Best Preamp/Amp Combo for Maggie 1.6QR's?

Let me offer a suggestion based on what's worked for me with my own Maggie 1.6's.

First, as you've discovered, Maggies love current. The best high-current amp I've found so far for mine is Roger Sanders' amps -- either his current one or more likely a used Innersound ESL 300 amp. The Innersound amp really delivers what Maggies hunger for, and it's clean and strong. Paired with a musical tube-based preamp, it's pretty damn nice.

Of course, the Maggies can be strongly improved if you go the route of bi-amping them and doing away with the internal crossover, but then they are "modded" and much lower in resale value. I've had mine for seven years, and they've evolved to a bi-amp setup with an Innersound ESL 300 Mk II driving the bass panels and a homemade tube amp (75wpc) driving the tweeter/mid panels. I'm using an active Linkwitz crossover that exactly matches the factory curves, and I love the sound that I'm getting. A vast improvement in detail and bass drive compared to stock. But you certainly don't have to go that far to get a huge improvement. The Innersounds/Sanders amps will carry you a long way there for not a huge investment. And they are a great match with Maggies.

Hope this helps!

solid state amps and panel speakers is a recipe for disaster. why ? magnepans are known for their ability to resolve subtle details. they are not attenuated in the treble region. solid state amps will accentuate the flaws in recordings. why be a masochist ? get tubes. you don't need more than 25 watts, as long as you don't need to generate more than 85 db in a moderate size room.

if your room is bigger, 75 to 100 watts may be required.

my suggestion is based upon personal experience. i am currently using a 25 watt amp on 1.6s . it is sufficient for my needs.

With all due respect, my long experience owning Maggie 1.6's was different from Mrtennis' in that I do find the 1.6's rather attenuated in the high frequencies. (Yes, I've had my hearing checked, it's excellent.) Admittedly, everything is relative to price and the competition at hand. I didn't think that there was any defficieny in the highs until I replaced them and had the advantage of hindsight. I went through three solid state amps and had the same dismal experience Mrtennis describes. However, the PS Audio HCA-2 was a completely different animal from all the predecessors. A sweet treble that was nuanced and detailed, great bass, not much to quible about. My point being, generalizations about product design categories are like other stereotypes, there are exceptions to every "rule." The Spectron Musician is another solid state amp I'd not hesitate to try. If you're inclined to go the tube route, I believe Ozzy had very good results with Music Reference's large tube amps. Check them out, they are a great design.

I don't agree that the 1.6s don't need current to shine. I tried a Music Reference RM-200 (great amp) and was extremely disappointed in the result. I switched to a pair of Portal Paladin monoblocks and the speakers really sing. I use a VTL 2.5 tube preamp.

I too do not agree with Mrtennis. Like the old saying, "I've been rich, and I've been poor. Rich is better!" Same is true for power. I've run my Maggies with about 11 different amplifiers, and there are definitely nice sounds to be had with lower power amps, however, the results with higher power are better IMHO.

One of my nicest-sounding setups used Atma-Sphere M60 monoblocks (with Zero's) as treble/mid drivers, and a modded Citation-II as bass panel drivers. All tube. About 120 watts per channel (more like 200wpc if you use the bi-amp equivalency formula). But then when I went to 600wpc at 4 ohms with the Innersound amp, the whole speaker just opened up and sang! Rich is better!

Also, the Maggie is NOT a particularly high-resolution device at lower volume levels. At higher volume levels, when it "comes alive" is just when the lower power tube amps start to go into soft clipping. Many people like that sound -- part of the appeal of SE amps, I think -- but it's not very accurate. Rich is better!

Finally, I agree completely with Photon46 that characterizing all solid state amps as deficient does not represent useful advice. My preference is tubes (of the 15 amps I currently own, only 3 are solid state). But there are good-sounding solid state amps out there that will work well with Maggies. I really like running tubes on top and solid state on the bottom, partly because I do like the harmonic rightness I hear in the highs, but there may be a solid state amp I haven't heard that will do an even better job. Nice to keep an open mind!

HTH!