Magnepans

Noble 100,   Actually, they are about 20K new

I'm not giving him the info to say go out and buy a 2KW pair of monoblocks......I am giving him the information to illustrate that in my experience and flea watt tube amp is not a great option.......I have never heard a Class D amp I liked, but others will have differing opinions, but between a top flight class D and a mid flight tube, I'd probably go Class D also......

hasse,

The thing that struck me instantly on the Brystons was low level detail.....it is miles better than the Pass X350 I had.....beyond that, they're both musical, but I'd give the edge to Bryston......with other speakers it could be a different matter, but on the 3.7s, I far prefer the Brystons.  I will say that I feel the 28s are not marginally better in terms of musicality versus the 7s.  If I was doing it again, I would probably stick with the 7s....

I have owned the Magnepan 1.7's for five years now.  Decided to upgrade my Cambridge integrated (which did not sound bad at all driving the 1.7s).  On paper I thought the VanAlistine fet valve 600 would be superb with its combination of a tubed input and tons of power (probably put out 500wpc into 4 ohms).  I listened for several weeks and the magic never happened.  All that power and I just wasn't taken--not even one  "wow".
This was a secondary system for me and I was ready to sell the maggies and simplify with a nice sacd/integrated and perhaps a pair of vsa vr-22's.
When the marantz gear came (8004 series) I hooked it up to the 1.7's and right out of the box I smiled.  Amazing.  An integrated rated at 70wpc creating all that beautiful music--so smooth and detailed and dimensional and dare I say even punch.  So the 1.7's  were staying.  I returned the 8004 series (at no loss) to my dealer and upgraded the Marantz Reference 15s2 series and never looked back.  This integrated is rated at meager 140 wpc into 4 ohms.  I listen to music at relatively loud/realistic volumes and have NEVER felt shorted.  (But you ought to see the power supply in the amp).  I can honestly say that while it's fun to look, I do not see myself ever moving on to "better" or more powerful electronics. (ok, maybe the marantz 11s3 series)  Hope these thoughts are useful.

stewart0722,

     Thanks for your clarification.  I agree with everything you stated in your last post, especially that flea watt tube amps should be avoided.  But I don't think you or I consider the VAC Avatar to be a flea watt amp at 60 watts and with a solid power supply. 

     natureboy,

     I think members could better assist you if you declared a budget for your potential new amplification purchase..  As you know, there are a wide range of amp options for driving Magnepans.  

    Through stewart's personal experience, he can attest that either the Bryston 28s or 7s will likely drive  your 2.5 speakers very well since they work so well on his 3.7s.  I have no reason to doubt that either amp would be a good choice for the 2.5s.

     Through my own and several other posters' personal experiences on this thread, we can attest that high powered class D amps (Wyred, Bel Canto and D-Sonic) will also likely drive your speakers well  since they drive our Magnepans so well.  I tend to think all these amps (including both Brystons) will drive the 2.5s well and that you will need to decide between them based on personal auditions and your budget.  

     What you don't know at this point, however, is how well your current VAC Avatar integrated will drive your Magnepan 2.5s.   I think the best approach would be to thoroughly test out your VAC on the 2.5s prior to considering any changes.  When I state 'thoroughly test out' I mean not only that it sounds good to you but also that it drives them effortlessly at your normal listening levels and that there is sufficient detail, 3-D sound staging and headroom in your opinion.  

     If you're not totally satisfied with the VAC's performance, then at least you have some very good suggestions for possible alternatives.

Tim

       

In the context of driving 91db efficient speakers, 60w is just fine, in the context of magnepans, whatever their efficiency, it is flea watt in my opinion in an average sized room....

To clarify, I mention my luck with amps in terms of brands only.....I would never recommend this op should buy a pair of 28bsst2s to drive 2.5s, or even 7s for that matter........it would be ludicrous to spend a lot of money on amps to drive 2.5s, when he could take a fraction of those dollars and upgrade to 3.7s or 1.7i etc etc.  No matter what amps he puts on these they will sound veiled as all maggies were in that era, all the way up to 3.6s......if he stays with 2.5s check the used ads and buy the best class d amp you can find......if it's integrated, all the better!  see what specials underwood hifi has going, he had some emerald physics amps not too long ago that looked really good for the money......