Magnum Dynalab 308 drive Magnepan 1.7 or 3.6?

Ctunney,
If your amp is 80 watts@8ohms and 160 watts@4 ohms, that is a good indication of a powerful and well designed amplifier since it doubles its power as the resistance is halved. I think 160 watts will drive the 1.7s but, on this forum, it seems the majority believe the more power the better with maggies. I took the advice and drive an older pair of 2.7s with probably an excess of power-400 watts@4ohms. Another important amp feature is how low of an impedance it can handle since most magnepans do dip below 4 ohms at some frequencies. The above is basically a summary of what I learned by reading the forums here on Agon. If you'd like to read them for yourself do a forum search: "amp for maggies" or "magnepan 1.7". Lots of good info. Good luck and enjoy!

Generally Maggies are an easy load. Moderate phase angles and no huge dips.
see link to measurements.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/magnepan-magneplanar-mg36r-loudspeaker-measurements

Now, the real questions to me are 1. how loud do you play your system?
2. how large a space? 3 Do you have the space to devote to panels? You will need a minimum of 3 feet behind the speaker to the 'front' wall.
Also, do you have a sub? If yes, will you run the panels full-range or allow the sub to handle below crossover?

Great. Thanks for the replies so far--makes me feel confident that my amp will drive the 1.7s. (I read so much on here about how much the maggies require, and I am new to this, so just don't know...)

Magfan--1. I usually play at moderate volumes and a littler louder, too. 2. My space is large. It is a living room/dining room combination space that is 15x40. Having a minimum of 3 feet behind the speaker might be tough the way our room is set up. And no I don't have a sub--wasn't thinking of getting one. Just now, anyway...

I have also heard that you can sometimes get away with turning the maggies sideways, which would work better with our furniture...