I sold the Bryston for financial reasons a few months ago. Now, I'm back in the market trying to find a replacement. The Bryston did a fine job of driving the Maggies and they sounded sublime in my listening room. I guess I'm just curious about what an all tube system would sound like. Might just have to try a few out and see how I like it. Thanks for the input! N
Tube amp selection- for Magnepan 1.6QR
I recently sold my Bryston 4BST and I'm planning on replacing the amp with a tube amp. I've narrowed it down to a few amps (so far) and would like some advice and opinions as to which would be the best for my needs.
System is a pair of Maggie 1.6QR's, Balanced Audio Tech VK3i preamp, Phillips 963 SACD. I'm using Signal Cables throughout and have a PS Audio 300 for the preamp and 963. I'm considering the following;
BAT VK-55
Cary 805C monoblocks
Jadis Defy 7
I'd like to hear from the community as to which setup would drive the Maggies with some authority. Would I be happy with any of the above, if so, why? Also, would anyone recommend not using any of the above? The speakers are currently in my bedroom, which is 15' by 20' wide. Not huge, but they sounded great with the Bryston. Anything else you want to add would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for your help!
System is a pair of Maggie 1.6QR's, Balanced Audio Tech VK3i preamp, Phillips 963 SACD. I'm using Signal Cables throughout and have a PS Audio 300 for the preamp and 963. I'm considering the following;
BAT VK-55
Cary 805C monoblocks
Jadis Defy 7
I'd like to hear from the community as to which setup would drive the Maggies with some authority. Would I be happy with any of the above, if so, why? Also, would anyone recommend not using any of the above? The speakers are currently in my bedroom, which is 15' by 20' wide. Not huge, but they sounded great with the Bryston. Anything else you want to add would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for your help!
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- 16 posts total
Bob_reynolds, if I'm reading those specs right, it doesn't seem like the 1.6 is ideally suited for most tube amps. Just seems like you need a lot of power and current to drive them well, they just seem better suited for SS. Of cousre, there is theory and then listening. They certainly have been matched with ARC amps since the early days. |
The Maggies are easy to drive if you have a set of ZEROs. http://www.zeroimpedance.com We have a good number of customers driving them with our M-60s, using the ZEROs to deal with the impedance (otherwise the speaker has reasonable efficiency and a benign impedance curve). The combination works quite well! |
I've had different Maggie models over the years and have found that they usually work much better with SS amplification. I think there may be some tube amps out there that may work well, like the big ARC stuff, but at a pretty high cost. One of the best sounds I ever got with 1.6's was with a tube preamp (Audible Illusions) and ICE based power (Bel Canto). The Bel Canto had incredible control over the spekers and fantastic timbral accuracy... Good luck with your search! |
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- 16 posts total