OTL Tube Amp for Maggie 3.6?

How do you feel about your Aleph 5 on them? I cannot see as how the Beast would work, or really any OTL for that manner. It is spec'd at 160 into 8 ohm, and 110 into 4 ohm. To me that indicates that it will not mate well with Magnepan 1.6s as they seem to like current. I have attempted to use an Aleph 5, and didn't like it on them- lacked PRaT. I attempted several 100 w tube amps and had the same issue. These were not wimpy cheap amps either. It always reminded me of the old days when I first go into tubes. I was trying to run MG 1s with Dynaco ST70s or Mark VIs. There was a hint of greatness, but I was always left wanting. It was not until I installed my Parasound JC 1s (400w/800w) that they awoke. I do not listen loudly either. It is about dynamics and low end control.

I am sure that others are sure to disagree...

We've had a lot of people use our MA-1s on the 3.6 to good effect. In fact the moderator of MUG (Magnaplanar User's Group) emailed me a few years back saying that the MA-1 was the best amp for that speaker.

However 4est makes a good point about power- in the 3.6, the sensitivity is 86 db. This spec is misleading since the speaker is 4 ohms and it is a line source. I think it is more valuable to know the efficiency of the speaker since that is a power rating and tube amps make power. The speaker is 4 ohms, causing the *efficiency* to be 3 db less. But the speaker is a line source so you add 6 db to that. IOW, the speaker is about 89 db 1 watt 1 meter. An amplifier that makes around 100 watts might be run out of gas at higher volumes, but a lot depends on the room and your listening taste.

Some OTLs cannot handle the load even though they make the power; a popular and effective solution is to use a set of ZEROs (http://www.zeroimpedance.com). Take it from me on this one- the use of such does not obviate the 'OTL quality' of the amp. With our MA-1 it is hard to say if the ZERO would help or not, I suspect you would have to try it and see.

Even MORE important than sensitivity is the phase angle of the load.
That is to say....how capactive or inductive the speaker is.

Find the Stereophile test of the speaker. The test is in their archives and will have an impedance / phase graph against frequency.
Read the recommendation of stereophile's testers and take in account your experience and needs.
Now, I don't know specifically about OTL, but normal, transformer'd tube amps do not like capactive loads....even if the impedance were fairly flat.

While an Atma-Sphere MA-1 certainly works with the Magnepan 3.6 speakers, particularly in smaller rooms and at lower volumes, these speakers absolutely shine when driven by the Atma-Sphere MA-2. A marvelous combination.