Amp for Magnepan 1.7's

congratulations on the purchase of the 1.7s. I am jealous.

I wish someone would buy a Quad 909 amp to drive Maggies and report back. They have tons of current and are smooth, perfect for Maggies.

good luck

I suggest an Odyssey Khartago stereo power amplifier. They are not too expensive, but definitely high end. The PASS Labs x150.5 is also great, although much more expensive. The amp must drive 4 ohms loads well(high current).

Mate that with a good tube preamp (too many to mention) and you are good to go. You could also go with a used "classic"
preamp. I use an Audio Research SP-14 and alternate with a Pass Labs X-1 on my Magnepan 3.6's.

Contrary to popular opinion you do not need huge amounts of power. 100 to 150 wpc will do in most average sized rooms for sane volumes.

As "Philjolet" said a Quad 909 should work.

What is your price range? The 1.7 is not limited to inexpensive equipment. You can spend big bucks, and the sound will improve that much more.

Bryston is a natural match for Magnepan.A 4BSST with a tube pre and you be cruising man.

The $1200 NAD would be a relatively low cost option, and should have adequate power.

I'm looking to keep the integrated or pre & amp combo at around $2k used. I'm not sure if that's a good price point or not. I could flex up a few hundred more if it would do a lot more for me. I'm under the impression that you'd typically spend less on an amplifier than the speakers to "match" them appropriately. It seems that maybe the maggies are a special case?

Also, since I'm sort of new to this, if I were to get a tube preamp how often would I have to replace the tubes? I'm looking to get very heavy use out of this thing so I wonder if that would be an issue. 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?

Thanks all.

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.

How about a pair of Outlaw M2200 monoblocks? I use a pair with my MMGs, they are highly recommended by Barry Diament the mastering engineer.

I'm less than sure about this....but if you like the OutLaws, you'll love 4 of 'em.
Biamp?
OutLaw has some kind of deal where the more you buy, the less expensive per unit it gets. Some kind of shipping deal, too.

I just received the 1.7s on Monday. I also have the NAD M3. The M3 drives and makes the 1.7s stand up and sound off without effort and the combo sounds good to my ears. I see no need whatsoever to run out and upgrade this amp.