you did that, or stayed with 1.7s, Maggies need a lot of juice to really start to sing (I have Bryston 28BSST2s driving my 3.7s) Forget about class A, the penalty in wattage versus any perceived benefit is not worth it, you need high quality class a a/b watts...... I would strongly consider the Parasound Halo integrated......@ 240W into 4 ohms, it's got the juice, it's also got a dsd dac built in and the price is very reasonable new at 2495 list.....I've heard it on 1.7s and 3.7s and it will not leave you wanting for anything....... Hegel H300 used at under 3K would be a great choice, those amps are so musical it's crazy......or move up to a new H360 you can probably get new at under 5K if you negotiate a little both Hegels also have DACS so that saves you some $$ going forward If you want to move off the usual path, I would also consider the Conrad Johnson CA150 integrated.......Magnepan exhibited the .7 with this amp at CES last year and the results were fantastic.......here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYPKzZRl6cM There's something very musical about everything CJ has ever done, this amp probably puts out about 200WPC into 4ohms.....and the amp can be gotten for under 4K brand new There are SO many other choices, but these are amps I've actually heard with Maggies and you should look at the combo as a single component, not two........Maggies are magic with certain integrateds and sound very uninvolving with others that would look to be better fits by the specs...... Good luck..... |
... I, like you my friend, am searching for a New (meaning new piece of equipment) or New-To-Me Integrated, and there is a plethora of stuff out there! I am presently using a Phillips High Fidelity Labratories Pre-Amplifier (c.1980) with an Onkyo A7 Integrated amp (c.1978) as power ( about 65w/c/8 ohms); I enjoy the Onkyo straight as an integrated but get more definition and depth with the seperate pre... (speakers: Vintage JBL L25 creatures (c. 1972); new-vintage-on-the-way Gershman Avant Garde RX-20s (c.2000) Being recently retired, and looking to consolidate, I want a higher powered integrated that could possibly be my last "power" purchase, and then spend the rest of my life swapping in and out with other speakers and sources (TT and CD/DACs)... Am investigating the GamuT Di150 ($9800) or their Limited Edition (+$2000), but after reading so much of the Gurus opinions here, I may reconsider my price point and look into the Primaire and others, less expensive, like the Hegel and Parasound. Thanks for your questioning - it many times helps alot of others out, without you The Questioner knowing it... |
