Tri-amping 3.6R's; what amp for the ribbons?

Given the low crossover of 200hz, I'd say the upper freqs are under powered, especially for someone who like to crank 'em until just short of farting....however loud THAT is!
The 50:50 power point is around 350hz for 'average' music. Right now, I'd suggest your REF500s are running into the wall sooner than the 1000s.

It's not that the ribbons are more sensitive and not needing 'much' power, but that the music above the crossover contains less and less energy, meaning you don't need mondo amps to run it, just electrical compatibility.

Another ICE amp would work for tri-amping....just keep the power to frequency spread within reason for the crossover. IOW, if you cross to the ribbon at 10khz, you may only need the 125 watt module. At that point, the 500 for the mids would drop back into line.

If I had your level of bad habit, I'd think seriously about with Pass amps. If you insist on sticking with the bi-amp setup, a selection of 'a' amps would work fine.

Happy Electric Bill.

Bill,

Thanks for the advice. Until recently, I had the crossover closer to 300hz. But I experimented with it a great deal, and putting it at 200hz seems to make for a much tighter and faster bass. (That's also the crossover freq used by Magnepan.)

I'm amazed to hear you suggest the ribbons should be crossed at 10khz. I was thinking something around 1.7khz, which again is what the factor setup uses.

Have you tried this?

BTW, I really like the Class D technology, and would be reluctant to move to Pass amps. I think Class D sounds great with Maggies, and I like the lower power bills, less heat, smaller size, etc.

PS - I just figured out your name isn't Bill...

Gahh... typos.

"factor setup" -> "factory setup", meaning Magnepan's own crossover point is 1.7khz between the ribbon and mid panel.

I was just floating the idea that power needed is related to the crossover frequency. 10k was an extreme example and used to illustrate how little power is needed above very high crossover frequencies.
If you had the perfect amount of power per 'way', they'd all redline about the same loudness.

I'd generally stick to the stock crossover points. The folks in WhiteBear Lake spend a bunch of time getting that part right.

You say you like 'd'amps. I have one, too. So, I've got to ask, what do you NOT like about your current setup? Why do you think tubes are the 'cure'?

Several higher power tube amps may do. ARC would be on the short list, since many panel owners use and like them.