Why do Maggies need a lot of power?

Ake, using an amp with enough power to drive these speakers comfortably at high levels will not only change the sound when you're head-banging, but can positively affect the sound quality at all levels. Normal listening is usually done at only a few watts at most, but that is merely the average level. Music is dynamic by nature, and as Sean describes so well above, there will be momentary demands for power many times that of the average level, and the amp has to be able easily accommodate these without approaching its limits in order to sound unstrained. Also, the higher-power amp will be better able to rigidly control the driver panels, resulting in less unwanted motion that can impair transient response and decay. The improved bass authority you will get from a higher-current amp will be audible at all volume levels. If the amp gives a more 'open' sound as well, that is probably due to the relative lack of compression resulting in less congestion of the soundstage, wherein macro-dynamic events tend to overwhelm micro-dynamic events as a less-powerful amp is stressed by competing demands. However, I've got to add that Maggies are probably not the speakers for you if your #1 priority is listening at rock-concert levels.

Actually I tend to listen to average level. I barely listen to anything at 100dB and over (average level). It's just too loud for me to listen comfortably for a long session (I think I still need good ears for quite some time before I don't need them any more :)

So for average listening level (How many dB?) can maggies benefit from high power amp (aside from what Zaikesman mentioned about better bass and Sean's about the headroom?

Thanks a lot for the input.

Ake

Ake: I think that there is a VAST discrepancy amongst what many of us here call "average" listening levels. What is "average" to a "rocker" might be "roaring" to a person that listens to chamber music, etc.. On top of that, listening distance, size of the room, types of speakers used, etc... will all vary this equation.

From my personal experience with Maggies, i would suggest using a tube amp that was capable of at least 100 wpc rms or a SS power amp that was at least 200 wpc rms @ 8 ohms. This "should" equate to at least 300 wpc and preferably closer to 400 wpc @ 4 ohms for the SS amp. "Tube watts" tend to come across as being more powerful due to the more "natural" way that they clip i.e. they do not sound near as stressed or grainy when being driven hard. Quite honestly, i don't think that you can have TOO much power with speakers of this nature.

This brings up another dilemma though as many higher powered SS amps do not sound as good as some smaller models do. Much of this can be negated by looking for a manufacturer that uses high quality parts and gain matches all of the output devices. Such designs tend to be of high bias ( Class A or very rich Class AB ) and should deliver excellent sound even at lower volumes. Obviously, these will probably cost a little more, but then again, nobody said this hobby was cheap : ) Sean
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Actually, I was thinking of the word 'average' in the strict sense, as in watts RMS, and the differences that can exist referenced to the peak level, at any listening volume.

I think that you can drive the maggies up to the 3.6 (excluding the 20.1) with a good 100 watt tube amp with high output current such as the ARC VT100 MKII. I have been using maggies exclusively since 1977. Initially, my first high end speaker was the venerable MG2 which was first driven by an ARC D76A (75 watts), followed by the MGIII/MGIIIA which were driven successfully by an ARC D115 MKII (115 watts).

Currently, I am driving MG 3.5s with an ARC VT100 MKII. I have had no problem with dynamics or loudness limitations. Coupled with a stereo pair of Sunfire Signature subwoofers (the blend is seamless and not detectable), I feel that I have a full range system that approximates the performance of some of the expensive full range speakers at a fraction of the cost.