Amp for Magnepan 1.7's

Odessey is very good.Krell made a good integrated.I do not know if it is still available.A used threshold would do nicely.

I know on my guitar amplifier I only have to replace preamp tubes every year or two, does the same hold true for hi-fi preamp tubes?

Yes. I have seen preamp tubes under heavy use hold up as long as 5-6 years.

I would go with something that has lots of current. The NAD is powerul but it relys on voltage as opposed to current. Something like a Krell KAV 2250 power amp or a Pass Labs X150.5. Do not by a Krell pre-amp they are dry sounding but the KAV 2250 is a great sounding poweramp. My friend has a pair of 1.7 in his store and they sound really good with the Krell KAV 2250 but not as good with the Bryston 2BSt and the 3BST was way too bright. The Bryston 2BST sounds good but you can hear it working. I took home the 1.7s for the weekend and drove them with a Pass Labs XA30.5 and was shocked how well they sounded. Infact it is a an excellent combo. The X150.5 is very similar to the XA30.5 but the XA30.5 has much more bias and a little more current but only 30watts per side as opposed to 150 a side. I really like the Magie 1.7s they are hard too beat. You could spend well over $10k and not have a better speaker.

Hi all ! If it were me I would try what you have first . I would trust my ears .

Brad, absolutely, I'm just looking for some direction in what to try and see what other people have had success with. There's so much out there, I just want to narrow it down.