Help with amp and Maggies

L

LewL

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Dec 12, 2021
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Delaware
I am looking to upgrade my stereo. I do it about once every 20 years, so I’d like to do it in one shot. This is for mostly vinyl and streaming through a Marantz SACD 30N. Room is 14’x24’x8’.


I am leaning toward Magnepan 3.7i speakers, but also like Harbeths. For amps, I am leaning toward a McIntosh C22 pre-amp and an Mc1502. My audio advisor/dealer recommends a pair of MC830s instead of the 1502 because they have more power. (I know, Brystons are recommended for Maggie’s, so that is an option). There is a 3 month wait for the C22 and Mc1502, but the C8 and MC830s combo is available now. Is the C22/Mc1502 worth the 3 month wait and the $5,000 price difference. (Amortized over the life of the system, the price difference doesn’t really bother me). Would the tube Mc1502 be a good match and be able to power the Maggie’s? Or would I need to jump up to a pair of Mc2301s? And if I went with the Harbeth SHL5 plus XD, would that change the amp recommendations? I also have a Martin Logan BalancedForce 210 for bottom end reinforcement.

The compactness of the C8/MC830s combo does have a benefit, but I can find room for the big ones too.

Thanks,

Lew
 
Maggie owner here. IMHO you need an amp with a lot of capacitance, high current and power, especially if you like to listen at moderate to loud volumes. It must also be able handle dips to 2 ohms. Bryston is great, but also consider Pass and the new Parasound JC5 with 90 peak amps, 132,000uF capacitance, 600wpc at 4 ohms and stable down to 1.5 ohms. The new Parasound gear sounds great. Don't skimp on electronics as the 3.7's will let you know that they are not up to the job.

If you have your heart set on Mc, go with the 2301.

I think that one of the reasons some people end up not liking Maggies is because they don't have the proper amp.
 
Lew, first off , welcome to the fold !

I'm assuming Overture Audio is your dealer, I know them well and like Mech above I completely agree with PASS and or Parasound. Years ago when I had my Maggies (3.6) I was driving them with a Threshold S500 and I'm still a Nelson Pass fan to this day. FWIW my room dimensions are pretty much the same as yours. If you could locate a pair of X260.8's you would be hard pressed to do better IMO
 
Mechnutt said:
Maggie owner here. IMHO you need an amp with a lot of capacitance, high current and power, especially if you like to listen at moderate to loud volumes. It must also be able handle dips to 2 ohms. Bryston is great, but also consider Pass and the new Parasound JC5 with 90 peak amps, 132,000uF capacitance, 600wpc at 4 ohms and stable down to 1.5 ohms. The new Parasound gear sounds great. Don't skimp on electronics as the 3.7's will let you know that they are not up to the job.

If you have your heart set on Mc, go with the 2301.

I think that one of the reasons some people end up not liking Maggies is because they don't have the proper amp.
Click to expand...

Thank you. So no go with tubes?
 
Mikado463 said:
Lew, first off , welcome to the fold !



I'm assuming Overture Audio is your dealer, I know them well and like Mech above I completely agree with PASS and or Parasound. Years ago when I had my Maggies (3.6) I was driving them with a Threshold S500 and I'm still a Nelson Pass fan to this day. FWIW my room dimensions are pretty much the same as yours. If you could locate a pair of X260.8's you would be hard pressed to do better IMO
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yes, Overture. Really nice guys there. Joe is helping me out. It seems that people advise against tubes with Maggie’s.
 
LewL said:
Thank you. So no go with tubes?
Click to expand...

Tubes sound great with Maggies. That 2301 should work but a good SS amp with a tube preamp is the way to go with Maggies unless you want to spend a lot more for a 450 wpc VTL tube amp or maybe a Rogue Audio Apollo or Hydra.
 
LewL said:
Thanks! Yes, Overture. Really nice guys there. Joe is helping me out. It seems that people advise against tubes with Maggie’s.
Click to expand...

Welcome to AS!

You are getting great input. The Maggie’s 3.7i are terrific. Pass, Bryston, Parasound would be preferred to McIntosh. All of those are sold by Overture so you are in a great situation.
 
Agree about going with SS amps with the Maggies. The more power the better. By the way, the only difference between the 20.7 and the 3.7 is the larger bass panel on the 20.7. If you were to add subwoofers to the 3.7 you will have a system that will better the sound of the 20.7 alone.
 
Thanks to everyone for their insightful and thoughtful responses. An SS amp would certainly make things simpler and less expensive.
 
Have you considered the Sanders Magtech amp if you are sold on panel speakers? They're built specifically for low sensitivity, low impedance speakers.
 
Hear Here said:
Have you considered the Sanders Magtech amp if you are sold on panel speakers? They're built specifically for low sensitivity, low impedance speakers.
Click to expand...

Another good choice, one that has quite a few endorsements over on the Martin Logan forum.
 
I have 3.7's. I tried Mc452 and Mac is not for me. I like both SS and tubes on Maggies. I had used BAT VK-55 mono and currently using conrad johnson Premier 8A. For SS, I tried Parasound A21, conrad johnson MF2550, Pass INT-150/INT-250.
I also consider PS Audio BHK-250.
 
Q3Di said:
I have 3.7's. I tried Mc452 and Mac is not for me. I like both SS and tubes on Maggies. I had used BAT VK-55 mono and currently using conrad johnson Premier 8A. For SS, I tried Parasound A21, conrad johnson MF2550, Pass INT-150/INT-250.
I also consider PS Audio BHK-250.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all of the help everyone. I am going to go with an ARC pre-amp and Bryson power amps. I just listened to that set up and it was great!
 
Hi Dave - for the pre-amp either the ARC LS28SE or maybe the Reference 6SE and likely a pair of Bryston 7B3 monos. Thought about McIntosh Mc611. Brystons sounded great and take up a little less room.
 
LewL said:
Hi Dave - for the pre-amp either the ARC LS28SE or maybe the Reference 6SE and likely a pair of Bryston 7B3 monos. Thought about McIntosh Mc611. Brystons sounded great and take up a little less room.
Click to expand...

very nice, I have the '28' myself, couldn't be happier. We look forward to seeing a pic or two once it's all set up Lew !
 
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