Were you to add a simple Bass array (ie: four Subs) to a pair of Maggies and the STR INT*, mentioned above; I’ll bet the combo would sound outstanding.
You WILL want woofers (imo)!
*NICE Bass Management System
Integrated amp recommendation for Maggie .7's
As the title states I'm looking for an amp recommendation for my Magnepan .7's.
I'm currently using a Belles Aria Signature pre with a pair of Signature monos.
@jjss49 recently described the Belles sound thusly:
"i have owned the belles aria (twice), along with numerous hegels, ayres, some upper older musical fidelities
david belles’ aria is a nice integrated, powerful, very stoutly built, nice phono stage in it too (the remote control is downright cheap though)
sonically, i found the belles to have a little more of a brash personality - more treble energy, some sizzle, a little grain, compared to the more refined hegel and ayre sound... so it depends if you want that or your speakers benefit from a little more sizzle up top...
the ayre, hegel and top flight retro musical fidelity amps (a308, muvista etc) provide a degree of treble sophistication of even higher tier solid state amplification (ample detail and soundstaging free of attendant electronic harshness)"
This seems to jive with my own feelings as well. I've owned probably a dozen different pairs of speakers and the Belles gear has always been the common denominator.
I'd love to keep my budget to $5k new or used. I don't think I can get an Ayre that will mate well with the Maggies at my budget. It's possible that I can get an Aesthetix Mimas used around the $5k mark.
Hegel is a brand I have absolutely no experience with.
Much appreciated!