Dynaco ST-70 and Magneplanar 1.6QR

Maggies need much more power. You could try a good powered sub. If you run from the pre-amp to the sub to the amp, you can filter out all signals below a certain level (100hz?) which will greatly alleviate the strain on the 70. According to Janis Subwoofers, if you eliminate all bass below 100hz, you effectively quadrupal the power available to the speakers!

Thanks for all the great advice. I am a novice in the hi fi area, but I realize that I am plummeting into the rabbit hole fast. ... I got the Maggie 1.6, loving the open sound, but felt that they needed some warmth, and therefore combined them with the Dyna - 70. It actually sounds good, as long as the music is not to demanding, and kept low...

So here is my probem I guess, is there any tube amp I could afford that provides 100W per channel or more? , ( would that do the trick?)
budget is about 1k....

alternatively, on the same budget, is there a solid state amp with warmth...? , again, thanks alot for all your advice..

As far as solid state in your price range, you might want to consider something like a McCormack DNA 1 (100 wpc)or DNA 125 (125 wpc). Check the archives for other people's opinions on these amps. Perhaps you could introduce tubes via a preamp? Good luck and have fun.

If you are open to experimentation, you could try a pre-owned B&K ST140 @105 wpc. Another possibility is one of the older SA series hybrid amps by Counterpoint.

I drove an older pair of MGIIIs with an ST140 for several years, in a smallish room. As long as your volume demands aren't huge, it can do a very adequate job. Buying a used one will still leave lots left over in your budget for quality cables.

As stated here above unfortunately the 1.6's do require a lot of watts. Further because of their flat 4 ohm load impedance they also require a lot of current which really means a good SS amp with a beafy power supply. Also due to the Magies' single ended magnet arrangement and the large driver surface area, good amounts of damping factor is also a requisite for control of the diaphragm.

A lot of Magie 1.6QR owners, myself included are using Odyssey Stratos amps that go around $1,100 new and $800 to $900 used. They pretty much meet the above requirements putting out 150W into 8 ohms and 280W into 4ohms and most imortantly having a good size power supply for current delivery. It's a very nice and sweet sounding amp with very good bass response albeit not a tubey sounding one (don't know any SS amp that sounds like tubes anyway) that is higly regarded many audiophiles. Paired with a good tube pre the stratos will let the warmth from the tubes come through and again that's what a great number of Magie/Stratos owners have in their systems. There's also an upgrade to the Stratos that costs about $75 and which doubles the storage capacitance of the power supply for even greater current capability.

You might also want to check, if not having done so already the following two forums for a lot more info on Magnepans and Odyssey respectively:

http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/MUG/bbs.html

http://audiocircle.com/circles/viewforum.php?f=10&sid=6faff33bd59eace7a0c39369a25c40a8

Happy listening!