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Tubes for Magnepan’s.

I think next up on my acquisition list is a tube amplifier. I'm not looking for the be all end all, cause I don’t think there is a definitive "Best", so am looking for as good as I can get for $3-4k.


Because tubes drive speakers so much more efficiently than solid state I am only looking for 40-50 watts to drive my modded Maggie’s, 1.7i's. (Or what you have when you add a new crossover and planer tweeters to 1.7i's.) Maybe 2.7x? I haven’t settled on that yet. And I have some Zu Dirty Weekend's upgraded to the max coming in in 2 months to replace my KEF's.

Anyway, I haven’t had a tube device since my Halicrafter short wave radio, and reviews are not the same as advice from people that own something. There is a Rouge Audio dealer in my area, last I looked, (opps, they no longer carry them), so I may have to go to another market to hear something, or get a try before you buy from a manufacturer or dealer.

You folks have taught me a lot, and I think asking users is the right thing to do on this change in direction.

Thanks in advance.
128x128william53b
william53b's avatar
william53b OP
211 posts
 
@ieales

That's my kind of finagling. I find manufactures attempts to build homages to existing technological presentations often tiring when cross pollination can yield much better results.

Being able to afford 3 amps for a stereo that you can match to the drivers can actually save you a lot of money in the end.
ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
That's my kind of finagling.
I forgot to say Class D for the woofers and tube for the tweets.

I also have 2 subs and roll the bottom octave out of the woofers which is an effective 200+ watts for the woofers which being nominally ≈6.5Ω is a further 20%-ish increase.

Being able to afford 3 amps for a stereo
The amps cost less than some power cords. Really, really good can be had for reasonable expenditure. A 1 : 1  driver to amp ratio trumps passive crossover induced phase, impedance and driver interaction mayhem Six Ways to Sunday!
speakermaster
738 posts
 
In your price range you need to go with a solid state amp with maggies a fifty watt tube amp will not do well at all.
audiomaze
128 posts
 
OP
I have driven my 1.7i's with a mc250 and a Mc275. The 275 was very sweet for most jazz and lite rock at moderate volume but tried a parasound A21+ and which handles all kinds of music with ease and is much more dynamic. 
Hope this helps.
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,501 posts
 
"...but tried a parasound A21+ and which handles all kinds of music with ease and is much more dynamic..."

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