Magnepan 1.7i Amp recommendations

@jjss49 I'm interested to hear you say this because I was considering Maggies for my tube amps recently but steered away because of the logic you're laying down. Question: do you think this applies to all Maggies and all tubes? I have 60wpc tubes and was thinking about the 1.7's but...would you say any maggie needs ss? In other words, how far does the logic of your argument range?

hilde

i think the exceptions are few more 'normal use'  (depends on room and volume level obviously, or have one monster of a tube amp)

even little maggies suck a lot of juice, and furthermore, most maggie users will say the speaker needs good power and grip to come alive

further, maggies roll off at the frequency extremes, esp. bass, same for most tube amps, so reinforcing weaknesses at play here

of course, you have the tube amp already, put it on the low impedance taps try it, can’t hurt to try if you watch the amp carefully so signs of stress ... but i think most maggie users find their way to SS power amps, and put tubes in the earlier in the chain if they want some tube magic

jjss -- thanks. Already steered away from the maggies but if I move to a larger room I was thinking I might consider them again. But at that point, it would probably be time for an amp change, as well.

This is somewhat against the “common knowledge” of massive wattage, but a couple of experienced, enthusiastic Magnepan dealers describe a particular synergy with Hegel integrateds and the 1.7i, including their smaller models the H-80 (discontinued), H-90, and Rost.The longtime Magnepan dealers are Audio Excellence (Toronto) and Audio Emporium (Milwaukee).
The H-90 lists at $2000 new- thinking you should be able to get at least 10% off.
If you are open to used-
A Rost is on Audiogon for $1399 (list at $3K), and another Rost is on eBay with a current bid of $1200 (seller is a Hegel dealer, Overture in Wilmington DE - demo?)
Audiogon also has the much more powerful H-300 at $1499- it is a couple of generations back.
A used H-160, which was Hegel’s recently discontinued middle of the lineup model, might also pop up at the top of your price range.There are watts and then there are watts. Hegels all have very high damping factors to give an usually tight grip on the speaker movement.
The other atypical  Magnepan combination I’ve heard about (with a lower powered integrated) is the Naim Nait 5, but you’d lose the good DAC incorporated in the Hegel.

I have a Hypex NC252 for my Ohm 1000s and it sounds great. I bought the amp from VTV, which is based in Ohio. The unit is under $600 shipped, so you might want to consider that option. They also have higher power Hypex units available as well as the Purifi amp.

(PS, I had a pair of Maggie 1.6QRs some years back which I really enjoyed, but they are so room-dependent that I had to replace them after a move to a new house. However, in the right space, Maggies are fine speakers.)