Replacement for Carver Crimson 275 to drive Maggi .7’s

are you implying that the Carver Crimson 275 only puts out 15 watts in real applications? If so please explain.

The amp weighs 19 pounds. It would be something of an output transformer miracle if the amp were to actually make the power claimed even if it were mono instead of stereo. I have a Harmon Kardon Citation 2 which is only rated at 60 Watts/channel. It weighs close to 3 times more. People have removed the covers and found transformers inside that are stamped '15 Watts'.

So I'm going with Occam's Razor on this one.

If one was to purchase a Crimson 275 to drive speakers that are identified by the manufacturer as a 4 ohm load, should I be concerned that the 275 only has one set of taps that I assume to be 8 ohms? I have tried an integrated with these speakers and tried both 4 and 8 ohm taps, could not tell the difference in a short listen. Enjoy the music

If you can swing the extra cost the Carver 350 mono blocks would probably work great!

ozzy

@atmasphere, are you implying that the Carver Crimson 275 only puts out 15 watts in real applications? If so please explain. I understand that the amp has come under fire recently for not meeting it's claimed power output and some possible build issues but I am still looking at one for my system as I have been down sizing and it checks a few things for my consideration. Just looking for your valued input. Enjoy the music

Currently I’m using a Bob Carver Crimson 275 Tube Amp that sounds fantastic but hear I reach it’s ceiling while driving a set of Magnepan .7’s, so I’m considering swapping out the amp.

I imagine 15 watts per channel might not be enough for any Magnaplanar!

op

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/best-amp-for-a-maggy-1-7i

... just read this... it all applies to your query

Odyssey Stratos Extreme - $1800

Parasound ZPre3

I understand that pre to be half decent. I think you can use it for now. 

Whitefishpoint1175

Thanks for the reply,
I understand the importance of the preamp, but the Parsound ZPre3 is what I’ve got for now, it does what I need and sounds pretty good and certainly in the future I plan to upgrade, just not now.  I did request in the original post that the discussion not go in the preamp direction, so if you have some insight on a specific power amp that meets my needs, I’d be happy to research it.

You do not need a premium pre amp you need a quality pre amp. 

Hey guys, thank you for the suggestions so far.  
I just checked out the Underwood Warp 1, Great Price for sure. i watched the YouTube review from Thomas of Thomas & Stereo and he felt it was not that good of a sound with the Maggi’s, just ok , but felt overall  was a pretty good amp and system synergy played a part in the various systems he tested it with.

As for the Parasound A21 & 21+, totally on my radar, just the cost may be prohibitive, I’ve been looking for used of those models and haven’t come across any yet. 
 

a more powerful SS Power Amp that will power up the Maggie’s with as close to a tube sound as possible 

I have had a number of amps on my .7s. They can suck up the power pretty quick. I think you would be happy with a Parasound A21 or A21+. 

Underwood  HiFis LSA Warp One has gotten excellent reviews. On sale right now