Recommendation Amp for MGIIIa

I have a Homebuilt UCD400AD that brings the best of these MGIIIa speakers. At 400 watts/channel into 4 ohms, the amp doesn't even break a sweat. A perfect match.

Unsound, I have heard ARC CD3 Mk. 2 + ref 2 Mk. 2. + VT100 Mk. 3 + MG3.6. The combination was. . . delicious and reasonably authoritative. When the VT100 Mk. 3 was replaced with VT200, the sound turned to. . . impressive, and very musical. Still with a touch of staging non specificity typical of the Ref 2 Mk. 2 and a hint of the old-style ARC silvery haze perhaps.

I have never owned any of these products, but I thought high powered Audio Research and Magnaplanars were supposed to be touted as a classic combination.

MrTennis: MGIIIa's are 84dB and the Macintosh amp doesn't have the dynamics (I know they have autoformers and such but they still sound flat on MG's). The Wolcotts are designed to drive impossible loads for planars, and VTL300's should be a minimum especially if you want to listen to classical.

Stay clear of the Aragon's as the Ribbon tweeter really reveals the harshness of the top end of that amp.. not a good synergy..

parasound hca3500 can be found on agon around$1100.Dual mono(350per)They are the platform for the jc1.I have them running my tympani4a until I decide to get jc1 or passx600.If they can handle tympanis,they will cruise on your3a(I have a set of mg3 that will inherit the 3500 when I decide on my monos)

my friend has maggie 3s. he is biamping with a ss amp on the bass panel and the dyna mark 3s on the treble.

i would suggest a beefy amp, such as the macintosh 2102. there should be enough power with kt88s, or the wolcott stereo amp, 140 watts of tubes. i heard this amp provide ample power for a pair of 3.6s .

i think ss with magnepans is too much of a good thing. the good thing is resolution. be careful with ss amps. select one which is gentle, such as the ayre.

they are 84dB sensitive (or lack of) and a solid 4ohm load. I found the aragon amps builtproof but hard on top especially with the magnepan ribbon tweater. So go Bryston, ATI, Parasound halo series or the 3500...

Try to find a used Levinson 27- 100 wpc (the best ML amp of that era).. They are not that expensive. They are a fairly current hungry speaker, and are very sensitive to what they are fed. You might also look into a used Ayre V3 or a BAT VK200.

Used an Aragon 4004 Mk2 for many years on my MG3As . . . . almost enough power but no cigar. Sound was hazy and you could distinctly hear the left and right speakers with a silent hole in the middle.
Changed to a pair of Rowland 7M monoblocks. The combination is wonderful. The 7Ms are powerful, musical and silky. They handle the Maggies tightly and with ease, with transparency and without any bloating. You should be able to source a pair of these 700W over 4 Ohms per channel beauties on Audiogon for approx 3.5K.