Ok, this one will throw you for a loop! Luxman R-117 receiver!!! Read the reviews from the 1980's and early 90's then see if there are any on ebay. Should be about $350-400 now ($1200 new) Absolutely phenomenal amp and preamp section. Grossly underrated @ 160 wpc into 8 ohms it produces 400, 600, and 700 wpc of "dynamic" power into 8,4, and 2 ohms. I once read a "test bench" report from a measurement guru who said the real rating of "actual" power was closer to 350 wpc into 8 ohms! Smooth as silk with massive power, it sounds a lot like tubes. For the money you can't go wrong and can own a piece of audio history!
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Obviously your looking at something used as I don't know of anybody making good mono blocks for under a grand. A few years ago while just looking on ebay someone was selling a pair of the Denon POA-6600 mono blocks for $800.00 and listed them as in mint condition and when I got them the seller was right. The amps appeared to look better than mint, they looked brand new, man was I happy. Just about a month ago I got curious and decided to hook them up to my Maggie 3.6R's and they sound phenomenal on my Maggies. The Denon's run cool, have plenty of power, and you can leave them on all the time with no worries. They are still hooked up to the 3.6's and I have no desire to remove them. Look for a used pair of the Denon's if you want something cheap, reliable, and sounds great. |
D-Sonic. Should be in your price range per channel, and are very powerful. I had my MG-12s "gunned", and that's what John "Peter Gunn" recommends. He also recommends Butler and Sanders, but both are out of your price range per channel. Butler is tube, just an fyi. If you can swing the upgrade, do it. John is not sure how much longer he will be doing it, and to the best of my knowledge he is the only one out there with such offering. You get awesome looking handmade wooden frames, top notch crossover parts and sound that is out of this world. Tell him the mad russian send you. He'll probably charge you extra :-) www.d-sonic.net http://www.indiespinzone.com/magnestand.html |
The Bryston 4 series has been mentioned a few times. It should be noted that this was the "de facto" recommendation for Maggies back in the day; from Magneplanar themselves and from Lyric Hi Fi, the biggest Magneplanar dealer at the time (80-90's). This was the "affordable" amp recommnedation for many years. Having said that, while the store demos using Bryston sounded good, they never sounded nearly as good to me as the demos using tube amps. I can't help but notice how often the term "to drive" is used without, imo, enough emphasis on the quality of the resulting sound. Sure, something like a large Adcom and many affordable ss amps will "drive" Maggies well and provide plenty of output and decent bass (maybe), but the sound will lack refinement and finesse. While the ultimate dynamic range may be wider than with a moderately powered tube amp, on a micro dynamic scale the sound that a decent tube amp can produce within a narrower dynamic range may have a better sense of aliveness and excitement; not to mention the possible advantages in the areas of timbre and dimensionality. |
I have two options I use to feed my rebuilt 3.3rs: (1) Krell KAV 250A for "daily" (non-focused, i.e. sitting at my desk doing other chores) listening -- also has the advantage of not putting out much heat; and (2) Rogue Audio Magnum M-120 monoblocks, for more serious listening and when I am in a tubey mood. The monoblocks tend to heat up the room after a couple of hours. There's a Krell for sale now. Rogues come up every so often. I really enjoy both - the Krell offers a lot of control and the Rogues add a lot to the fun factor. |
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