Magnepan and Bob Carver Raven amps

There is 1 db difference in efficiency between the 1.6 and the 3.5. Inconsequential.

I ran Tympani IV w 70w custom tube amp.

Queen and the London Phil lived in my house...

My Avalon's sensitivity is rated at 87 dB (2.8V, 1 meter) with a minimum  impedance of 3.6 ohms. There is a noticeable audible difference between the 2,4 and 8ohm taps through my dynamic three way speakers with either KT-80 or KT-120 tubes.

Are you able to hear a noticeable difference by simply switching the Classic / Contemporary toggle switch?

Currently I have .7 Maggi’s and using a Bob Carver Crimson 275 Amp…. I know,I know many people on here have issues with the amp’s specs, but I got it for a really good price and it really sounds great. I’ve not experienced any issues driving the Maggi’s and control it’s output using a Parasound ZPre3 Preamp.  Note: I did replace the Crimson’s PreAmp tubes from the supplied Tung Sol’s to Mullards being in my previous tube amp I really fell in love with the Mullard sound.
My room is approx 12’ x 11’ with 10’ ceilings with a 1’ Tray center ceiling, low pile carpeted floors and using a 12” SVS SUB. The system sounds fantastic and yes, with a more powerful amp the system probably could go louder, but for the room’s size it get’s loud enough to have my wife yell from across the house for me to turn it  down on those times I’ve been tempted to hit that little plus sign on the pre amp’s remote.

One thing to keep in mind with Maggi’s is it’s not about how loud you can go but how clean they sound and the sound stage they produce without having to crank them unlike many of the box speakers out there.  Yes they’re out there but you’d have to drop a good amount of cash to get a box speaker to sound as transforming as a Maggi. 
Coming off of Triangle speakers, I was lucky enough to hear the Maggi’s at a dealer 1st with my amp and my music and was sold on the second I heard them and seriously has put an end to my thinking I’ve got to upgrade this or that to make my system sound great. Last week was at the Florida Audio Expo hearing systems 10x what I spent on my system and seriously I can’t justify spending any more being how great my set up sounds,but not ruling picking up a new toy in the future.

I lucked out being what I think is a good synergy between components, they all play well together on the playground so to speak and based upon all my research seems to be the key to making Maggi’s sound their best, so I highly recommend test drive your Maggi’s 1st with the amps you narrow your search to and I’m sure when you reach that synergy point, you’ll never look back.

Good Luck and enjoy the ride.  
 

At least you all recognize that Maggies need high wattage and basically deliver what you put into them.

I would suggest the best pre-amp you can afford.  Audio Research has been known for quality pre-amps since the 1970's, so maybe try out one of theirs.

As for the Carver's, I have not heard them, but if they are neutral in all frequencies, you should be OK. As for power, it would be pretty much impossible to have too much to drive them with.  Remember, it is POTENTIAL power until you turn up the volume!  The more power (wattage), the crisper and cleaner your system will sound with Maggies. 

Enjoy!  You have the best (most accurate) speakers made, period.