difficulty finding CD player match for Magneplanar

I used a 360w/CH cARVER M4.0T WITH MY mAGGIE IIIa's (and Icon MkII). This was a pretty good combo that I lived with for over 15 years. That power did not go to waste with those Maggies at all.

For an inexpensive experiment that should offer an improvement, these or other high power Carver amps (some models which deliver higher current as well) can be had for not much used these days.

Next up the cost chart would be the high power Class Ds. Wyred4Sound offers a good, cost effective unit. BEl CAnto and then Rowland will cost more but perhaps offer even higher levels of refinement, if needed.

BTW, I am confident that once the power issue for the Maggies is resolved, most any well received modern CD player can outperform what you heard with the venerable Cal Ikon MkII.

As an alternative point of view, why are you using Maagneplanars for rock and jazz/fusion? In general I don't prescribe to components being music genre specific, but my experiences in listening to Maggies (store demos only), I wouldn't call them a rock/rhythm music oriented speaker. I think Maggies sound great, but like Quads aren't ideally suited for all types of music at loud to louder volumes.

My reaction is that 200wpc (@ 8 ohms) isn't enough for these speakers. I am using an amp with that rating on MMGs and get some clipping.

I'm glad you're on the forum asking questions - you have a world-class speaker with a c*** front-end. There's a B&K 4420 on sale right now here on Agon - my advice is put in a bid for it ASAP.

On the digital front-end, consider a separate CDP/DAC alignment. But that's the least of your problems.

" I wouldn't call them a rock/rhythm music oriented speaker."

A true statement in regards to low-end impact and dynamics if that is important to you, but they are still very versatile in all other regards and do very well with all kinds of music.

I'd still pick up a good affordable amp with enough muscle to make the Maggies sing first before doing anything else.

I recently picked up a used Jolida JD100, and with a good PC and the right interconnects and tubes, it sounds full, rich, rounded and makes huge beautiful music. It's been a joy to listen to. To date, it's the only digital front end I've tried that allows me comfortably listen to my maggie IIc's without my sub. The difference from my old cdp and a couple of dacs I've recently tried was dramatic enough to sound like I had upgraded to a better amp.

It's easy to make maggies sound bright and thin, with the wrong player, amp or cables. Personally, I would have never considered trying an Arcam, or any other player where some users reported thin or analytical sound in their systems, because I figured if one guy reported "to bright and thin", then that's what I would hear with my stuff. I've never heard anyone faulting the jolida for being thin or too analytical. Maggies natively produce great detail, and using a highly detailed player will get you "detail overload".

Be carful with amps, as well. For the past 3 years, I've been using a vintage Kenwood KA-9100 integrated, a late 70's dual mono beast with 90wpc, with surprisingly good results, first with my SMGa's and now with my IIc's. Well, I just recently picked up a used Musical Fidelity A300 integrated, hoping it would be an upgrade, but I was sorely disapointed. Sure, it does put out more power, and I can play stuff much louder, but the overall sound left much to be desired. After a few weeks of struggling with cable swaps, sub adjustments and speaker placements, I finally gave up and put the kenwood back in, and what a relief.

Since getting the jolida, I can finally sit down and listen to some music, and not be constantly thinking about what I need to try next, to make things sound right. Also, I'm not suffering nearly as bad with some cd's sounding good, and other's bad. I'm getting much more consistant sound accross a wide range of music types and recording qualities.