comparation between Magnepan & KEF ref. series

Eldartford...I agree to a certain extent. My Soliloquys 6.3s actually sounded better with amplifiers under 100 wpc but I also used them with amps better than 500 wpc. With no loss of dynamics what so ever,I could rattle the windows with a 25 wpc Monarchy SM 70! I believe the room has alot to do with it as well. I know you use a fairly large room..so the extra power comes in handy.

Also have a friend that uses the MMGs. I keep seeing people say you need all this power.He powered his with a 60 wpc integrate. I could never listen to music as loud as it pushed those MMGs for a long period of time. There would definitely be some hearing loss!

I suppose everyones threshold of hearing is different. But I do believe the louder you play your music..the less noticeable it will become. Making you feel those are normal listening volumes. As time goes on.. you will need to push the volume higher and higher as your ears adjust to the loudness.

The Mid/Tweeter Ribbons in my Maggies will probably pop with more than 20 watts being sent to them. I guess it also depends on what type of Maggie used that dictates the power requirements.

Gmood1...One must be careful about subjective evaluations of loudness. It has been shown that music sounds "Loud" when distortion occurs. Clean audio sounds less loud than distorted audio even if a meter will prove the oposite.

This has been cited as the reason why women are always telling us guys to lower the volume. Supposedly their hearing is more sensitive to distortion. But then I wonder if this is just more feminist propaganda!

Yes I agree Eldartford..but I won't tell my wife that!!LOL
You ever went on a long trip playing the radio in your vehicle at a volume you thought was normal. Only to have a rude awakening the next morning when you turn the ignition only to be blasted by the radio!

Hello,
I only have experience with Maggie 3.3 and now 3.5. There is definitely a power issue here. With an ARC VT130 amp, rated at 110wpc, it was very evident the amp was clipping regularly. Fortunately this amp clipped rather gracefully. I then lived with the ARC Classic 150s, 150wpc triode, and here the amps' protection circuitry kicked in to shut the amps down at loud passages; this often was not bass related at all. I have since gone with a Counterpoint NPS400 and the clipping issue is gone. Now I have to be careful to not burn tweeter and midrange fuses.
So there most definitely is an issue of these Maggies needing lots of continuous power and a little headroom as well.
John

JaFox what was the slew rate of your previous amplifiers ?..compared to the Counterpoint NPS 400? Just curious. I had a Mcintosh SS that was spec at 300 wpc.The Monarchy 25 wpc walked the dog on it in controlling my speakers!
The Monarchy had a much higher slew rating.