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Best Cheap Amps for Magneplanar Speakers

I want to drive some medium sized to large Maggies (1.7 or 3.7) with the cheapest possible amps that will still let them sound great.

I prefer monoblocks and by 'cheap' I mean a kilobuck or so, tho less would be fine too.  I do NOT want to spend 4 thou...
randy-11
fraterperdurabo's avatar
fraterperdurabo
52 posts
 
On the low end, NADs are a good match, and I'll also second the Quicksilvers.

If you go tubes, the Zero Impedance autoformers might prove useful.
iopscrl
192 posts
 
Adcom 555 are widely available and cheap.  New caps etc would only be a few $100.  200wpc.....

On the tube side, you can find a pr of rebuilt Dynaco MK3 for less than $1k if you are willing to take your time.  60w per monoblock of good tube power.
gregorybraun's avatar
gregorybraun
24 posts
 

I drive a pair of Magnepan 1.7 loudspeakers with a Rotel RB-991 solid-state amplifier producing 200 watts/channel. They sound great! This amplifier can be found secondhand for around $700. Alternatively, the current replacement model, the RC-1582 Mk II, for $1500 new in the box.

I also have a pair of Dynaco MK III monoblocks each producing 60 watts/RMS. They provide a warm vacuum tube 'sound.' If you can solder and have a few evenings free you can build a pair of these kits produced by www.DynaKitParts.com. These are the real deal, but you have to assemble them. They cost $550 each, slightly over your $1000 budget, but at $1100 well worth the effort.

http://www.dynakitparts.com/dynakit-products/amplifier-kits/MARK-III-KIT

steuspeed's avatar
steuspeed
501 posts
 
Cruising the ads I see a Belles 150A 3ch amp for $695. Probably can't go wrong with that.
steuspeed's avatar
steuspeed
501 posts
 
Want to add a little tube magic? There is a hybrid Counterpoint SA-100 for $695 also.
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