While not an owner of 3.6's I do own the 1.5's as my 2nd pair of speakers. Presently mated with a Rogue 66 preamp and a Bryston 4B-ST and I think the set-up works great! Given that, my suggestion would be a pair of 7B-ST monoblocks (alternate choice would be a used 14B-ST - 2 7B amps in one chassis and reported better output devices) and a Rogue 99 (tubed preamp - magnum version preferred). You should be able to get both if buying used for your target budget amount. I am sure you will get many other good suggestions which will no doubt offer you much satisfaction but this combo should be auditioned if possible. Bryston is very hard to beat at their pricepoints and have a history of being marrying well with Maggies. Rogue products are a wonderful purchase given their quality/dollar spent ratio.
What is the best amp setup for Magnepan 3.6 ?
I am the proud owner of Maggie 3.6's currenty getting juice from a Rotel amp and preamp. I am considering some offerings from Odyssey, Monarchy and McCormack. Since the first two offer both stereo and mono versions, which would be a better setup? Would bi-amping give better results than running them mono? If bi-amping is the better choice, can you use two stereo amps or do you always have to use four amps? Did I mention a suitable preamp as well? 5k budget. Thanks.