As a longtime Maggie user I can have come to the conclusion that the common complaint that "Maggies don't have enough bass" is many times more of a "Maggies with inexpensive solid state electronics don't have enough BODY" issue.
Maggies LOVE tubes. They are very tonally natural through the bass and midrange regions; perhaps even a bit too lean. As a result they benefit from the tonal body and fullness that tubes can inpart. While they will not give you the kind of potent bass that some box speakers will, I have found that their bass is natural and detailed like few others. In my experience if the sound is lean and dry through the midrange, as is usually the case when Maggies are driven with inexpensive solid state, no amount of bass will satisfy. Conversely if the midrange/lower midrange is adequately full and dimensional, as when driven with decent tubes, I can do without great bass extension and power.
My suggestion is to try a tube pre-amp and eventually a tube amp as well. In the 750.00 range I like and have seen for sale here: Audible Illusions M3, Quicksilver, and if you can find one, I love the Melos 222b or c. I don't know if you need a phono stage, but there is a EAR 834L Deluxe listed here for sale. Talk about beautifull, dimensional and full bodied sound!
Good luck and Happy Holidays.
Maggies LOVE tubes. They are very tonally natural through the bass and midrange regions; perhaps even a bit too lean. As a result they benefit from the tonal body and fullness that tubes can inpart. While they will not give you the kind of potent bass that some box speakers will, I have found that their bass is natural and detailed like few others. In my experience if the sound is lean and dry through the midrange, as is usually the case when Maggies are driven with inexpensive solid state, no amount of bass will satisfy. Conversely if the midrange/lower midrange is adequately full and dimensional, as when driven with decent tubes, I can do without great bass extension and power.
My suggestion is to try a tube pre-amp and eventually a tube amp as well. In the 750.00 range I like and have seen for sale here: Audible Illusions M3, Quicksilver, and if you can find one, I love the Melos 222b or c. I don't know if you need a phono stage, but there is a EAR 834L Deluxe listed here for sale. Talk about beautifull, dimensional and full bodied sound!
Good luck and Happy Holidays.