Which amp to use with Linear Tube Audio pre?

mmm, the Orchard Audio GaN monoblocks are working very nicely with my Magnepans. But the law of unintended consequences has kicked in. My MZ2 used as pre isn't as clean and clear with the GaN monoblocks as a simple passive Schiit SYS pre. So its relegated back to a headphone amplifier only for the moment

@davide256 ,

Interested in where you ended up.

I have mz2 in near field with and high efficient Decware speakers - love the 3d space it creates.  I also have Maggie .7s in my living room with a great processor/preamp - but was wondering if there was some way to bring some of that tube magic to the Maggies without muddying things up.  Thinking of getting an LTA power amp for the Maggies.

They recommend the ZOTL40, but there's some good prices on the ultralinears that have less power.

My questions:
  - you said the MZ2 could drive your Maggies 90% of the time with 1 watt?  Your feeling if a 20 watt LTA amp would be enough to over the rest?
  - You also said you like the sound of the Schiit Sys + Orchard over the MZ2 as a pre.  Do you think the MZ2 is muddying things, or it's just not a good match with the Orchard?

Any thoughts / experience is greatly appreciated.
 

Aegir was interesting, very warm and full sound. But sounded syrupy and compressed compare to using the MZ2 as amp,  definitely stepped on details the MZ2 was providing
 

@davide256 

it took a while, but I get what you were saying here now. I’ve been doing a lot more listening with the MZ3 as an integrated. I still use the Aegir sometimes, but feed it with a SS hpa for background music or TV or just days I’m not up for burning tubes. The last time I put the Aegir between the MZ3 and my speakers was after listening a while to the MZ3 by itself. And it hit me. Maybe I wasn’t listening to the same things before and was focused on other differences. I can’t unhear it now. Probably not going to use that combo anymore. 

@b2colchagoff  I ended up buying a solid stateTopping Pre90, took me several months to reach a conclusion which I liked better between the MZ2 and the Pre90. The MZ2 has that tube ease in playing music, is neutral and faster on transients than the CJ PV10a, Prima Luna Integrated Premium pre tube sections I have had. But in the end it lost out to the Pre90 for background detail, dynamics and solid, clean low bass. It's possible that If I had the better MZ3 or LTA's bespoke preamp that the outcome may have differed

On the wattage end, using the Orchard Audio GAN monoblocks is a no contest compared to what I've owned in the past used with Maganepan 1.7 (Bryston B60, Prima Luna Premium, Musical Concepts modded Hafler DH200). It controls the speaker, and has no need to play loudly to get clarity. I do think that there are better class D options like Boxem and Apollon which are more sophisticated in their input section, may eventually switch. The 1 watt from the MZ2 as amp is musical but with Maggies you are giving up base and the reviews I've read for LTA amp sections usually highlight that as a criticism for driving Magnepans.

I do think that the MZ2 cries out to be used as an integrated amp with high effciency speakers like Zu, Omega Alnico,  where 1 watt can be powerful

In the FWIW column I had bought an LTA Velo in 2025 to use as pre with an Apollon NCx500 class D amp. It’s better but when I bought Caladan speakers the 1 watt MZ2 outshone the combination of either LTA product as pre to the Apollon amp feeding the Caladan speakers and has started me on a  tube amplifier quest. My conclusion was that the slower Magnepans needed all the speed they could get from the pre and amp components but that with the fast Caladans tube ease helped  erase a tendency towards edginess and I could hear more inner detail.