The Gear to drive Mini Maggies

Jim, so far only wpc channel have been mentioned to drive the Maggies. ie: 50 watts or 1000 wpc. That is only part of the the picture...in your situation an amp with high current is more important than overall power as measured in WPC.
Al or one of the more experienced members can explain it better than me, but this quote from the manual says it all...

"The Mini Maggie System is a 4 ohm speaker and should be used with a HIGH-CURRENT AMP that can safely drive
a 4 ohm speaker.

For example, an amp that can double it's power when driving an 8 ohm speaker vs. a 4 ohm speaker. A High power amp doesn't necessarily have enough current to drive these Maggies to their full potential.

Lowrider makes a good point, essentially that the amplifier has to be in its comfort zone when providing enough current to drive 4 ohms. My impression, though, is that among 4 ohm speakers the Maggies represent relatively benign loads, as the "phase angle" of their impedance, which is a measure of how purely resistive the impedance is, is relatively benign. Non-resistive phase angles, especially if they are capacitive (as opposed to inductive), increase the current requirements that are imposed on the amplifier.

Also, in contrast to the Maggies the impedances of many other speakers that are rated at 4 ohms will drop to significantly less than 4 ohms at some frequencies.

I had noticed that the 28BSST2 achieves its high power capability in part by having "bridged" outputs. More often than not bridged amplifiers are not suitable for use with speakers having 4 ohm or other low impedances, because of the current limitations they usually have. I didn't mention that fact in my earlier post, though, because in this case the 28BSST2's rated 8 ohm power capability is so vast that the fact that it is bridged seems unlikely to matter under any reasonable circumstances. Not that I'm recommending that amplifier for use with the Mini's, though, as my preceding post should make clear. :-)

Jim, concerning your question about tube vs. solid state, very few tube amps can provide both 500 watts and good sound quality. And those that can are likely to cost a small (or perhaps not so small) fortune. Again, though, I'm not suggesting that you need such high power.

Regards,
-- Al

On the other hand, Bryston and Magnapan did introduce the Mini's at some show connected to the 28B-SST2's. Overkill for sure but I don't think it would blow up the speaker.

I was considering getting these Mini's for my desktop but now I am also interested in the Audience THE ONE desktop speaker. It would be very interesting to have a comparison between the 2, both provide 30-day trials direct from the manufacturer. I am currently using an Audioengine A2's on the desktop which is passable.

I was considering getting these Mini's for my desktop but now I am also interested in the Audience THE ONE desktop speaker. It would be very interesting to have a comparison between the 2, both provide 30-day trials direct from the manufacturer. I am currently using an Audioengine A2's on the desktop which is passable.