I just read a couple of responses to you, one was particularly interesting. The Mac owner reasoned that he used a MAC 300 watt, and also that the speakers were soft and boomey on the bottom.
First as McMasters attendee,(which includes extensive mac training at the plant for three days) I know that mac gear is rated into 4 ohms, so the reality here is that the mac into 8 ohms is more like 150. Plus the mac tends to be soft sounding in the bottom compared to the Krells of the world.
Using his logic about the amount of power you need is not completely accurate (and I am not being critical of him, he probably doesn't know this).
I used a VAC Avatar with 50 watts, (I believe someone else mentioned VAC) and it did a great job.
As to the bottom, the speaker, as are all speakers are at the mercy of the room, below the 200 hz region. However, the Mahler has a switch which allows for boost below 50hz. Sort of a built in loudness switch, ( not, obviously the Fletcher/Munsen inverse curve, since no treble is involved). I found the plus bass to be fun on certain music, and certainly on television programs, if you are enough of a heretic to use your high end audio and video on the same system, like me.
A really good integrated amp will do fine with this speaker. The Rowland is a prime example, as is other High Quality integrateds like the Simaudio Moon I-5 or the I-3. Actually, the BV which is little known, is touted to have rock solid bass and be extremely neutral. The romantic sound of the Mahler is heightened by tubes, and great fun. I finally ended up using a Gryphon Callisto which was 100wpc into 8 ohms, 200wpc into 4. But, alas like the Rowland, not cheap.
An amp worth considering is the Spectron, or Bel Canto, digitals. Very tight and not dry, especially with a sweet speaker like the Mahler.
Good luck, and congrats. Bill Peugh and John at Sumiko are great guys and deserve your business. They work hard to make the high end a better place.
Larry R. Staples
First as McMasters attendee,(which includes extensive mac training at the plant for three days) I know that mac gear is rated into 4 ohms, so the reality here is that the mac into 8 ohms is more like 150. Plus the mac tends to be soft sounding in the bottom compared to the Krells of the world.
Using his logic about the amount of power you need is not completely accurate (and I am not being critical of him, he probably doesn't know this).
I used a VAC Avatar with 50 watts, (I believe someone else mentioned VAC) and it did a great job.
As to the bottom, the speaker, as are all speakers are at the mercy of the room, below the 200 hz region. However, the Mahler has a switch which allows for boost below 50hz. Sort of a built in loudness switch, ( not, obviously the Fletcher/Munsen inverse curve, since no treble is involved). I found the plus bass to be fun on certain music, and certainly on television programs, if you are enough of a heretic to use your high end audio and video on the same system, like me.
A really good integrated amp will do fine with this speaker. The Rowland is a prime example, as is other High Quality integrateds like the Simaudio Moon I-5 or the I-3. Actually, the BV which is little known, is touted to have rock solid bass and be extremely neutral. The romantic sound of the Mahler is heightened by tubes, and great fun. I finally ended up using a Gryphon Callisto which was 100wpc into 8 ohms, 200wpc into 4. But, alas like the Rowland, not cheap.
An amp worth considering is the Spectron, or Bel Canto, digitals. Very tight and not dry, especially with a sweet speaker like the Mahler.
Good luck, and congrats. Bill Peugh and John at Sumiko are great guys and deserve your business. They work hard to make the high end a better place.
Larry R. Staples