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Is a Bryston 3B SST2 enough for Magnepan 3.7i or 20.7?

Hello,

I currently have a Bryston 3B SST2 with BP26 Preamp.  My current speakers are Magnepan .7s with a small KEF sub.  I love the combination but am getting the upgrade bug.  

I'm just not sure the 3B SST2 has enough power to drive the 3.7i's or even the 20.7s well.  I do not listen at very high volume levels, as a good deal of my listening is late at night after everyone else is asleep.  That is another concern is that will the amp drive them well at very low volume?  Not sure I would need the sub with the 3.7s or 20.7s.

Appreciate any thoughts from Bryston and Maggie owners.

Thanks,

GK



grekon39

Showing 1 response by mcreyn

mcreyn
293 posts
 
Here are my two cents as a longtime Magnepan owner (SMGa, 2.7, MG.6, MG-12, currently 3.5s). I like to crank it up and have my Maggies in a pretty large room (about 4000 cubic feet). Power makes a big different in that situation. When I had my Sunfire amp rebuilt recently (600wx2 into the Maggies), I used a Shiit Vidar to fill in during the repairs (Vidar does 200wx2 into the Maggies). The Vidar worked wonderfully, excepting lacking dynamics when cranked up. At lower levels there was no real difference aside from the voicing of the amplifiers.

For your situation, enjoy the 3BSST2. Its 250 watts into 4 ohms should be plenty for your listening preferences. For my situation, I would want more power, but even using a 14BSST would only give about 4-5 db headroom over your 3BSST2.
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