Hi.. I’ve been running my Maggie 1.7 with a Prima Luna Dialogue Premium. Drives them no problem. I know. I didn’t believe the big audio store down in MPLS when they told me the PL would. So I went with the 100wpc Rogue Cronus Magnum. Long story short- I eventually sold the Cronus and upgraded to the Prima Luna after listening to the synergy. The PL not only drives the Maggie’s better.. but significant upgrade in sound as well IMHO.
Power Amp advice
I am looking for advice on a power amp to drive my Magnepan 1.7i's. My source is my Cambridge Network player which I use to stream Tidal. My preamp is Tube unit: Transcend 6SN7 Line Stage by Aric Audio. My current amp is a Parasound HCA2200. The Parasound has lately developed an annoying hum. I was thinking of getting it repaired, but thought that now might be a good time to upgrade that 30 year old piece.
I was looking for advice on a good match for the preamp/speaker combination. My budget is around $2,000. I don't mind buying used. I was thinking to go with tubes, but I fear that any tube amp with enough oomph to properly drive those Maggies would be well outside of my budget.
Discussions here are always thoughtful, so I am looking forward to what you folks have to share.
Thanks,
Mark
I was looking for advice on a good match for the preamp/speaker combination. My budget is around $2,000. I don't mind buying used. I was thinking to go with tubes, but I fear that any tube amp with enough oomph to properly drive those Maggies would be well outside of my budget.
Discussions here are always thoughtful, so I am looking forward to what you folks have to share.
Thanks,
Mark
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- 43 posts total
I have to say that one of the BEST upgrades you can do for your 1.7i Maggies is to get the MyeStands. Incredible. The sound is tight and focused. The bass is great deep and clear. No need for a subwoofer with MyeStands. My next upgrade is the Mike Powell instant upgrade. Only $79. For the money, this is hopefully going to be hard to beat. I am waiting to receive it. |
I have had a Maggie speaker since the 1980s, started with the MGIII, then 3.7 and finally the 20.7s. The 3.7s and 20.7s with Mye stands. For the MGIIIs the best amp I had for them was a Bryston 4BST, on the 3.7s and 20.7s I tried a MC452 which was the worst of all amps, no guts, then tried a Sanders Magtech which was better but not as good as as Bryston 14B3. There is a reason why Magnepan & Bryston are demoed together, they just match really well. I would bet that Pass amps would also match up will but they are class A. Only amp I would consider above Bryston would be Burmester but there is a huge price jump there. |
markainsworth OP Noticed no one yet has put up the impedance V -phase angle graph, on these Maggie’s. It shows that they are a relatively benign 4-6ohm load for any amp from the bass up to around 4khz, then things change for the worse, with the combined EPDR load of the impedance and -phase angle. From 4khz to 20khz they become a bit of a pig to drive, from 6khz to 10khz they have an EPDR load as seen by the amp of 2ohm or even less!!!. Pick your amp carefully, so it’s stable into this load and can deliver current. Or you could get quite a softening (recessed) effect in the upper mids and highs. https://www.stereo.net.au/forums/uploads/monthly_06_2016/post-118179-0-66659900-1466167994.gif Cheers George |
In case you haven't come to a decision - I am driving my Maggie 1.7s with a Rogue Cronus, Mag II integrated tube amp, with a decent phono stage and am very pleased. I have auditioned my Maggies with other more expensive tube and SS amps that didn't do as well. The Rogue, Cronus Mag. II can sometimes be found used for under $2K on AGone or Audiomart and for the money and even much more, in terms of over all good sound and performance is pretty hard to beat, to be paired with the Maggie 1.7s......Jim |
- 43 posts total